Sonal Kapoor: Harnessing Art to Empower Street Girls

Creative Changemaker & Social Entrepreneur

Choosing Art Over a Corporate Path

Sonal Kapoor, a microbiologist-MBA, could have chosen a conventional corporate route, but she instead founded the Protsahan India Foundation at age 24. Inspired in a slum in Delhi by the harsh realities faced by girls - like the fact that one child couldn’t recognize an apple - she launched a small creative arts and design school to heal and empower through art.

Learning Through Creativity

Protsahan's initial classroom used simple yet impactful teaching - combining creativity with education. Students learned to craft, to paint, and to dream. Sonal’s words reflect their transformation: "These little brats are learning about ‘creativity from nature’ … Their excellence at school just makes me smile. Such rock stars!"

Growing with HEART

Under Sonal’s leadership, Protsahan built the HEART model - an empathy-based framework rooted in healing, art, resilience, and tailored learning. The approach caters to each survivor’s unique needs through methods like Madhubani art, photography, digital storytelling, and more. The goal: shift from survival to thriving, teaching girls to heal, learn, and lead.

Recognized & Rallying Change

Sonal has represented India on global platforms like the World Bank-IMF meetings, TEDx, and Harvard. Protsahan’s work has earned recognition from Ashoka, HundrED, Unilever, and the Economic Times. Each year, the foundation touches tens of thousands of young lives through creativity, care, and courage.

A Legacy of Creative Empowerment

Today, Sonal continues pioneering a model where art fuels healing, education, and agency. Through Protsahan, she’s proving that creativity can be the catalyst transforming vulnerable girls into confident creators and changemakers.