Sapno Ki Udaan · Gehlaur, Gaya

The Mountain Man's village.
Its daughters' turn.

Dashrath Manjhi cut a road through a hill by hand. In the same lanes, Musahar girls still leave school in their early teens. We work with them to change that, together and on their own terms.

300
Girls in the work
this year
11
Villages,
one valley
100%
Facilitators are local
Musahar women
Girls and facilitators gathered in a community learning centre in Gehlaur

About Sapno Ki Udaan

Sapno Ki Udaan works with Musahar girls in Gehlaur, Gaya — the village known across India as Manjhi’s home. Its Musahar tolas, home to his own community, remain among the most excluded places in Bihar. Families are landless, schemes go unused, and women’s literacy here is among the lowest in the state.

Every person running this work comes from the tolas it serves. Local Musahar women lead community centres; girls form their own groups, choose peer leaders, and learn what school does not teach — so daughters stay in class, know their rights, and shape their own timeline.

Why we do it

Girls don’t drop out. They’re pulled out.

It isn’t ability. It’s early marriage, work at home, and violence nobody calls unusual. When fathers migrate for work, the eldest daughter is often kept home. When whole families leave for the brick kilns, girls miss months of school.

By the time a girl is married, the choice was never hers.

Gehlaur is famous for the road Manjhi cut by hand. In the same lanes, Musahar girls still leave school in their early teens. We work with them to change that — together, and on their own terms.

Young women gathered outdoors in a Musahar settlement in Gehlaur

How it works

Nobody is brought in from outside. Every person running this work comes from the tolas it serves.

  1. Musahar women from each tola run the community centres as facilitators.

Skills for the life she chooses.

Health & wellbeing · Reproductive health · Decision-making · Stress management · Gender equality · Digital skills · Jobs & entrepreneurship · Legal rights · Care for nature & animals

Backed by storybooks in Hindi and Magahi, a community library, sports kits and computer classes.

Knowing her body. Choosing her future.

Girls learn to understand their health and speak up about decisions that shape their lives, including when and whether to marry. A girl who is in school, knows her rights and has a group behind her is far better placed to choose her own timeline.

What’s changed in the valley.

  1. Back in class.

    Out-of-school girls have returned, brought back by women their families already trust.

  2. New leaders.

    Peer leaders now mentor younger girls and lead community action.

  3. A space of their own.

    For the first time, Musahar girls here have a group to belong to.

These results come from our baseline and weekly facilitator records. An independent evaluation is our next step, and we’d rather say so than overstate.

Community impact

When the youngest is safe, the eldest can study.

Our crèches give Musahar infants and toddlers a safe space, nutritious meals and early learning while parents work. Mothers gain time to earn and learn, and older daughters stay in school instead of minding siblings.

Women’s self-help groups are turning household savings into money women control.

Daily safe space · Nutritious meals · Growth monitoring · Early learning · Parent awareness