Damini Kindergarten - The Team

In September 2023, our two former students, Pooja Kumari and Pooja Bhardwaj, began their training as early childhood educators – as the very first team members of our newly established kindergarten for street children. Both came from extremely challenging backgrounds: Pooja Kumari grew up on the streets and suffered from malnutrition and neglect during her childhood, while Pooja Bhardwaj comes from a marginalized caste and had to take on responsibility at an early age. Despite learning difficulties, both completed their high school education and were determined to use their experiences to help other children.

Just a few weeks after they began their work, in November 2023, Pooja Kumari (pictured left) passed away unexpectedly. Her loss deeply affected us. She leaves behind a gap – not only in our team but also in the community where she had devoted herself wholeheartedly to supporting children.

Pooja Bhardwaj continues to work with great dedication. She gently guides the children through their daily routines and combines her personal experience with pedagogical learning – a true role model.

Our team has since grown:

• Renu, a calm and highly experienced educator, brings deep empathy for children who have suffered violence and neglect.

• Suraj, a young man who grew up on the streets himself, now works as a social worker – he greets the children early in the morning with a first breakfast, supports the kindergarten team two days a week, and is an important point of contact for many.

• And Bharti Ma’am is also a beloved part of our team – an elderly woman with early-stage dementia who we’ve intentionally hired as a “grandma”: she comforts, fusses over the children, makes sure everyone is well-fed, and gives them what they often lack – undivided attention and warmth.

We are grateful for this special team, which brings our vision of a safe, loving place for street children to life every single day.

Both of them have a heart for maltreated children. Pooja K. voluntarily takes care of younger siblings and relatives from the street and, thus, single-handedly protects more than ten children and youth from having to live on the street and be subject to an abusive lifestyle. During Corona, Pooja B. helped out with that and stayed with them for almost two years.

We are so proud to see our own kids grow up and start to take over our work. Of course, we will continue their training on-the-job as well as provide supervision and further education.