Rahul Malakar, a resident of Asha Vihar Colony, Jharia, Dhanbad, Jharkhand

Meet Rahul Malakar, a resident of Asha Vihar Colony, Jharia, Dhanbad, Jharkhand whose transformative journey has encouraged the lives of children residing inside the colony to pursue their dreams. He was awarded “His Holiness Dalai Lama-Sasakawa Scholarship” in 2017 given by the Sasakawa-India Leprosy Foundation. He was in the 3rd batch.

His story is inspiring as he comes from a leprosy colony. Both of his parents are affected by leprosy. Limited resources and stigma didn’t stop Rahul from pursuing his career in Hotel Management. With the help of the scholarship, he completed his 4-year degree from the Heritage Institute of Hotel and Tourism, a prestigious institute in Agra. Now he is working as a steward at Holland American Cruise earning in dollars. He earns 800 USD which is approx 66,624 INR fulfilling all the needs and care of his family. His family consists of his mother, father, and his 3 siblings. He is the eldest and the first-generation learner in the family.

  “Thank you S-ILF for supporting children like us who are staying in Leprosy colonies. It’s because of the S-ILF Scholarship only children are completing their schooling in the hope that they can achieve their dreams by getting a Scholarship”.  I am able to fulfill my dream because of S-ILF Scholarship only”. – Rahul