Rahul Koli

I had already accepted that I would not finish school. My family simply could not afford another term — there was no anger about it, just the quiet acceptance that this was how things were for people like us. I started looking for work to help at home.

Then the scholarship arrived. It came the day before I had decided to give up on school for good. I still remember the feeling — like someone had opened a door I thought was locked forever.

CEVF believed in me when I could not believe in myself. They covered my fees, my books, everything I needed. But more than that, they made me feel that my future mattered, that my dreams were not foolish.

Now I want to become a doctor. I want to be the person who helps a family the way CEVF helped mine. I want to pass on the door that was opened for me.