A Rags to Riches True Life Story

This is a true and heartwarming story of a street child's journey from rags to riches.

Vicky Roy was a small child growing up in total poverty in Bihar, India. The village he lived in had no paved streets, even power and health care. His family eked a difficult living doing odd jobs. Unable to bear the hard life and hoping to better his prospects, the boy stole money from his father and ran away. He walked miles to the nearest town and caught the next train to Delhi. Life was not kind to him. It was difficult to survive, but he somehow managed by stealing lunch packets from trains. He was taken in by the Salaam Baalak Trust shelter in Paharganj. His life became marginally easy. Now he had a place to sleep and wash up. The Trust attracts a lot of well wishers who hold workshops for the street children. Once there was a photography workshop being held, and he participated in it. It changed his entire life. He enrolled at Triveni Kala Sangam, where he worked as an assistant to portrait photographer Anay Mann, and learnt the tricks of the trade. He started clicking photographs of his fellow street kids. The photographs were brilliant and his work was exhibited at the India Habitat Center in 2007.

His talent did not go unnoticed and in 2008 he was nominated by Ramchander Nath Foundation for a mentor ship program of the US based Maybach Foundation. Only four applicants from all around the world have made it for this program and he is the only one from this part of the world. Under it he will work on the photo-documentation of the reconstruction of the World Trade Center.

This is something that overwhelms this runaway from Bihar. He could not watch the televised coverage of the 9/11 WTC attack as he could not afford a TV set. Today he says happily "I will live in an apartment near WTC"

It has been quite a journey for this brave boy