Hi. My name is Deepali and I am your driver for today. I reside with my family in Tis Hazari area in Delhi. My father is a sanitation worker and my mother performs household duties. When I was studying in Class 5th, I was forced to drop out of school due to regular harassment on the streets, which was considered a threat to my family’s honor. As I continued my informal education at a non-profit organisation, I was asked which skill I wanted to learn. To everyone’s surprise, my response was ‘driving’. One of my teachers told me that I would not be able to obtain a driving license, let alone become a professional driver. His skepticism fueled a commitment in me to prove him wrong. Although the journey of becoming a Sakha driver has been challenging, my learnings and personal transformation far outweigh them. The same family members and neighbours who used to say- ‘ड्रा इविं ग सी खने से बहुत ज़बा न चलने लगी है’ (You have started talking back a lot after learning driving), now have faith in me, motivate me to do better and seek my opinion. They now applaud my success and have become advocates for encouraging other women in our community as well to take on non-traditional work such as driving. I am proud that I chose a different kind of livelihood and I look forward to working hard to make all my dreams come true.