After witnessing children begging at Delhi’s traffic signals during her college years, Raashi Anand founded Lakshyam to create long-term pathways from the streets to classrooms. Today, the organisation has evolved into a multi-dimensional movement spanning education, women’s empowerment, community libraries, and sustainable social enterprises, impacting more than one million lives.
When Raashi Anand moved from Ranchi to Delhi for higher education, she did not expect her daily commute to redefine her life’s purpose. Travelling through the city’s traffic signals, she repeatedly encountered children spending their days begging, sleeping on pavements, and playing with discarded bottles and broken toys between changing lights. Curious to understand why education remained beyond their reach, she began volunteering with street-connected children, an experience that would eventually lead her to establish Lakshyam, a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping vulnerable children transition from the streets to schools while empowering their families to build sustainable livelihoods.
In an exclusive interview with The Logical Indian, Raashi Anand reflects on her journey from a young volunteer navigating Delhi’s informal settlements to leading Lakshyam, an organisation that has worked across more than 17 slum communities in Delhi NCR over the past two decades.
Today, through initiatives focused on education, women’s empowerment, toy libraries, mobile learning centres and sustainable social enterprises, Lakshyam says it has directly and indirectly impacted over one million lives while continuing to build models that communities can sustain independently.
From Witnessing Street Realities To Building Lakshyam
Born and raised in Ranchi, Anand completed her schooling before moving to Delhi for graduation. It was during her college years that she first began questioning the lives of children who spent their days at traffic intersections.
As she travelled daily between her paying guest accommodation and college, the same children gradually recognised her, and she, in turn, became increasingly aware of their routines. They begged when the traffic lights turned red and returned to the roadside to play with discarded objects when the signals changed. Their lives revolved entirely around the streets.
Determined to understand their circumstances, Anand joined her college’s National Service Scheme (NSS) and began volunteering with children living on the streets. However, she quickly realised that meaningful change required far more than good intentions.
Parents often depended on the income their children earned through begging, making education financially difficult to accept.
Working independently also exposed her to unsafe conditions within informal settlements, prompting her to first spend several years learning community mobilisation, counselling and grassroots engagement while working in Delhi’s JJ Bastis before establishing Lakshyam.
Reflecting on those early years, Anand recalls that many questioned whether someone so young could successfully work in such challenging communities. Rather than discouraging her, those experiences strengthened her resolve to build an organisation rooted in trust, consistency and long-term engagement.
Building Sustainable Change Through Education And Livelihoods
Launching Lakshyam came with another challenge: financial sustainability. Without institutional funding or major sponsors, Anand drew upon her Master’s education in events and advertising to create an innovative fundraising platform. This led to the launch of Fashion for a Cause, an annual charity fashion event designed to raise both awareness and financial support for the organisation.
Beginning with actor Salman Khan and Being Human, the initiative gradually attracted several of India’s leading fashion designers, including Rohit Bal, Rahul Mishra, Varun Bahl, Shantanu & Nikhil, Anju Modi and Saty Paul, alongside corporate partners who helped strengthen Lakshyam’s visibility and fundraising efforts. Over the years, the event has grown into one of the organisation’s flagship initiatives, enabling continued investment in grassroots programmes.
Lakshyam’s first major initiative, Butterfly, focuses on identifying children engaged in begging, rag-picking or those who have dropped out of school, helping bridge educational gaps before enrolling them into formal education. While working closely with these families, Anand recognised that children’s education could not be sustained without simultaneously strengthening their mothers’ economic independence.
This insight led to Lakshyam’s women empowerment programme, which combines counselling, financial literacy, vocational training and market linkages. Rather than limiting support to skill development alone, the programme encourages women to recognise their own identity, understand financial systems and build sustainable livelihoods capable of supporting their children’s education.
Expanding Impact Through Innovation
As Lakshyam’s work expanded, the organisation introduced the Lakshyam Toy Library, an initiative that collects books and toys from urban communities before establishing learning libraries in underserved schools, NGOs and remote communities across India. Supported by volunteers and interns from more than 60 colleges and schools, the initiative has established over 32 libraries where educational resources are often unavailable despite existing infrastructure.
The COVID-19 pandemic marked one of Lakshyam’s most difficult phases. As donor priorities shifted towards healthcare, funding for education declined significantly. Rather than scaling down its programmes, the organisation searched for a model that could generate sustainable revenue while continuing its social mission.
That search resulted in Tooke-Tooke Gallery, an animal sanctuary and experiential learning centre where children participate in activities centred on farming, composting and environmental education. Schools visit the centre for experiential learning programmes, while community events hosted there help generate income that supports Lakshyam’s wider educational initiatives. The model has since expanded from Noida to Gurugram.
Lakshyam has also developed mobile libraries, converting auto-rickshaws into travelling learning centres equipped with books and educational materials that reach construction sites, government schools and vulnerable communities. These mobile classrooms extend educational support to children who otherwise have limited access to quality learning resources.
Today, Lakshyam estimates that its interventions have directly and indirectly impacted over one million lives. Alongside working with thousands of children annually, the organisation also promotes sustainable livelihoods by training women to upcycle textile waste into marketable handicrafts, combining environmental responsibility with income generation.
Recognition And The Road Ahead
Over the years, Anand’s work has received national and international recognition. She shared that she was honoured among global changemakers at the World Youth Forum in Egypt, where she was recognised by the President of Egypt. Lakshyam has also been invited to the President’s House, while the organisation’s children have had opportunities to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Public figures including Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Bhumi Pednekar, Anupam Kher and Sharmila Tagore have also acknowledged and supported the organisation’s work.
Looking ahead, Anand’s vision is to make every Lakshyam initiative sustainable and replicable so that communities and organisations across India can adopt proven models for education and social development. She believes meaningful change happens when systems continue functioning beyond individual leadership, creating lasting impact that communities can own themselves.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Raashi Anand’s journey demonstrates how sustained grassroots engagement can evolve into systemic social change. Rather than treating education, livelihoods and community development as separate challenges, Lakshyam has sought to address them through interconnected programmes that strengthen both children and their families. By combining education with women’s empowerment, community participation and sustainable social enterprises, the organisation offers a model that extends beyond charity towards long-term resilience.
As Lakshyam continues expanding its work, its journey raises an important question: How can India build more community-led models that move beyond short-term aid and create sustainable ecosystems where education, livelihoods and local leadership work together to break cycles of poverty?
