Abandoned in a Delhi Slum, He Now Helps Girls Escape Child Marriage & Continue School

Jun 18, 2026, 09:00 PM

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation

Most children learn to walk at 2. He learned something else — how to survive hunger, violence, and fear. That survival became the blueprint of Ladli Foundation, built so others wouldn’t learn what he once had to endure. Today, it has reached 2.7 million lives.

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation

In 1988, Devendra Kumar was abandoned in a Delhi slum and left with his three-day-old sister in his arms. Raised by relatives who barely survived themselves, he was pushed into child labour at just 8. He sold balloons on the streets. Dodged exploitation. Navigated violence.

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation

In search of safety, he began volunteering with local community policing efforts. What started as survival gave him a sense of belonging. That was the first time he felt protected. But years later, the past returned through his sister.

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation

In 2007, he witnessed girls around him facing child marriage, dowry pressure, and exploitation. Realising that the same cycle was closing on his sister, he decided to fight back. And stopped it. That moment became a turning point.

In 2010, he founded Ladli Foundation to protect and empower vulnerable girls and communities facing the same fate he once escaped. At its core, the foundation bridges gaps most systems miss — education, menstrual hygiene, and preventing child marriages.

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation

One of its biggest interventions is the digital divide. In government schools where children had never touched a computer, Ladli Foundation set up labs, bringing digital education to over 1 lakh students.

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation

“I don’t think I would have continued my education if Ladli had not come into my life,” says Kamini. Once at risk of dropping out and child marriage, she began as a beneficiary and rose to become a trustee of the organisation.

Photo Credit : Kamini Vaid/Facebook

Devendra’s vision is simple — but radical. A society where responsibility is shared, not outsourced. “If every home takes responsibility for one marginalised girl, a revolution can happen,” he says.

Photo Credit : Ladli Foundation