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Cover Story

Grades 4-6

His Gift to Girls

By Ritu Upadhyay

Hundreds of little girls in the tiny Indian village of Doobher Kishanpur wake up and go to school each day. Sure, in America girls do the same thing. But in Doobher Kishanpur (Doo-bur Kish-un-poor), it's nearly a miracle. Thanks to a generous cab driver, many of these students are the first girls in their family to read and write.

Om Dutta Sharma has spent the past 20 years driving a yellow taxi cab in New York City for 80 hours a week. After saving all his extra cash, Sharma used it to open the Ram Kali School for Girls in 1997. The school is named for his mother, who--like many poor women in India--never learned to read or write.

Before the school opened, the girls in this village had no chance to learn. Their parents, who are very poor, could not afford to send them to schools in the neighboring towns where the boys study.

An Unlikely Hero
Sharma, 65, came to the U.S. 25 years ago with one goal: to make money. A trained lawyer in India, Sharma was frustrated to learn that he would not be able to practice law in the U.S. unless he went back to school. As he stood on the street, cars whizzing by, the idea of driving a taxi struck him: "I love to drive, so why not get paid?"

Sharma never wanted money for himself. He felt he had a debt to repay to the poor farming community where he grew up. "If I can help somebody be on the right path, then the purpose of living is achieved," says Sharma.

By American standards, Sharma's salary is not much. But in India, it goes a long way. Each month his dollars pay four teachers ($58 each), a local pharmacist ($100) for medicine and a physician ($100) to keep all the schoolchildren healthy. He also donates the earnings from a mango grove he inherited in India to the school. That pays for the students' books and school uniforms.

A Driver's Work is Never Done
Sharma says he will retire only when he has enough money to open up four more schools, as well as free health clinics. For now, he's happy saving his money and meeting passengers. "I learn so much when they open up their hearts and minds to me."

Next: Talking with His Hands