When Sangeeta Maurya began teaching at a village school in Raebareli, fewer than 30 of 130 enrolled children attended regularly. Confronting crumbling infrastructure and empty classrooms, she pushed past her initial despair because "if I hadn’t stayed, I would never have learnt the true meaning of teaching.”

Her day starts before dawn. By 8 AM, she greets barefoot students arriving with resilient smiles. After school, she visits homes knocking door to door to plead, reason, and encourage parents to prioritize education over child labor. Within just a month, attendance surged to 100.

Inside the classroom, she tosses aside passive lectures in favor of folk tales, riddles, songs, and role-play where students joyfully become doctors, teachers, and police officers. “When the children laugh and play, they learn without even realizing it,” she reflects.

Beyond academics, her compassion shines: she shares midday meals with students, keeps basic medicines on hand during seasonal fevers, and even adapts food when cultural beliefs suggest rice may worsen colds.

Balancing her roles as mother, wife, and educator, Sangeeta never lets personal challenges show in front of her pupils. Ultimately, she sees teaching as a mission not just books, but building trust, sparking curiosity, and giving children hope. Today, laughter lines her once-empty classrooms a reward beyond measure.