Mamoon Akhtar, 46, lives in the slum of Tikiapara Howrah, India, working as a librarian in a small school on a meagre salary.

With a vision of giving a better future to underprivileged children of all the communities in the slum, he started the small charity named Samaritan Help Mission. With all his life savings he built a small school on a 600 sq ft parcel of land that his father had donated.

With only six children attending in 1999, it has now grown to include more than 800 children who participate in school as well as other activities designated for the empowerment of children and deprived girls and women.