Raised in an orphanage in a remote Khunti village, Elisha Hassa, 19, whose journey so far remained embroiled in struggle and pain, had not heard the word engineering before she got admitted to one of the schools for the underprivileged in Class XI.

The orphan tribal girl, who once did not know how to speak Hindi, has cracked one of the toughest examinations — JEE Mains. She dreams big and aspires to change the lives of children like her, afflicted with acute poverty.

“I lost my parents when I was nine. I was admitted to an orphanage and from there I landed in the state government-run Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Kalamati, Khunti, in 2015. I came to know of a programme called Sapno Ki Udaan which gave wings to my dreams. I studied day and night but could not succeed last year. This year I got all India rank 1,788 in ST category,” Elisha, who is now preparing for JEE Advance, said.

Elisha is not alone. There are nine others who despite facing adversities, not knowing Hindi till the average age of 12 when they got admitted to KGBV, cracked the JEE Mains. They all started preparing for the JEE Advance with a dream to overcome their poverty and bring a positive change in the Maoist-hit Khunti district.

They all unanimously credited their success to Sapno Ki Udaan, an educational initiative of the Khunti district administration to provide special coaching for engineering and medical entrance examinations to aspirants from disadvantaged groups of society. The project is the brainchild of Khunti deputy commissioner Shashi Ranjan, an IIT-ian himself.

Saraswati Munda, a descendant of tribal icon Birsa Munda who waged a war against the British much before the struggle for Independence, was admitted to KGBV because of extreme poverty with parents hardly able to meet both ends from agriculture.

With a glint in her eyes, she narrated: “I want to fulfil the dreams of my great great grandfather Birsa Munda, who dreamt for the prosperity of tribesmen in Jharkhand. I wish to take the light of education to my village where people hardly have knowledge about engineering and medical studies.”

Dreaming to become a pilot so that she can trot the globe right from Russia and the US to the UK, she says she wants to work for disadvantaged communities not only in India but abroad as well.

Likewise, abandoned and rejected by her father at the tender age of two years for being a girl child after her mother’s death, Angel Siyon Topno did not look back.

Raised in extreme poverty by a maternal grandmother who ekes out a living on old age and widow pension, in a far-flung Khunti village, Topno was ultimately admitted to KGBV.

Once unable to speak Hindi, she cracked the JEE Mains this year and credits the success to her nani (maternal grandmother).

Faced with an extreme financial crunch, they all foresee “arranging finances” as the biggest hurdle. They all said none in their families know what IIT JEE is and they are not in a position to meet the expenses even if they qualify for the best of the institutions the country has to offer.

They narrated the example of Puja Kumari who despite clearing the NEET last year could not take admission because of the financial crisis and has finally buried her dreams of becoming a medical professional.

KGBV Kalamati warden-cum-teacher Jyoti Kumar echoed their concerns saying: “No one could believe that girls from such a background could achieve such a feat. All of them are from underprivileged communities with many orphaned, many rescued after being trafficked, many belonging to single parent and many victims of several cases of abuse.”

Khunti deputy commissioner Ranjan, who ignited the young minds, said since the trend has started rolling, there would be no looking back.