Deepali Kannoujia, Washerman’s Daughter Gets Selected To Prestigious US Scholarship (Image: facebook.com/ngoshef)

16-year-old Deepali Kannoujia, the daughter of a washerwoman who lives in a one-room home and teaches kids to support her mother, got selected for a prestigious US scholarship. The Lucknow native is among the 30 Indian students who have bagged the opportunity to be part of the US Department of state’s Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and study program.

Overjoyed after learning about her selection, Deepali said, “I am one of the 30 students selected from across India for the programme. I look forward to learning about different cultures”. The study programme invites high school students from countries of strategic importance to the US for an academic year, reports Times of India.

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Deepali was admitted to Perna Girls’ School, a unit of Study Hall Educational Foundation that provides education to girls from low-income and marginalized communities. She is the youngest of four siblings. Her father who was a washerman, is now bedridden following a major leg surgery.

Suman, her mother said, “I am happy and excited, though slightly nervous to send her away for the first time”.

Deepali, who will fly to the US on August 19 said, “I had heard about US from my teachers but never thought I would be there for my studies. It is a great opportunity for me”.

The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program brings high school students from countries of strategic importance to the United States for an academic year to advance the U.S. foreign policy goals of promoting civil society, youth leadership development, and lasting ties between Americans and the people of participating countries.

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Since 2003, nearly 13,000 students from over 45 countries have participated in YES.