Impact Stories - Wings to the underprivileged

Ridalin Lyngdoh Lyngkho was born in Meghalaya in the north-east region of India. Her mother died when she was two months old and her father died when she was six. After the loss of both parents, her relatives adopted Ridalin and her brother and sister. She grew up in an environment where selling children for labor and prostitution was a common practice. Her own brother worked in a coal mine.

“If I had stayed back in Meghalaya I would have been married at a young age whereas here I got an education and now I feel that I can achieve something in life.”

Ridalin came to the Bangalore Ashram in 2009 and joined the Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth school. She showed signs of being a brilliant student since her early days in school. Her talents were recognized and nurtured by the teachers. Apart from studies, Ridalin also excelled in extra-curricular activities. She joined Taekwondo coaching in school and went on to represent Karnataka at National competitions. Ridalin passed her SSC exam in 2015 with a distinction score of 84.8%. She joined Amrit Bharathi Higher Secondary School in Mangalore and completed her 12th Standard again with distinction, this time with a higher score of 91.5%.

Ridalin aspires to become an Architect one day and to give back to the community that supported her in tough times. Her aim is to eradicate smoking, drinking, and child marriage. When asked about how education has changed her life, she says, “If I had stayed back in Meghalaya I would have been married at a young age whereas here I got an education and now I feel that I can achieve something in life.”

Ridalin has great potential to make a difference and set an example for children from her community. She has already secured admission in Sri Sri University (SSU) in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, having secured the required score in The National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) exam.