Changemakers are not just people who have the resources to take an initiative. They are people who have faced the troubles of life up close, weathered through them and risen above to make an impact that helps others.
One such icon is Devendra Kumar, the founder of Ladli Foundation who has impacted the lives of 2.7M children by providing them education and livelihoods. For him, the journey began not with an influential position but with inspirational trauma. He was born in a crime-ridden slum in Delhi where survival was uncertain and safety was not guaranteed. “What I went through was not just a struggle; it was my training. It made me sensitive, turning my pain into passion and passion into purpose,” he said to a media outlet.
An abandoned childhood
Devendra is not just working for the slums, he belongs to them. In 1988, when he was just two years old, he was left behind by his parents in a Delhi slum with his three-day-old sister in his arms. What followed was a childhood filled with survival, struggle and grit.
The brother-sister were raised by their extended family members who had limited resources themselves. Devendra was pushed into child labour at the young age of 8. He sold balloons on the streets and battled exploitation as well. “I used to get beaten up a lot. There was no protection, no control,” he recalled. “Children in such conditions are easy targets.”
In search of safety, he began volunteering with local community policing initiatives. Slowly, an attempt to save himself turned into something deeper. This gave him a sense of belonging and safety, one that he soon would provide to others.
An arm of protection
The turning point in his life came through his sister. Growing up in the slums, he witnessed just how exploitative and pressurising the world can be for young girls- early marriage, dowry expectations, and the looming threat of exploitation. In 2007, when his sister faced similar risks, Devendra fought against the odds to ensure she was not pushed into child marriage. That experience stayed with him.
“I realised this was not just my story but the reality for so many girls around me,” he adds.
The Ladli Foundation
Driven by the realisation, he founded the Ladli Foundation in 2000, dedicated to empowering and protecting vulnerable girls and women from underserved communities. Soon the foundation grew from a grassroots movement to an internationally recognised institution working across sectors such as education, healthcare, sanitation, and livelihood development.
From digital access in schools to menstrual hygiene infrastructure and from preventing child marriage to supporting girls’ education, Ladli Foundation is doing it all. In government schools where children had never used a computer, the Ladli Foundation, set up computer labs and enabled access to digital education for over a lakh students. “Children didn’t even know where letters were on the keyboard,” Devendra said. “How could they compete in a system that requires digital literacy?”
Over the years, the foundation has also introduced AI-enabled smart washrooms for girls in schools, tackling the issues of hygiene and dignity. “We are not a business organisation,” he said. “We are a blessed organisation, with so many volunteers coming together to support this work.”
Devendra credits his wife Pankhuri Singhal for supporting him through his journey. Though they met years after he formed the foundation, she understood his story and effort. “There were moments of concern,” Pankhuri admits. “Social work does not offer stability in the conventional sense. But his clarity of purpose gave me confidence.”
One of the girls the foundation worked with, Kamini was about to lose her education after completing Class 12. Financial constraints and societal pressures meant her family was ready to stop her studies and possibly marry her off. “I don’t think I would have continued my education if Ladli had not come into my life,” she said.
After completing her education, today she serves as the trustee of the organisation at just 26. Kamini also went on to receive the prestigious Diana Award, an international recognition for young changemakers.
“If every home takes responsibility for one marginalised girl, a revolution can happen,” said Devendra. He advises everyone to turn from passive supporters to active participants. His story reminds us all that even from difficult beginnings, successful results can be secured, with the right hard work and heart.
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