They Boldly Go Beyond Classrooms To Support Kids

Hyderabad: Some women step away from established careers and gradually build quiet forms of social impact through education and community work. For Renuka Ramwani, the shift began when she left her legal career to raise her young children. “I had just begun practising as a lawyer at the High Court then, but I spent the entire day worrying about who would look after my three- and five-year-old children. Though it was my dream job, I eventually quit and chose a profession with more stable hours,” she told Deccan Chronicle.

After spending time at home, she said the experience of raising her children led her towards teaching. “When I spent more time with my children, I realised how much care young minds need and decided to become a teacher. Twenty years later, I see my students grown up and thanking me for guiding them, while my own children are well settled. I still cook, manage household chores and finances at home, and this gives me far more fulfilment than what mattered most to me 20 years ago,” Renuka said.

She later started a daycare centre at the school where she works, where staff members look after the children of working women.

For others, involvement in community work began much earlier. Yuva K, co-founder of Chotuu ki Education and a pharmaceutical company employee, said her motivation came from observing the influence her grandfather had on people around him.

“When my grandfather passed away, many people who were not even our relatives came to pay their respects. I was puzzled and asked my parents how they knew him. They told me he had selflessly helped many people, which is why they had come to honour him. That was when I realised how quietly he had touched so many lives,” she said. “That moment stayed with me and taught me that we should live in a way that touches lives beyond our own families. ” She later worked with NGOs in Chennai before moving to Hyderabad for employment. Seeing children living on the streets, she initially attempted to place them in shelter homes. When she was unable to find one, she collaborated with a colleague to establish a non-profit organisation. The organisation now supports 196 underprivileged children through its learning centres. “I can devote time to the NGO mainly on weekends, while a team of teachers works with the children every day. I work during the rest of the week, but weekends are when I feel truly fulfilled, as I can use my creativity to the fullest at the NGO,” she said.

Reflecting on her early experiences, she added: “In the beginning, I felt deeply emotional seeing children begging on the streets. Over time, however, I realised that sympathy alone is not enough — what truly matters is creating meaningful change through empathy and action. ”