The Indian luxury brand, Forest Essentials, now has a new face – 14-year-old Maleesha Kharwa. She hails from one of the largest slums in the world, Dharavi in Mumbai. But since Mumbai is called the ‘city of dreams’, this teenager’s dreams are also getting fulfilled, one at a time.
Maleesha Kharwa lives with her parents, grandparents, brother and uncle in a small, temporary space beside the sea. She studies at a local government-run school and manages to score good grades in academics because it makes her father happy.
“People often ask me if living in a slum makes me sad and this question always confuses me because I love my home so much! Here is where I live,” India Today quoted her saying.
Monsoons are particularly difficult for her family because their home doesn’t have a roof and the winds become too violent for the plastic cover to remain in its place.
Maleesha used to spend her days attending school and helping with household chores. In her family, having two proper meals a day is considered a luxury. On many days, their family don’t have enough to eat.
“The only thing I don’t like is that many times my brother and I don’t have enough to eat and it can be hard for me to get water. Also, in a month, the monsoons will come. It’s hard for us to sleep when it rains because we do not have a roof. We use a plastic tarp but the winds can be very strong in the Monsoon season,” she revealed.
However, Maleesha’s life changed when American actor Robert Hoffman spotted her. After speaking to her, Robert learnt that she is interested in modelling, so he decided to help her out. She now has a booming verified Instagram account with over 200K followers and a GoFundMe page.
Even on her Instagram account, her description reads, “People say I live in a slum but I ❤️ my life! I hope to be a supermodel to help my family eat 🦋”
She has also been featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine and has been asked to feature in multiple photoshoots.
In her recent achievement, she is the face of Forest Essentials for their new campaign, Yuvati Selections.
“From her humble dwelling, she gazes at the sky, Her dreams soaring high, her spirit eager to fly. From a dreamer to a doer, she transforms. Breaking the mould, defying the norms,” the brand wrote.
Here’s a video of Maleesha entering a showroom and seeing her being the face of the brand for probably the first time:
What an incredible journey. We hope she keeps soaring high! 😀