From selling balloons as a child in a Delhi slum to founding a nonprofit with a presence across India, Devendra Kumar Gupta’s journey has been shaped by poverty, child labour and a determination to create opportunities for others facing similar barriers.
Devendra Kumar Gupta’s journey from growing up in poverty and working as a child labourer to founding the Ladli Foundation is rooted in personal experiences of vulnerability and social inequality. According to his organisation, Gupta was abandoned by his parents along with his infant sister when he was around two and began selling balloons for survival at eight. He later worked while continuing his education and became involved in community volunteering.
His experiences surrounding his sister’s marriage and dowry concerns eventually motivated him to work for vulnerable women and girls. Ladli Foundation was established in 2012 and has since expanded its work across education, healthcare, gender equality, social protection, livelihoods, WaSH and drug and crime prevention. The organisation was also granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2020.
A Difficult Childhood
According to Ladli Foundation’s account, Gupta grew up in Delhi’s Dakshin Puri in difficult circumstances. His parents left him and his three-day-old infant sister when he was around two, after which they were cared for within their extended family. At eight, he began selling balloons to help support his family. The organisation says he faced violence from groups of delinquents and people struggling with substance abuse during this period.
By 13, Gupta was reportedly working as an aide at a nursing home while continuing his schooling. He later pursued education through open and distance learning after the pressures of survival made regular schooling difficult. Alongside this, he became involved in volunteering, including with St John Ambulance and the Indian Red Cross Society.
These experiences eventually shaped his approach to social work. Rather than seeing poverty and exclusion only as personal hardships, Gupta began focusing on the structural barriers that prevent children, women and other vulnerable communities from accessing education, healthcare and livelihood opportunities.
Turning Pain Into Purpose
A major turning point came through his experience surrounding his sister’s marriage. Ladli Foundation says Gupta confronted concerns related to dowry and the vulnerability of women within disadvantaged communities. This experience motivated him to work towards protecting girls and women from exploitation and social discrimination. The organisation’s own account identifies 2012 as the beginning of Ladli Foundation’s journey.
What began as a response to personal circumstances gradually developed into a broader social mission. Under Gupta’s leadership, Ladli Foundation now works across health, education, WaSH, social protection, livelihoods and drug and crime prevention, with adolescent girls and women among its key focus groups.
Building A Wider Mission
The foundation’s programmes address issues ranging from digital inequality to women’s health. Its E-Pathanshala initiative focuses on expanding digital learning opportunities for children from marginalised communities, while Saheli works around women’s healthcare and health awareness. Menstrushala focuses on menstrual health and hygiene, and Shagun supports dignified marriages and social protection.
The organisation has also developed initiatives around livelihoods, legal awareness, gender sensitisation and youth development. Project JOSH, for instance, focuses on engaging young people and preventing drug abuse and crime, while newer programmes have expanded into future-skills education involving technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud computing and cybersecurity.
Digital education has become a particularly important part of Gupta’s work. His public profile describes his transition from a child who struggled to remain connected to education to an advocate for educational access, especially for students from government schools and marginalised communities.
Ladli Foundation says its initiatives have directly impacted more than 3.5 million people across India, including children, women, adolescents and community members. It also says more than 257,000 marginalised students have gained access to digital education. These figures are reported by the organisation and should be understood in that context.
From India To The UN
Gupta’s work has also received national and international recognition. He was a recipient of the Government of India’s National Youth Award, an achievement also documented by an educational institution that identified him as the founder of Ladli Foundation and a National Youth Award winner.
A significant milestone came in 2020, when the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations recommended Ladli Foundation Trust for Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council. UN records subsequently list the organisation as holding Special Consultative Status from 2020.
The foundation has also published testimonials from prominent public figures, including former Presidents A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Pranab Mukherjee and Ram Nath Kovind. It also says Gupta was nominated for the Padma Shri in 2020. However, a nomination should not be confused with receiving the civilian award.
The Work Continues
Today, Gupta’s work continues to focus on the gaps he experienced during his own childhood: access to education, opportunity, dignity and social protection. Recent initiatives associated with Ladli Foundation include digital laboratories in government schools and programmes designed to provide adolescent girls with access to technology, STEM learning and improved health and sanitation facilities.
His journey from a child labourer selling balloons to the founder of an organisation with UN consultative status is striking not simply because of the recognition he has received, but because of the way his early experiences shaped the issues he chose to address.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Devendra Kumar Gupta’s story illustrates how lived experience can become the foundation for social action. The challenges he faced as a child gave him an understanding of the barriers confronting vulnerable communities, but his journey also highlights the importance of turning individual determination into institutions that can create sustained change.
From education and women’s health to digital access and social protection, the issues addressed by Ladli Foundation are interconnected. Access to one opportunity can influence another, whether it is a child gaining access to digital education, a woman receiving healthcare or a young person finding an alternative to substance abuse and crime.
Gupta’s journey is ultimately a reminder that social change does not always begin with power or privilege. Sometimes, it begins with someone who has experienced exclusion first-hand and decides that others should not have to face the same barriers.
Also Read: From Losing His Daughter to Serving Lakhs: The Story of Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail
