Officer Helps 5,000 Kids Escape Sex Work Through Education

Kanchan is studying law at Bhopal University while her mother continues in sex work back home. But unlike generations before her, Kanchan gets to choose a different path.

She belongs to the Bedia community in Madhya Pradesh, India, where families have traditionally pushed daughters into sex work at puberty. Boys became procurers, girls became breadwinners, and the cycle repeated for generations.

IPS officer Veerendra Mishra decided to break that cycle. In 2005, he launched Samvedna, an organization focused on creating opportunities for Bedia children who faced intense stigma and discrimination in schools.

He started small in 2010, bringing just 13 children from rural villages to Bhopal for education. He enrolled them in schools, helped them navigate a system that often rejected them, and supported them through college.

Today, that number has grown to over 5,000 children across 60 villages in six districts. Twenty-six are currently in college, 37 attend schools in Bhopal, and countless others have graduated into professions their parents never imagined possible.

"Our idea is to create opportunities," Mishra explains. "When you create opportunity, you generate hope, and when you generate hope, then everyone starts pushing their boundaries."

The 53-year-old officer doesn't preach to families about their traditions. Instead, he shows them alternatives. He helps children discover their strengths and provides the resources to pursue them.

The Ripple Effect

The transformation extends beyond individual children. As young people return to their villages as professionals, they become living proof that change is possible. Families who once saw no alternative now encourage younger siblings to pursue education.

Kanchan plans to bring her younger sister to Bhopal next year. "I want to become a lawyer so that I can help my community and bring a change," she says.

The children Mishra first helped in 2010 are now adults with careers. Some want to be doctors, others engineers or civil servants. A few have even joined the police force, following in Mishra's footsteps.

Mishra gets financial support from child rights organizations like CRY (Child Rights and You). But the real fuel for his work comes from watching children who were told they had no future now building careers they chose themselves.

Every child who breaks free weakens the cycle a little more.