On the evening of 18th September 2025, I stood on a stage and accepted the Changemaker of the Year Award in Education.
What made it even more meaningful was being recognized as one of nine changemakers honoured at the Better India Showcase 2025. It was humbling to be in a room filled with extraordinary visionaries whose work is transforming millions of lives across India.
Read more about the Showcase here.
Starting With a Question
As the applause washed over me, the moment felt both surreal and deeply grounding.
Surreal, because when we began Dream a Dream 25 years ago, there was no master plan, no certainty of impact. Only a simple but powerful question:
What if every child, no matter their background, could have the chance to dream and thrive?
Grounding, because this journey has never been about me alone. It has always been about relationships, about shared vulnerability, about walking together.
The Journey Was Never Linear
These 25 years have not been a straight line of success. They’ve been messy. They’ve been filled with doubt, despair, and personal struggles I continue to carry even today.
And yet, there have also been unforgettable moments of clarity.
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Like the evening after a football session, when a young boy who had endured immense hardship looked at me and said: “Anna, today was the first time I felt free.”
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Or the nights when I lay awake wondering if I was strong enough, or if the work itself was strong enough to make a real difference.
Those questions never fully go away. They are part of me. And maybe that’s the point — the struggles, the uncertainties, and the brokenness sit right alongside the hope, the laughter, and the beauty.
What This Award Means
So this award is not an endpoint.
It is a reminder.
A reminder that the work continues. A reminder that even the smallest acts of dignity, a moment of laughter, or a few words of encouragement can carry unimaginable power.
And it is a reminder that Dream a Dream has never been a solo journey. It honors my co-founders, my colleagues, my family, my mentors, and the countless invisible hands that carried me through the years. Most of all, it honors the young people who have trusted us with their dreams.
The recognition through the Better India Showcase 2025 strengthens our shared vision:
A Thriving Life, For Every Child.
Not just survival. Not just opportunity. But a life of dignity, joy, and possibility.
To make this real, we must also change ourselves. We must challenge our apathy, confront our indifference, and dismantle our prejudices and biases. We must work to create a society and a planet truly worthy of young people — not just for today, but for the next seven generations.
The Work Continues
This award belongs to all the children who dared to hope.
It belongs to every person who held me when I stumbled.
It belongs to all of you who continue to believe that change is possible.
May this recognition ignite in us more kindness, more courage, and more imagination — not just in the programs we build, but in how we choose to live every single day.
Because in the end, this is not just about me. It is about every child who deserves not just to survive, but to thrive. In Gratitude!
