Nationality Indian Known for Street Survivors India | Spouse(s) Jugnu Ramaswamy Name Shabnam Ramaswamy | |
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Born 1 July Katna, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India Occupation Director of NGO Street Survivors India, Interior Designer Children Kaushik Ramaswamy, Alia Ramaswamy | ||
Amazing Indians: The A B C of revolution Part 1
Shabnam Ramaswamy is a social worker and interior designer in India. She is best known for her NGO Street Survivors India (SSI) situated in Katna, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India, which operates multiple education and economic development programs for local villages.
Contents
- Amazing Indians The A B C of revolution Part 1
- Amazing Indians The A B C of revolution Part 2
- Early life
- Street Survivors India
- Jagriti Public School
- Recognition
- References
Amazing Indians: The A B C of revolution -Part 2
Early life
Shabnam was born in the village of Katna, Kolkata. She studied at La Martinière Calcutta.
Shabnam joined Mira Nair’s Salaam Balak, where she rescued runaways at Delhi station. A senior journalist, Jugnu Ramaswamy, approached her with the intention of making a film on her work. After making the film, the two married.
Street Survivors India
Street Survivors India formed in 1990 in Delhi to provide learning opportunities for working street children. It operated Jagriti school, which also served as a kitchen and night shelter. It was demolished in a government ‘cleanup drive’ to reclaim commercial space for commerce.
SSI launched the Jagriti Gramin Library project with assistance from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. This program runs eleven libraries in villages near Katna. Each library was envisaged as a nodal point and support centre for children from an additional ten surrounding villages. For a minimal fee, students can read or borrow books related to their school subjects, as well as access works of reference and fiction.
Jagriti Public School
Ramaswamy and her husband moved to Katna in West Bengal in 1999 to establish another school with the same name. Katna is in the southwest part of Murshidabad district and is among the poorest areas in the state.
Recognition
Received Courage Award (2013) from Women Have Wings.