Dr. Priya Virmani, the Foundress of Paint Our World is seen here with some of the POW children. Priya has a PhD from The University of Bristol. She began POW after being inspired by images from her childhood of street children eating from detritus. Now she works to empower our most vulnerable children through workshops. She was inspired by the positive difference that the initial workshops in Sonagachi (Kolkata’s notorious red light district) made, together with the impact her writings on the dowry system, female infanticide and misogyny have had on people’s lives. This has encouraged her to continue in her endeavour to challenge gender inequality and child poverty, through her writings and by funding Paint Our World with her own savings, despite much initial resistance from her own community.