Didi is the true story of Shaheen Mistri, an Indian social worker and educator. It tells how her concern for poor children led her to start Akanksha, an organisation that provides education and opportunities to children from poor families.
Shaheen spent her childhood in different countries because her father was a banker who frequently moved from one place to another. In 1983, when she was twelve and living in Jakarta, Indonesia, she visited an orphanage. The children she saw there deeply affected her, and she began visiting the orphanage every weekend.
During her summer vacations in India, Shaheen volunteered at The Happy Home and School for the Blind in Mumbai. There she saw confident blind children studying, playing and enjoying life. These experiences made her think more deeply about the lives of children.
Shaheen gradually became aware of the great differences between the rich and the poor in Mumbai. She travelled in an air-conditioned car while poor children begged on the streets. She saw food being wasted at parties while poor families struggled to get enough food. She also began to notice the difficult life of people living in the slums.
In the summer of 1989, Shaheen's taxi stopped at a traffic signal in Mumbai. Three poor children came to the window, smiling and begging. Looking at them, Shaheen suddenly felt that her life would have greater meaning if she stayed in India and worked for children.
Shaheen decided to leave her university life in the United States and settle in Mumbai. Her parents were worried about her decision, but finally agreed on two conditions. She had to get admission to a good college in Mumbai and later go abroad for her higher studies.
Shaheen wanted to join St. Xavier's College, where her parents had studied. But admissions had already closed. With the help of a student, she entered the Principal's office through a side door and explained that she wanted to do something for the children of India. Father D'Cruz, the Principal, was impressed by her determination and gave her admission.
While studying at St. Xavier's, Shaheen wanted to understand India beyond the classroom. She walked around Mumbai and visited a poor community where nearly 10,000 people lived without running water or a proper waste disposal system. Thousands of people had to depend on only a few toilets.
There Shaheen met Sandhya, an eighteen-year-old girl whose life was completely different from hers. Though Shaheen did not know Hindi and Sandhya did not know English, they quickly became friends.
Shaheen began visiting Sandhya's tiny house every day after college. Soon, children from the neighbourhood started coming there. They wanted to learn English, Mathematics and songs. These children became Shaheen's first students.
Every day, the children happily called her “Didi”, meaning elder sister. Teaching them gave Shaheen a sense of purpose, and she began to feel that working with these children could become her lifelong mission.
Shaheen realised that India already had people who could teach, places that could be used as classrooms and money that could support education. What was needed was a way to bring all these together. From this simple idea, Akanksha was born.
Shaheen approached twenty schools in Mumbai and asked each of them to provide a classroom for three hours in the evening. All of them refused for different reasons. Some even feared that poor children would spread diseases or damage their classrooms.
Shaheen almost gave up, but finally the Principal of Holy Name High School in Colaba agreed to give her a classroom. It became the first Akanksha centre.
Shaheen brought together volunteers from St. Xavier's College to teach the children. She wanted the classroom to be a safe and happy place where children could forget their difficulties and enjoy learning.
Akanksha formally started in 1991 with just 15 children in one class. Over the years, it grew into 58 centres and six schools, serving more than 3,500 children.
The children were taught basic English and Mathematics, along with values, self-respect and confidence. Shaheen's small effort thus grew into a major educational movement.
Didi shows how Shaheen Mistri turned her concern for poor children into action. Her journey proves that education, kindness and determination can change the lives of children and give them hope for a better future.
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