Patna: She lived in a mud house at Forbesganj in Araria district and fought her fate to gain admission into the prestigious St Xavier's University.

Neither hailing from the Nat community, where women are vulnerable to trafficking for sex (become sex workers at a young age), nor being the daughter of a trafficking victim helped her. But non-government organisation (NGO) Apne Aap did.

Juhi Khatun, the feisty 19-year-old girl from the Nat community, had a story of inspiration at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival on the St Paul's Cathedral lawns on Friday. She spoke how the journey of her life changed after joining the special school run by the NGO in Forbesganj in 2007.

"I used to study in a government school before being enrolled in the special school run by Apne Aap. My life completely changed. I got to learn karate and other vocational skills which I couldn't even dream of. Learning karate is a big thing for girls of my community. I even won a gold medal in a state competition later," said Juhi.

"Apne Aap has moulded my personality, mentored me and helped me enrol into BA at Xavier's University," said Juhi, adding that she wanted to be an example for Nat girls.

The audience broke into thunderous applause.

Apne Aap founder-president Ruchira Gupta said: "Juhi's maternal uncle brought her to our community centre. We put her in our Forbesganj residential school. We hired her mother as a cook and hired her father as a security guard to cut the possibility of Juhi's withdrawal from the centre."

"Then Juhi finished school and went back home. Her studies were discontinued for a year. We monitored her and supported her to pass the class 10. Then, we put her in a Patna college. Juhi wanted to become a lawyer. So we put her into St Xavier's, which made a special place for her."

"The Nats are one of those denotified castes, whose women are largely found in prostitution," added Ruchira. "Right now, 18 Nat girls mentored by Apne Aap have got admission into reputable institutions."