I like beekeeping; I can run a business, earn money and study at the same time.

Anita Kumari, Beekeeper

Anita Kumari is a beekeeper in Bochaha village, Muzzafarpur district, Bihar. When Anita was young, her parents did not want her to go to school, but Anita wanted to go to school so much that she had to find a way to pay for her education. Anita saw men in her village beekeeping and decided to give it a try. She saved enough money from teaching other children to buy two queen bees and begin her beekeeping business. Today, Anita has over 100 boxes of bees; she makes her own honey, goes to college on her bicycle and is still only 17 years old.

Education helps us to understand how we are all linked to one another and to nature. It helps us to see our responsibilities and voice our rights.

Suryamani Bhagat, Forest Activist

Suryamani Bhagat is an activist with 'Save the forests of Jharkhand movement'; she is the founder of 'Torang', a tribal rights and cultural center in Kotari Village, Ranchi district in Jharkhand. Suryamani takes children for nature walks so that they can learn how to save trees. She works to save the forest where she lives and preserve her tribal culture with her community. Suryamani has a BA in Sanskrit and she is 26 years old.

Education helps you to see what is wrong with the world and gives you the confidence to question it.

Bhanwari Malavat, Police Constable

Bhanwari Malavat is a police constable in Bikaner District, Rajasthan. Bhanwari was married when she was a child, but she still went to school. Although Bhanwari failed and repeated a school year, she persisted. One day at school she heard about the famous policewoman Kiran Bedi. Bhanwari thought she would like to be a police officer too - she thought that in this way, she could begin to change the world. Bhanwari is 24 years old and is in charge of the 'women's desk' in the police station where she works. There she listens to the problems of women in her district and tries to help as much as she can.

Education has made me who I am today - it was because I went to school that I was chosen to train as an archer. Now I compete internationally, I travel the world.

Laxmirani Majhi, Archer

Laxmirani Majhi is an archer who competes in international level competitions for India. When Laxmi was young, her family knew the most important thing was for Laxmi to go to school; many girls in Laxmi's village did not go to school. Today, Laxmi has won so many archery competitions that she has been awarded the position of a cadet by the Tata Sports Academy, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Laxmi grew up in Bagula village, Ghatshila district in Jharkhand and she is 17 years old.

When I was young, I used to collect water for other people. Today I have running water in my house, a scooter to take me to work and a job in a Government office.

Premlata Verma, Accountant

Premlata Verma is an accountant in the office of the Superintendent of Police in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. Premlata is the supervisor of her section and oversees the work of four people - though she is the youngest employee in her section. When Premlata was young, she carried water for her neighbours to earn money to pay for her school supplies and look after her old grandmother and younger sister. Today, she has running water in her home, a Government job and a Masters in Economics. Premlata lives in Jhabua and she is 28 years old.

Even the dreams that I never dreamed or expected came true because I went to school.

Jyoti Rose Tirkey, Newsreader, Radio presenter & Folk-singer

Jyoti Rose Tirkey is a newsreader with Doordarshan and a radio presenter with All India Radio. She has her own radio show, and in her free time she sings folk music with an orchestra. Jyoti grew up in a very poor family; her parents did not believe that singing could be a profession. But Jyoti loved to sing, and believed in her talent; she also believed education would give her the confidence to win a job where she could use her skills. Today, Jyoti is known across Jharkhand for her singing voice and her radio show. Jyoti grew up in Lohardaga District, Jharkhand and she is 30 years old.

If there is a tragedy in your life, education gives you the ability to deal with the challenge and change your life.

Roopali Jain Ruby, Beauty Parlour Owner

Roopali Jain 'Ruby' owns a beauty parlour in Guna, Madhya Pradesh. Ruby decided to open her own parlour when her father died, because there was no one else who could look after her family. Ruby, who had always been artistic, decided to study in a parlour to become a beautician and at the same time she studied late into the night to complete grade 12 and then her college degree by correspondence. Ruby took a loan from a bank to start her business. Today, Ruby has her own beauty parlour and people come from far away to visit Ruby's parlour because they say, 'she has magic in her hands'. Ruby is 26 years old.

Education gives you the power of expression; it gives you the confidence to tell people what you feel.

Krishna Bagel, Government Primary School Teacher

Krishna Bagel is a primary school teacher in a Government School in Tikaria Village, Mandla District, Madhya Pradesh. Krishna was the only girl in her village to complete her grade 12 education; all the other girls of her age dropped out of school because the secondary school was too far away to walk to. Krishna grew up knowing she had a lot to prove, and so she volunteered as night school teacher in a Government program to educate adults. Krishna did this job so well, that she was offered the job of the Government School Teacher in her village. Krishna is 25 years old.

I could never sit still - I always wanted to see new place, do new things, learn new skills. So many women are restless because they are limited by boundaries. When we go to school, these boundaries begin to fade.

Durga Bai, Healthworker

Durga Bai is a health worker with Arth, an organization in the tribal belt of Udaipur District, Rajasthan. Durga travels by herself, by bus, to 22 villages every month and talks to 2,000 women everyday about how to improve their health and the health of their children. In the villages Durga visits, women are not educated and many girls do not go to school. Durga explains health concepts in a local dialect, ensuring that as many children as she meets are vaccinated, visit medical centers and go to school. Durga is 27 years old.

When you go to school and do well, the world forgets what you cannot do and starts seeing what you can.

Anuradha Rathore, Medical Student

Anuradha Rathore is studying medicine in Jodhpur Medical College, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. When Anu was young she contracted Polio - and although it affected the way she walks it has not slowed Anu down in any other way. Anu has studied very hard and won a place at medical college under a reservation for students with physical disabilities. Anu failed once at school and she still finds college challenging, but she wants to be a doctor so she can prevent other children from contracting Polio. Anu is from Jaipur, Rajasthan and she is 19 years old.

You find diamonds in the dirtiest places, and let me tell you this: No Work is Dirty Work! With my junkyard, I have created a business that has changed my family's life.

Kiran Devi, Junkyard Dealer

Kiran Devi is a junkyard dealer and serial entrepreneur; she lives in Patna, Bihar. Kiran decided to open a junkyard business in her backyard and with a loan from a micro-credit organization called Nidaan, she bought a fleet of rickshaws and hired nine men to work for her. She also sells saris and cow-dung cakes as cooking fuel. Now Kiran's children go to school and Kiran's businesses support the entire family. Kiran grew up in Bapunagar village, Patna District, Bihar. Kiran is 24 years old.

Dreams are left unfulfilled if you are dependent. Independence comes from being educated.

Shabnam Aara, Small Loans Manager

Shabnam Aara is a small loans manager in Cashpor a micro-finance organization in Benares, Uttar Pradesh. Cashpor was looking for women who were educated and willing to travel alone to villages to talk to other women. Shabnam took up the challenge, and although she got blisters on her feet from walking so many kilometres, she persisted - Shabnam was able to convince many women to take loans and change their lives. Today, Shabnam has been promoted to be the branch manager of Cashpor, where she oversees an office of seven men. Shabnam is 26 years old and she grew up in Arhora Village, Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh.

I know what it is like when you want to study and can't. When I finally convinced my father that I could go to school, I was the only girl in a class of 26 boys.

Madhuri Kumari, Village Leader

Madhuri Kumari is an elected village leader in Fakirpuri village, Bahraich District, Uttar Pradesh. When Madhuri was young, she used to walk 6 kilometres to school, through the thick forest, and she walked barefoot because she did not have any shoes. As Madhuri grew, she knew she wanted to stay in school, so she did odd jobs for her neighbours to be able to pay for her school supplies. Madhuri was so helpful to everyone that people soon asked her to be their leader. When Madhuri stood for elections, she won and she was only 21 years old. Since then, Madhuri has been busy building roads, installing a drainage system in the village, and adding new classrooms to her local Government school. Madhuri is 27 years old.

I have learned one thing: if you are educated, there are many choices in front of you, you do not have to follow, you can create your own road and then others will follow you.

Tehseen Bano, Girls Hostel Warden

Tehseen works as a girls' hostel warden in Kasturba Gandhi Girls Hostel (Mahila Samakhya) in Guruwa, Gaya District, Bihar. Tehseen looks after 70 girls who have come to stay at the hostel to be able to complete their education. Tehseen is able to convince the girls' parents that the hostel education is important, because she herself struggled to go to school. She taught other children to pay for her own education and persuaded her relatives, everyday, to let her go to school. After college, Tehseen approached Mahila Samakhya for the position of a hostel warden where she is today. Tehseen grew up in Mohala Purab Sarai, Gaya, Bihar. She is 24 years old.

Education is the foundation that makes you a strong pillar. Just the way a building cannot stand if the foundation is not firm, without education it is hard to stand tall.

Sandhya Sherring, Computer Trainer

Sandhya Sherring is a computer trainer and she owns her own computer institute where she teaches children to use computers. When Sandhya finished school she could not find a job where she lives, so she went to Delhi in search of more opportunities. But in Delhi, everywhere Sandhya went, she was asked if she knew 'computers'. Sandhya returned home and enrolled in a computer institute, and she learned so fast that soon she began to teach other young people about computers. Sandhya then took a loan and opened her own institute in the same town where earlier she had thought there were no opportunities. Sandhya is 23 years old and her institute is in Babina village, a cantonment area in Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh.