Sujata Bisnal grew up in a village near one of Godavari Biorefineries’ plants. Her father left when she was small, and she lived with her mother at her grandmother’s house. An uncle helped the family get by until an accident left him unable to work. After that, her mother and aunt took on daily-wage labour to keep the household running.

Sujata scored well in her Class 10 exams. But there was no money for more studies, and there was pressure from all around. As she saw it, she had two options: start working, or get married.

Then she met Samir Somaiya. He was moved by how determined she was, and he offered to pay for her education.

That one decision became Help A Child. Godavari Biorefineries started the programme with Somaiya Vidyavihar to do for many students what had been done for Sujata. From the beginning it was meant to be more than a cheque. The idea was to change one student’s life and, through them, their family and their village.

Since then the programme has made 11,554 scholarship awards worth ₹8.92 crore, reached more than 200 villages and built a network of over 4,000 alumni. Students also get help with spoken English, computers, personality development and job skills. For girls, the team works with parents and village communities so that college, not early marriage, becomes the expected next step.