Jui Salunkhe

In a modest neighbourhood in Pune, where dreams are often weighed down by reality, Jui Salunkhe dared to imagine a life painted in bold, vibrant hues. Her father drove an auto-rickshaw, her mother managed the household, and Jui? She dreamed of being an entrepreneur.

At 14, she discovered her passion for beauty and wellness, a calling she could no longer ignore. But talent without training is like paint without a brush. That’s when Salaam Bombay Foundation entered her life. Through our Beauty and Wellness programme, Jui learned more than just the art of makeup – she learned the craft of confidence.

Armed with skills and a starter kit, she began her journey. She interned at local salons, earning a modest stipend while mastering her craft. Even when setbacks knocked her down, she kept moving forward. She competed in Dolphin Tanki 2.0. However, she walked away as the runner-up. But losing didn’t defeat her, but it defined her.

Armed with determination, Jui honed her vision and returned stronger for the third edition of Dolphin Tanki. Her tenacity paid off! She won the Gold Prize and secured funding of ₹50,000.

In time, an opportunity revealed itself! Jui had been serving clients at their homes when she heard about a beauty salon that was closing down (the owner was stepping away to focus on her health). Seizing the moment, Jui quickly rented the space and transformed it into her own makeup studio, Aura Aesthetic Wellness, in Pune. Since then, her earnings have tripled. Today, her journey has come full circle as she mentors the next generation of dreamers at Salaam Bombay Foundation, inspiring them to pursue their ambitions.

Jui Salunkhe didn’t just learn how to do makeup. She learned how to craft her destiny, one brushstroke at a time.

Srushti Lens

In the heart of Khar’s slums, where space is a luxury and financial hardship is a constant, Srushti refused to let her circumstances frame her future. At just 16, she was not just dreaming of a better life. She was building it, one photograph at a time.

Her journey began when she enrolled in the Media Academy at Salaam Bombay Foundation in class 7, a decision that would change everything. What started as a classroom activity quickly revealed a hidden talent. With every click of the shutter, she discovered a skill that could offer her more than just artistic expression. It could offer her a livelihood.

Her parents, despite their limited means, supported her every step of the way. Her father worked in hospital pathology and her mother was a school housekeeper. Their encouragement was her foundation, but the tools to transform her passion into a career came from the training and mentorship she received at the academy.

Salaam Bombay Foundation gave her the opportunity to join the Entrepreneurship Incubator programme. Unlike many who wait years to turn their interests into income, Srushti made the leap in just two months. The business skills she learnt at the Entrepreneurship Incubator, particularly the SWOT Analysis, gave her the confidence to launch her own photography business. She was no longer just a student. She was an entrepreneur.

She began offering professional photography services, covering product shoots, interiors, maternity portraits, street photography, fashion, and events. With her first earnings of ₹2,000, she proved that talent, when given the right platform, could be turned into opportunity.

But she was not just in it for financial survival. She was in it to change lives, hers and her family’s. Her real breakthrough came at Dolphin Tanki, a seed-funding platform by Salaam Bombay Foundation in partnership with NMIMS Mumbai. There, she worked on lighting, a critical part of any professional shoot. It was this moment of expertise that finally convinced her family. They saw that photography was not just a hobby but a skill that could pull them out of poverty.

Her ultimate dream is not just to take photographs but to build a full-fledged studio within the next decade. She envisions a space where she can not only create but also provide jobs to others, including other students and alumni from Salaam Bombay Foundation.

Most importantly, she wants to give her family a home beyond their cramped 8x8 quarters in a slum. A place where dignity is not a luxury but a given.

Inspired by her photography coach, who showed her that passion could become a profession, Srushti is now setting the course for her own success. She is not waiting for the world to change. She is capturing it, reshaping it, and reframing it, one shot at a time.

Her story is proof that, with the right support from Salaam Bombay Foundation dreams can turn into reality. Today, Srushti is not just a photographer. She is a changemaker, using her lens to redefine what is possible for young women like her, on a path to financial independence.

Pooja

Joining our Beauty & Wellness course was just the first step for Pooja. She meant business. “Everyone is moving ahead in life. Why should my family be left behind?”

The enterprising young girl completed a course in Beauty and Wellness (sponsored by IYF) with flying colours and began offering her services within her community at competitive rates. But she wasn’t done. Pooja meant to grow as much as she could. Her determination won her a place in our entrepreneurship incubator where she was mentored by MBA students.

With the help of her mentors, she developed an impressive business plan and presented it to the judges at Dolphin Tanki – a platform built for nurturing entrepreneurship amongst adolescents living in urban slums.

At the presentation, Pooja continued to prove that her interests went far beyond beauty. She won over the judges with her answers and displayed a clear aptitude for business.

Her pitch earned her the funding support she needed to open her ‘Parlour-at-Home’ business. Pooja’s future has never looked better.

Rohit

The spark was lit at a young age. While Rohit dreamt of becoming a cop, his mind was filled with the robots he saw in cartoons. As much as he loved them, they were as real to him as unicorns and superheroes. It wasn’t until the 9th grade he saw the stuff of his imagination turn into reality.

While ‘Robotics,’ is still largely inaccessible to underprivileged children in India, IYF’s skills@school brought the programme to Rohit’s school, and a new dream was born. Despite not having access to the equipment and technology before, he began to display a proficiency that can only be born out of true love for the field. The programme also encouraged him to develop his critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Soon, he and a few of his classmates found themselves in an international robotics competitions culminating in the First Global Challenge, popularly referred to as ‘The Olympics of the Robotics World,’ which saw the participation of over 80 countries. The team won the Sophia Kovalevskaya Award for their journey, but their joy surpassed everyone else’s.

Rohit still beams at the memory. And does he still want to be a cop? “Yes!” he answers emphatically. But I want to do something with technology. Maybe I’ll join cyber security.”

Komal

When fifteen-year-old Komal’s sister recently got married, her parents became burdened with a large debt because of the loans for the wedding and the dowry.

Komal lives with her family of six people in a space not bigger than a typical bathroom in the US. Every day at dawn she carries water from the pump before making breakfast and lunch. She attends school from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm and then joins India Youth Fund’s Appliance Repair class where she is the only girl.

In her small, overcrowded home, the only light available had been broken for a long time. With her new skills, Komal repaired the fluorescent fixture and brought light into the home at night. She can now study for competitive exams to proceed to the tenth grade and dreams of attending college.

Komal says that the best thing about her job skills course is that she could show her father that girls are as capable as boys. She is proud of the fact that she mastered a skill traditionally reserved for males and showed her parents that she can accomplish anything she desires. She feels that her greatest achievement is changing her father’s views about girls. Girls are not burdens but assets.

Afsar

Afsar lives in a graveyard. His father tends the graves by day and the five-member family sleeps in a tin shack on the premises with no concrete walls, floor, or roof. Afsar often arrived at school hungry and unkempt.

Filled with shame about where he lived, he had no friends. Soon, Afsar fell into petty theft to help his family make ends meet.

All this changed when he enrolled in the India Youth Fund Cricket Academy. Today Afsar wakes up with a sense of purpose. He has found his calling in the game and it has become more than just a sport to him. The cricket ground was where Afsar had his first real conversation – with his coach. It is where he found himself. Afsar, the petty thief, became Afsar, the athlete.

The sport taught Afsar the value of a healthy lifestyle. Not only did he make friends, he learned discipline. Afsar has just finished the tenth grade and plans to go to college.

Aware that his parents can’t afford it, he is saving up for college with a position as an assistant coach in a local cricket club. His grit and determination have earned him respect and admiration. Afsar stands tall among his peers.