Shabnam Ramaswamy
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Shabnam Ramaswamy | |
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| Born | 1 July Katna, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Director of NGO Street Survivors India, Interior Designer |
| Known for | Street Survivors India |
| Spouse | Jugnu Ramaswamy |
| Children | Kaushik Ramaswamy, Alia Ramaswamy |
Shabnam Ramaswamy is a social worker and interior designer in India. She is best known for her NGO Street Survivors India (SSI) situated in Katna, Murshidabad in West Bengal, which operates education and economic development programs for local villages.[1][2][3]
Early life
Shabnam was born in the village of Katna, Kolkata. She studied at La Martinière Calcutta.
She joined Mira Nair’s Salaam Balak, where she rescued runaways at Delhi station. A senior journalist, Jugnu Ramaswamy, approached her with the intention of making a film on her work. After making the film, the two married.[4][5]
Career
Street Survivors India
Street Survivors India was formed in 1990 in Delhi to provide learning opportunities for working street children. It operated Jagriti school, which was also a kitchen and night shelter. It was demolished in a government "clean-up drive" to reclaim commercial space.
SSI launched the Jagriti Gramin Library project with assistance from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. This program runs eleven libraries in villages near Katna. Each library was envisaged as a nodal point and support centre for children from an additional ten surrounding villages. For a minimal fee, students can read or borrow books related to their school subjects, as well as access works of reference and fiction.[6]
Jagriti Public School
Ramaswamy and her husband moved to Katna in West Bengal in 1999 to establish another school with the same name. Katna is in the southwest part of Murshidabad district and is among the poorest areas in the state.
Recognition
- 2013: Courage Award from Women Have Wings.
References
- ^ Dec 13, Anahita Mukherji / TNN /; 2010; Ist, 03:24. "Bengal's lady Tom Sawyer teaches criminals a lesson | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Changing lives of the people". Deccan Herald. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "What Happens When Eight Pairs Of Rural Artisans And Urban Designers Come Together?". Verve Magazine. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "How Shabnam Ramaswamy Is Rebuilding Women And Children's Lives In Kolkata". femina.in. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ Datta, Sravasti (12 August 2019). "How one woman single-handedly runs a school and a women's collective in West Bengal". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "A battered fairy who returned with a magic wand for women of her village". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021.