PUNIT ASTHANA
Founder & President
I was born in a simple family in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Having lost my father at a very early age of ten, I was brought up by my single mother – a visionary and a role model for me. Growing up in extreme hardships where we had to really struggle to earn our living, education for me was a far-fetched idea. The existential fight we fought laid the strong foundation and urge to work for the cause that I am doing today.
I grew up seeing my mother as the only support system in my family, which helped shape my ideas. However, it was not at all easy for my mother, just like every other women in a small place like Agra. I have witnessed the discrimination and exploitation that girls and women in my region go through in every phase of their lives. Although I completed my education at an early age and established an accomplished advertisement firm, I believed that life has some greater purpose set for everyone and for me. I realized it was the service that I wanted to offer to the deprived girls and women in my society.