For Mannat, history became personal when her grandfather revealed that he had crossed the border during Partition as a child refugee. Years later, witnessing his struggles with illness and injustice deepened her resolve to fight for children left behind by broken systems. Today, she empowers young refugees and vulnerable children with tools to reclaim education and dignity. As co-lead of the Children of Vulnerable Families Program under the India Vision Foundation, Mannat has transformed prisons into spaces of safety and learning—building libraries, crèches, and gardens for children living with incarcerated mothers, and pioneering India’s first job portal for ex-convicts. She has also worked on systemic reform, drafting Public Interest Litigations to address intergenerational incarceration.

Beyond India, Mannat extends hope across borders. She has tutored over 500 Gazan refugees in IELTS, SAT preparation, and interview skills, helping secure admissions to institutions like Stanford and universities in Norway. Through SustainaBite, she combats food insecurity for 10,000+ displaced Burmese children by converting grain waste into nutrient-rich flour, boosting health and school attendance. With her leadership, more than 50,000 inmates, 3,000 children of prisoners, and refugee youth worldwide have found pathways to education, empowerment, and independence. Guided by resilience, Mannat is rewriting what opportunity means for children once defined by displacement, poverty, or prison walls.