For Swati Mukherjee, an English teacher at Dakshini Prayash, joining the school represented “the light at the end of the tunnel” at a particularly difficult time in her life. After losing her father and being bedridden for a year, she lost a lot of opportunities and was at a very low point in her life. However, she encountered a member of management at Dakshini Prayash who would often talk about the school with her. She asked him if she could go to the school, allowing her to join the family in 2011.

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Dakshini Prayash helped her experience all of those ambitions that she had. An avid writer, Swati was given the opportunity to write scripts for cultural events and could teach students at the school English. Even though Dakshini Prayash doesn’t have Class 9 or 10, the tight-knit nature of the community meant that the learning and relationships continued for her. Swati referred to the students as her children, and she is unable to simply “leave her children in the middle”, continuing to teach them even after students have passed out of Class 8. 

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Swati is unmarried, so her involvement is fully with the school. Dakshini Prayash is her home, and has given her “shelter that helped emerge from a stagnant phase of life” that she was previously living. In fact, Swati’s love for the school is evident through her desire to work long hours when possible. Although she’s been there for a startling 11 years, she has no plans of leaving, and hopes to continue to contribute to the journey of sustainable growth that Dakshini Prayash has been increasingly successful with.

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