Alka Pandey

As Lead Counsellor, Alka sits with women and girls on the hardest day of their year and helps them find the next step, and then the one after that. She does not flinch and she does not rush. She makes a frightened person feel less alone in the room.

Behind the safety of a programme is a human being who answers when someone reaches out shaking. That is Alka. Her care is not soft words. It is a steady hand on a steep ledge.