The Pardada Pardadi Girls Vocational School (PPGVS) in India was established in 2000 by Virendera (Sam) Singh, a retired U.S. Dupont South Asia department head to address the issue of gender bias in India. According to the school's website, nearly half of India's population is illiterate: males outnumber females two-to-one in literacy and drop-out rates for girls are as high as 58% in primary and upper primary schools. In villages throughout India girls face gender discrimination daily, including female infanticide, nutritional and economic disparities with male members of the family, and violence in and out of the home. The school's mission is to uplift and empower girls from the economically poorest section of society by providing free education and vocational training to foster self-reliant and educated individuals. The curriculum includes academic studies and vocational training. The main goal of the curriculum is to teach students how to become socially and economically independent. The author came to this school to do research on the impact of art and creative writing through book-making. The project changed the Indian girls' ideas of art and learning in that they developed a feeling of ownership of their personal history. (Contains 1 online resource.)