India, Nov. 7 -- For a common man like Dheeraj Sharma, 40, change begins in smaller and quieter acts which light a spark in someone else's life. Over the past 15 years, Dheeraj has supported the education of nearly 70 underprivileged children, ensuring that poverty never stood between them and a classroom.

The children came from homes where even two meals a day were uncertain, where parents worked as daily-wage labourers or domestic workers, and higher education was an unimaginable dream. "Some of them reached out through our student networks, others through friends. But what connected them all was their determination to learn despite every obstacle. I couldn't turn away from that kind of courage," Sharma said. Without taking help from c...