THIS International Women’s Day, we honour a woman who walked away from wealth to fight for those with nothing. Sneha Bharti built a formidable career across India’s top financial institutions. Morgan Stanley, Citibank, JM Financial, Kotak Securities — she excelled in all of them. Over 12 years, she mastered investment banking with quiet authority. Yet something kept pulling her attention beyond balance sheets. Consequently, in 2011, she made a bold decision that would reshape thousands of lives.
Turning her back on corporate comfort, Sneha launched Purnkuti in Bihar. This non-profit targeted one urgent goal: genuinely improving women’s lives through health, hygiene, and education. Rather than offering charity, she built pathways to self-sufficiency. Her corporate expertise gave the organisation a sharp, results-driven edge from day one.
Equipping Women to Stand Alone
On this Women’s Day, Purnkuti’s skilling programmes stand as a powerful testament to what determination can build. Rural women began crafting home décor products that now sell on Amazon, Flipkart, and at corporate exhibitions. Beyond that, Sneha founded Waterlily Public School to educate the children of these beneficiaries. Each initiative feeds the next, creating a ripple effect that is difficult to contain.
Moreover, in 2016, she expanded her reach to migrant women in cities. Tailoring, beauty, and masala-making courses gave these women tangible, marketable skills. Simultaneously, their children received remedial education, breaking the cycle at two levels at once. Sneha understood that dignity cannot exist in isolation — it must encompass entire families.
Standing with the Most Marginalised
When COVID-19 devastated India in 2020, Sneha acted swiftly and without hesitation. She directed aid to 2,500 sex workers in Pune’s red-light district, delivering ration kits and medical supplies. Afterwards, she launched vocational training, counselling, and education for sex workers and transgender individuals. Their children, too, received care and schooling under Purnkuti’s expanding umbrella.
Many of these women blame themselves for circumstances not of their making. “They feel stuck. They feel ashamed,” Sneha notes with quiet grief. Nevertheless, Purnkuti refuses to accept that shame as destiny. Instead, it transforms that shame — training survivors to become mentors, field workers, and entrepreneurs. This Women’s Day, their stories deserve to be heard loudly and without apology.
A Revolution Built on Relationships
Purnkuti has now impacted over 2,000 women, 3,000 female sex workers, 500 transgender individuals, and more than 2,000 children. Behind every number sits a real person — a woman who once felt invisible, now earning her own income. Collaborating with CSR partners, Sneha continues driving this volunteer-led effort forward. Furthermore, she champions psychological support, recognising that freedom without emotional healing is incomplete.
Her model is rare precisely because it addresses the whole person, not just the surface. Survivors trained by Purnkuti now work as field staff, bringing credibility and compassion to the communities they once struggled within. “We train them in packaging, costing, and how to interact with customers,” says Sneha. Some have even launched their own businesses.
A Vision Beyond Statistics
Sneha’s work challenges a fundamental assumption: that marginalised women need rescuing rather than equipping. Additionally, she proves that corporate skills — strategy, logistics, financial planning — belong in grassroots organisations. Women’s Day exists precisely to spotlight courageous women like her, who quietly change the world without seeking applause. Above all, her journey asks: who are we choosing to serve with the skills we have built?
Empowered women trained by Purnkuti now tell others still trapped, “If I could do it, so can you.” That sentence, repeated across Bihar and Pune and beyond, is Sneha Bharti’s real legacy. “The ones who’ve broken free are living with dignity today,” she says. “But many more are still waiting.”
This Women’s Day, her quiet revolution continues — and it calls on all of us to play our part. One life, one skill, one second chance at a time.
Give exists to alleviate poverty by enabling the world to give. Established in 2000, Give, together with its partners, is the largest and most trusted giving platform in India. Give enables individuals and organizations to raise and donate funds conveniently to any cause they care about, with offerings including crowdfunding, corporate giving, cause marketing, and philanthropy consulting. Give’s community of 2.6M+ donors supports 3,000+ verified nonprofits, serving 15M+ people across the country.
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