Hello folks, the admissions for Delhi University and other semi private universities are on at this time, and we are excited that so many students are finding places. Each student who finds a place is a miracle. Here is a beautiful story of Renu that broke my heart, but then I was filled with gratitude for Asha and for your support.
Renu was born in the narrow, crowded lanes of Seelampur—a Delhi slum where roofs are made of tin, drains overflow during the monsoon, and dreams often suffocate under the weight of poverty. For all of her 18 years, Renu has lived in a single, borrowed room—just large enough to lie down, but not to stretch. There’s no bed. No study table. No cupboard. Just a cold cement floor. Her books share space with pots. Her clothes live in plastic bags. The tin roof leaks when it rains, and electricity fails more often than it works. Renu is the third of nine children in a family fighting to survive.
Her father, once a skilled tailor, began showing signs of severe mental illness when she was very young. The man she remembered as gentle and capable slowly faded away. Then came heart disease. Multiple blockages. Emergency surgery. Endless hospital visits. Mounting uncertainty. Her mother—silent, strong, and self-sacrificing—became everything. She worked as a maid, scrubbing floors and washing dishes in other people’s homes while hiding her own hunger. While the world around her spiraled into illness and despair, Renu never gave up. Most evenings, while her siblings played or argued, Renu sat on the floor, her knees curled, a book open on her lap. She studied under a dim bulb, with background noise that would drown most concentration—but not hers.
In Class 10, Renu discovered Asha—and everything began to change. At Asha, she found more than a quiet place to study. She found role models. Mentors. The Asha Ambassadors—university students from the same slums who had once walked the same hard road—took her under their wing. They taught her how to study smart, manage her time, and believe in herself. The Asha team surrounded her with care: career counseling, computer classes, academic coaching, and emotional support. Slowly, something shifted. Renu began to believe she could achieve something greater. By the time university entrance exams came, Renu was ready. She had practiced on Asha’s computers. She had studied for hours every day at the center. She stayed focused even when people around her said, “College isn’t for girls like you.” And she proved them wrong.
Renu secured admission to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College, University of Delhi, to pursue a bachelor’s degree in History and Food Technology—a groundbreaking milestone for her family. She is the first ever in her family and her entire village to go to university. But then, another wall appeared. The admission fee deadline arrived—and there was no money. Her mother, already stretched to the edge, had nothing more to give. That’s when Asha stepped in. Quietly. Unconditionally. We paid her entire admission fee—not because she asked, but because we believed in her. This month, Renu will walk through her college gates with her head held high. She will walk with books in her hands, dreams in her eyes, and courage in every step. But wrapped around her like an invisible shawl is something even deeper—the hope, love, and faith of the Asha family who never let her fall, and never let her be forgotten.
