More than a decade ago, Poonam Sharma’s world shattered as she faced the unthinkable. She watched helplessly as her children were asked to leave in the middle of class, right before their friends.

When Poonam approached the principal, she poured out her heart about their dire situation — three months of unpaid fees and the looming threat of another three — hoping for compassion.

Instead, her pleas were met with rejection, forcing her children to abandon their education mid-year. As she walked home with them, tears streamed down her face – a mix of humiliation and heartbreak. Her children, innocent and unaware of the struggles that had led to this moment, could only sense their mother’s pain.

“I cried in front of my children and felt miserable. It was so humiliating and disheartening for me,” recalls Poonam, who hails from Tajnagar in the Gurugram district of Haryana.

The root of their plight lay in her husband’s sudden job loss at the Delhi airport, leaving them adrift in a sea of uncertainty. “Without any notice, my husband was forced to give up his job. At that time, my children were studying in good international schools. But I had to enrol them in a less expensive school as we searched for job opportunities,” she tells The Better India.

With education only up to Class 8 and the responsibility of running the household thrust upon her, she felt the crushing weight of despair, knowing that her dreams for her children’s future were slipping away.

Before this personal turmoil, Poonam was the quintessential village girl, yet to discover her full potential. But this adversity became the spark that ignited her passion for change.

Today, the 44-year-old entrepreneur runs her own food business, selling millet-based namkeen, laddoos, chocolates, chips, french fries, and more. Her products are in demand for weddings, birthday parties, and corporate gifting. They have also gained popularity internationally, reaching customers in the USA and Canada.

From humiliation to hope

After her husband lost his job, Poonam initially sought solace in stitching, working tirelessly to make ends meet. Around the same........

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