In Mumbai, 12.4 million people (half the population) live in slum colonies. It’s not easy being a kid in a slum in Mumbai. Life is tough. Your parents work day and night but can barely make both ends meet. And on the other hand, the goons and slum lords seem to have all the time, money and respect. Kids being impressionable look up to criminals as role models. The few of them that have ambition, aspire for nothing more than contract labour and househelps. Naturally, school doesn’t become a priority for these kids. These kids either never go to school, or drop out pre-maturely.

Our objective was to get slum kids and their parents to start believing in the power of education and increase enrolments that were stagnating.

This idea was executed over a week in three prominent slums across Mumbai. But the ground work started much earlier. The teachers of Door Step School sat together and identified the best academic performers in school. Another team identified the streets that would be named. Metal road signs were commissioned. Permissions were sought from community leaders. The date was fixed and the entire slum community was given advance invitations.

Then the 9 road naming ceremonies took place. The streets were decorated. Elevated stages were built for the chief guests to address the audience. And influential people like a famous TV star, a member of the legislative assembly and a senior member of the women and children ministry arrived to congratulate the kids and inaugurate the streets. To loud cheers the roads were ‘named’, refreshments were served, speeches were made and the community was engaged.