Victoria Robert and Her Unstoppable Journey To Give Back
Her father wanted and prayed for a girl child. When Victoria was born her father was ecstatic. A man of God, her father knew that whatever would come would come and that there was a big plan for Victoria. He looked down at his newborn daughter who suffered from a horrible condition where none of her limbs would extend, but he knew she was perfect. The doctors wanted to inject her with a medicine that would kill her, but her father wouldn’t hear of this.
Victoria faced several challenges growing up, but prevailed because even she knew was put on this planet for a purpose. That purpose proved to be to help as many children as possible and serve as a role model for thousands of children.
Victoria Robert, owner of the Edith Douglas School in Bangalore, tells us about her journey as an entrepreneur and what kept her motivated to continue as she faced trials and tribulations along the way. She tells us that there isn’t a proper recipe to take on problems, but you need to stay focused as she did as she educated her children and utilized prayer.
She was married in 1975 to a pastor, the only type of profession that her father would marry her to, and moved to North East India where her husband had set up his ministry. Victoria tells us, “I started my first orphanage with 95 children on 5 acres of land that the community had given to us, which we figured out later was their forefather’s graveyard. I was still very happy because God is always with us and even in the middle of nowhere I knew God will help and protect us.” She ran this orphanage for 26 years and during that time she gave birth to 4 children of her own. She simultaneously took care of hundreds of children whose parents had abandoned them into her arms.
Making personal sacrifices of her own, Victoria would take her biological children at 3 months old to live with her mother in Bangalore so she could continue running the orphanage. In 1991, Victoria moved backed to Bangalore with several orphans and left the orphanage to be run by the local pastor. Within 6 months of moving, Victoria lost her father and her husband and felt completely lost. Yet she knew she needed and wanted to do something that was impactful and sustainable and something that would help the orphans that she brought with her from the North East.
In 1991 she decided to build the Edith Douglas High School in Bangalore. She wanted to ensure that the orphans she had with her from the North would have a good education. The Edith Douglas School is an affordable private school for children from low-income families. She began the school with 65 children, and little by little she has grown the school to 565 students. With the help of Milaap, Victoria recently got a loan to expand her school and added a computer lab, school benches, and a library. Some of her students, although orphans, fit right in with the rest of the students as Victoria strives to give her kids the best quality education she can.
Victoria brings in one of her students, a bright eyed and well-kept teenage girl to her office and begins to tell us her story. “5 years ago she was dropped off at my school with nowhere to go. Her father was a drunkard and she watched as he threw kerosene on her mother and burned her to death. I knew if I didn’t take the girl she wouldn’t have survived; this was God’s plan so I took her in as my own. Now she is about to take her exam for 9th standard and my goal is for her to go to Medical school. I always tell her she can be whatever she wants to be. Gratefulness is the key to life. I take her with me everywhere and no one knows she is an orphan – she calls me mom.”
With a motivation to help people, Victoria took on the responsibility to do something for the people that are poor and children using her unwavering faith in a greater plan. “I hear the voice of the children and I have to help them,” Victoria explains, and although this meant long periods without seeing her own children, Victoria knew that she was needed at the orphanage and then at the school. “Part of God’s plan is to suffer, and if I’m facing problems then that’s okay because so many kids are getting a benefit.
Those benefited kids are getting educated and will spread the benefit all over the world. A day will come and it will be a good day, and it’s very near. I’m ready to face whatever problem comes along the way.”With a huge smile on her face Victoria exclaims, “I have so many grandchildren. My last wish is to take care of others, specifically children and old people. That would be the greatest gift in the world. I want to do. I want to meet more. I want to help more. The Lord will help me along the way.”
Victoria is an admirable woman who is helping inspire the community, her students, her family, and anyone she meets. The Edith Douglas School is a prominent landmark in the area, and nothing will stop Victoria from realizing her goal to impact her children.
“As part of our run-up to Women’s Day on March 8, YourStory has joined with Milaap in a campaign for “Women Helping Women.” This is the first article in a three part series focusing on inspiring women entrepreneurs funded by Milaap. If you know of any ambitious women entrepreneurs who inspire you, tweet about them to #women4change marking @YourStorydotin and @Milaapdotorg. Women identified through this Twitter campaign have the chance to receive a $25 gift card to Milaap.org, in order to pay it forward, and help a fellow woman entrepreneur in need of support.”
