More than a decade has passed since the Sri Lankan conflict ended, yet many parts in the Northern Province of…
Read MoreAyesha Lohara, 21 and her two siblings grew up in Aundh village, in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. Her father worked…
Read MoreIf one were to walk into the Maharani Learning Lab (MLL) in Sungai Siput, Perak today, they would be looking…
Read MorePavitra, 20 comes from a family of seven siblings. Her father works as a cooking gas distributor and her mother…
Read MoreM. Arivarasu, from Penang, first smoked a cigarette at the age of 12. “It was peer pressure and bad company,…
Read MoreEvery time she sees the girls who participate in Maharani camps, former Head of RYTHM Foundation Jayamalar Samuel is reminded…
Read MoreV. Karthyaini, 19 had a happy childhood. As the only girl among five siblings, she was the centre of love…
Read MoreWhen headmaster S. Jaya Kumar was transferred to the SJKT Kampung Simee Ipoh, Perak in Malaysia, he was determined to…
Read MoreThe clear sky was a welcome change for a group of volunteers from Persatuan Kebajikan Saudara Perak (PKSP) as they…
Read MoreWhen new headmistress K. Nalini arrived at the Ladang Atterton Tamil school in rural Negeri Sembilan August last year, she…
Read MoreTwo years ago, Muskymi was a struggling preschooler who had difficulty speaking clearly in school. The indigenous child from the…
Read MoreFormer Pintar Foundation Chief Executive Officer Karimah Tan Abdullah recalls the high level of energy from the Maharani trainers during…
Read MoreR. Shrissha, 16, grew up in a household where gender roles were clearly delineated and predetermined. “I am the youngest…
Read MoreRetired school teacher K. Nadarajah was one of the earliest individuals who helped out in the Maharani programme by introducing…
Read MoreSarah, 13 and Melinda, 12, (not their real names) are born to a Malaysian father and an Indonesian mother, whose…
Read MoreKosala Wedagedera, 24 was born with Down Syndrome in Sri Lanka. Due to his condition, he was forced to constantly…
Read MoreT. Sheha was 14 when she first joined the Maharani programme in 2016. Being a friendly person, she enjoyed making…
Read MoreMunni Keshariyar, 39 years, lives in Palandu village near Ranchi in Jharkhand, India. Munni belongs to the Mahli Tribe (tribal…
Read MoreK. Kumuthini is never shy of speaking to others but her biggest issue is communicating in English. “I can make…
Read MoreThi Dien (not her real name) is from the northwestern mountainous province in Vietnam, one of the poorest areas in…
Read MoreSiblings Adwoa Nyamekye Mensah, 8 and his sister Adwoa Enyimpa Mensah, 3 were both born hearing impaired. Their parents Ismael…
Read MoreTeacher and school counsellor Maureen was among the educators who were involved in the earliest Maharani camps held in Sungai…
Read MoreAround six years ago, at a Maharani camp in Penang, Malaysia, one of the girls broke down during a sharing…
Read MoreGrowing up, Philip Obeng had no friends and was often lonely. His father abandoned the boy when he was three…
Read MoreThe eldest of three siblings, Yee Huei Thung, 18 who prefers to be called Vanessa, loves make-up and is currently…
Read MoreKojo Asante’s luck could not have been worse. The 39-year-old was barely making ends meet with at the small corn…
Read MoreK. Sarvena first attended the Maharani camp at the age of 14. “It was fun and full of activities but…
Read MoreNurul Aswa Irwani Mohd Azizuddin, 36 has been a Maharani programme coordinator at SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Wahab school in…
Read MoreS. Swetha, 17 said her biggest accomplishment to date is winning the first prize in the inter-school drama competition held…
Read MoreSocial entrepreneur Pandi Ramesh Babu, 49 from Andhra Pradesh, India has always championed for a better livelihood for the tribal…
Read MoreNeeru Arya, 45, struggled to take care of her family as her husband’s meagre income as a common labourer was…
Read MoreIt was a sunny morning in February 2019 and RYTHM Foundation’s programme manager K. James Raj was sweating profusely as…
Read MoreQuest International University Perak (QIUP) senior lecturer J. Gogilavaani reluctantly stepped into the shoes of the Footprints programme coordinator when…
Read MoreR. Deva grew up watching his mother being constantly beaten up by his alcoholic father. He was too young to…
Read MoreMayzze Peter, 26, is from the indigenous Orang Asli community and grew up at Kampung Orang Asli, a village in…
Read MoreReading about the frontliners battling the Covid-19 pandemic and risking their lives to save others made P. Kerrthiga, 16 realise…
Read MoreR. Niranjana, 14 wakes up early in the morning and gets ready for school. Armed with the lunch prepared by…
Read MoreIsuru Lakshan Weerasooriya was three years old when during a trip to the ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinic he…
Read MoreGrowing up in a single-parent household, P. Nalini, 22, looks up to her mother whom she describes as her role…
Read MorePrathibha Varghese grew up admiring her father who used to be a sprinter and jumper during his school days. Unfortunately,…
Read MoreC. Angela, 23 grew up in a strict household since her mother, who is a single parent, would rarely let…
Read MoreKiera Elizabeth, 18 who is of Jamaican Indian mixed parentage was always bullied throughout her school days. “I was called…
Read MoreJ. Sujietra, the former head of RYTHM Foundation recalls the first time when she and other Foundation representatives approached government…
Read MoreS. Hema Preyaa always had difficulty with saying ‘no’ and often found herself in situations where she was forced to…
Read MoreC. Morgana, 20 grew up at an orphanage in Puchong, Selangor, after losing her father at the age of six.…
Read MoreAfter finishing secondary education, S. Sasitharan began to look for a job but life in Killinochi, Sri Lanka post the…
Read MoreS. Yuvarani, 20, never used to care about her appearance or her clothes. Then, she enrolled in the Maharani programme…
Read MoreFormer Maharani trainer A.Chandra Mohan, 54 recalls meeting angry, disgruntled teenagers at the Maharani camps where he used to conduct…
Read MoreKulatheswary, 36 from Chulipuram a village in Jaffna, Sri Lanka is married to Jeganathan, 40 a daily wage earner who…
Read MoreP. Vilasini was 17 years old when she first attended the Maharani camp held at Cameron Highlands, Pahang. “The exposure…
Read MoreKok Meng and his son Hahn, 13, have been actively involved in Care2Run’s Foundation Programme, which has been specially designed…
Read MoreFootprints mentor Jerrica Fatima Ann’s first meeting with her mentee Sri Priya, 16 was awkward. Jerrica spoke confidently in English…
Read MoreTeacher S. Jegatheesan, 53, has been among the first to be involved in the Maharani camps, during its initial days…
Read MoreC. Jinesyah, 23 had always wanted to volunteer for a worthy cause but did not get the opportunity until she…
Read MoreThenesh Madhavi was born into a poor family in Kunchankaladdi village in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. With five daughters, her father…
Read MoreAs a Maharani camp facilitator P. Mathiarasi, 27 spends a lot of time with the girls who attend the camps.…
Read MoreManasi Prasanna Karandikar, 39 from Mumbai, India has always been passionate about teaching young children. Pursuing her interest, she joined…
Read MoreThe stories she heard from her seniors in school motivated R. Pennarasi now 17, to participate in a Maharani camp…
Read MoreSocial entrepreneur Hejang Misao is an advocate of female empowerment. He strongly believes that girls must be given equal opportunity…
Read MoreClutching her examination results, P. Thenmoley could not stop smiling. “I couldn’t believe that I managed to score A in…
Read MoreSocial activist Mangles looks back at her days with the girls from the Maharani programme, back in 2017 when she…
Read MoreDuring a visit to a rural village in Saijang, Manipur, social activist Hejang Misao, 41 gathered a few children in…
Read MoreDarkness has been a way of life for Gloria Amoah, 19 (right) who was born visually impaired. A beneficiary of…
Read MoreWhether he was forced to join the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or because he truly believed in the…
Read MoreP. Harshini, 18, lost her mother at the tender age of eight. She was raised single-handedly by her father who…
Read MoreUsha, 51, starts her day as early as 4 am, as she prepares breakfast and lunch for her family. Armed…
Read MoreM. Mageswari, 44 was working in a factory when found out about the free tailoring lessons offered by the Association…
Read MoreSocial entrepreneur Thirupathi Perumal has been working towards helping the local community in rural Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu, India…
Read More“I used to be ashamed of my dark skin and wished I was fairer so that I would not be…
Read MoreC. Abineshwary, who is now 21 years-old, shares her experience participating in a Maharani camp in Kepong, Selangor seven years…
Read MoreWater for Africa (WFA) was started by an Australian couple who after witnessing the sanitation and water issues in Tanzania,…
Read MoreThe World Health Organization estimates that four per cent of all deaths in the world are caused by diseases resulting…
Read MoreMy journey with Taarana began in 2016. I teach children with special needs in Basic Academic, Lower Academic and Pre-vocational…
Read MoreAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders that begin early in childhood and last throughout a…
Read MoreIsha was eight years old when she began to exhibit feminine tendencies. She preferred to play with dolls and other…
Read MoreMikhail Raul, 17 has Asperger’s syndrome, a type of autism spectrum disorder that affects communication and social skills. Despite his…
Read MorePoonam Deshmukh, 20, has always been fascinated by cars and promised herself that she will own a car one day.…
Read MoreThiruppathi Perumal was 25 years old when he was awarded the Sadguru Gnanananda Fellowship, which was funded by RYTHM Foundation…
Read MoreAt the age of 13, D. Pragathi from Chengalpet district in South India, realised that she is a woman trapped…
Read MoreT. Sivakumari, 40 poured hot tea into the small cups in front of her before placing them on a tray.…
Read MoreKalyani Pathak, 21, comes from a poor farmer’s family in Jaigaon village, a perennially drought stricken hamlet in the state…
Read MoreThe Desa Mentari low-cost flats in Sunway, Selangor has been in the news for many years, for all the wrong…
Read More“If you were to ask any of my teachers about me, they will tell you how obedient I was in…
Read MoreSocial stigma and discrimination against people with HIV continues to be the main concern for those who champion their rights…
Read MoreFor the past one year, siblings Aravind, 12, Yuktisha, 10, Tashaliny, 8 and Hashiny, 5, could only watch with envy…
Read MoreRadeesh, 24, squatted on the slightly damp soil, his fingers lovingly checking if the brinjals in his garden are ripe…
Read MoreHilary worked as a driver for a local Member of Parliament, but it was not a job that provided steady…
Read MoreWhen Yu Yann who at the age of nearly three did not speak, her mother took her to the doctor…
Read MoreSales manager Zoeb Gulam Abbas, 40 was brimming with pride as he and his wife Zarina Shabbir, 38 watched their…
Read MoreEvery week, teacher Azizah Begum Mohd Ismail has to turn away young girls who come to see her, asking to…
Read MoreMathematics teacher G. Nadarajah used to have a headache handling the discipline of the students in the school, especially with…
Read MoreWorking as a labourer in Sg Kurda oil palm plantation with six mouths to feed, S. Tamilthasan knows his financial…
Read MoreAs the first-born child, Roshan’s birth was very much awaited and welcomed by the families from both sides. He was…
Read MoreHaving been with the Maharani programme for four years, Shamita is confident that she is inching closer to her dream…
Read MoreIn 2012, the Global Partnership for Education estimated that 61 million children across the globe do not attend schools. A…
Read MoreMost of the students in SJKT Kalaivaani, in the state of Kedah, Malaysia come from poverty-stricken families. For most parents,…
Read MoreCharvinder Kaur, 15, our Maharani Programme participant from the small town of Sungai Siput, Perak, in Malaysia, aspires to be…
Read MoreThere are over 5,000 hearing impaired and visually challenged children in the Central Region of Ghana who live in isolation,…
Read MoreKajal Ahiwale has broken all barriers to inch closer to achieving her dream of becoming a police officer. She comes…
Read MoreT.T. Elavasari from Sungai Siput, a small town in the state of Perak in Malaysia is passionate about dancing. Her…
Read More“My name is Sharon Panimalar and I grew up in Rawang, a quiet town located just outside of Kuala Lumpur.…
Read MoreElga Thomas was born in Wayanad district of Kerala in the farming village of Karakkamala. The youngest of three children,…
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