When two sisters stopped attending school for nearly two weeks, their teacher, Mamta, knew something was wrong.

Mamta teaches at a government residential school for girls in Uttar Pradesh, India. Concerned by their absence, she repeatedly tried to contact the family. When those attempts were unsuccessful, she invited the girls’ grandmother to the school.

What the grandmother shared was alarming. She revealed that the girls were at risk of being trafficked across the border and alleged that their mother was involved.

But the grandmother knew she could turn to the school for help.

She had previously attended parent meetings organized through Aarohini, a girls’ empowerment initiative of Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF), Mona Foundation’s partner in India since 2008. Through these meetings, she had developed a trusting relationship with the teachers and confidence that they would act in her granddaughters’ best interests.

“I knew the teachers cared about my granddaughters,” she recalls. “I believed they would help us, and they did.”

With the grandmother’s consent, a written complaint was filed. Mamta immediately contacted the Aarohini team, whose counselor coordinated with police and child protection authorities to intervene.

Working together, they brought the sisters to safety before the suspected trafficking could take place. Legal proceedings were initiated, and the girls were placed in their grandmother’s care. They have since returned to school and resumed their education.

For Mamta, the experience reinforced a responsibility she sees as central to teaching.

“We need to see our roles beyond classrooms,” she says. “When the girls stopped coming to the school, I knew something was wrong. Regular contact with families helped us recognize this and we were able to act quickly and ensure the girls’ safety.”

That commitment is at the heart of Aarohini’s approach.

Through teacher training, girls’ empowerment education, and engagement with families, SHEF works to build school communities where girls are recognized as equal, capable individuals with the right to make decisions about their own lives and futures.

In 2026, Aarohini is bringing this approach to 282 government residential schools for girls and 100 coeducational upper-primary schools. Its influence is also expanding: Uttar Pradesh’s state education body approved the Aarohini curriculum for use in government secondary schools across the state.

Through its long-term partnership with SHEF, Mona Foundation supports this locally led work to strengthen girls’ education, confidence, and agency.

For these two sisters, the difference began with a teacher who noticed their absence and a grandmother who trusted the school enough to share her concerns. The relationships built over time enabled a family, educators, and child protection authorities to act together when it mattered most.



Today, the sisters are safe, back in school, and continuing to learn and build their futures.