SHWETTA KATTI
I love this story that has recently hit the news. In fact,
this week (month, year), I relish in stories like this as I think we need to hear
more of them in our news media. Let's hear it for some positivity and hope in a time that's in short supply. Newsweek recently named Shwetta Katti one of
the 25 young women under 25 to watch. This is due to the fact that in her
short years on this planet, her life’s journey has encompassed more
vicissitudes than most, and to date, she is mightily prevailing.
Shwetta grew up in a makeshift room above a brothel in the
red light district of Mumbai. She was sexually abused at 12, suffered abuse at
the hands of an alcoholic stepfather (whom she always thought was
her real father) and lived in poverty with her mother, who throughout her
childhood was her only beacon of real hope. On top of that, she later discovered that
her best friend who lived next door was really her half sister by her
biological father. From all angles, it was not an easy upbringing or one any child should endure. But, her mother, the one stable force in her life, was
determined like most, to give her a better life.
Things took a positive turn when Shwetta met a charity worker for an organization
called Kranti that works with children in red light districts of India. With
the help and support of her mother, Shwetta moved into Kranti and began healing
psychologically and mentally through the aid of workers at the charity. From
there she began to flourish, throwing herself into her studies, giving speeches
to other sex workers and their children and began learning English in hopes of
one day attending an American University - an unlikely dream for most children
born into the Mumbai red light district. To date, she has applied to colleges and
received admission offers from three universities, including Barnard, in the hopes of studying psychology (she also plays guitar; an underachiever she is not).
Do all stories such as this have a happy ending? Of course
not. Sadly the world does not always work that way and many children are not able to escape their deplorable conditions (and trust me that is often why I cannot even engage in the news when it comes on TV). But it is important for us
as a society to hear about stories such as this where people find a way out of
abject conditions through the help of family (let’s hear it for mothers, shall
we) and strangers dedicated to sheer altruism, not to mention charities such as
Kranti for their dedication to improving the lives of children around the
world. Makes you realize we all could be doing a hell of a lot more.
Happy Friday.