Educate 175 Underprivileged Children in India

Rohit, a 10-year-old boy, lives in Farrukhabad and studies in Std 3. In a narrow lane of a small village, rests Rohit’s house. A quiet, brick-walled structure, painted all white, calm and peaceful, just like the family inhabiting it themselves.

Rohit is a quiet, laborious and a sensitive child. He loves taking care of his younger siblings. His younger brother Mohit is 8 years old and also studies in Std 2 in GyanShala. The youngest brother, Shobhit is 3 years old and according to their mother, Poonam, is the most notorious of the lot.

Rohit and Mohit’s association with Gyanshala has not failed to run off on the youngest brother. Shobhit can easily count till 10, both in Hindi and English, thanks to his brothers.

Poonam (37) has studied till Class 2 herself and can read basic Hindi easily. She takes pride is being able to sign Rohit’s report cards every year. Poonam says that Rohit prefers our classes to the government school he dropped out of only after a year, three years back. Rohit’s ill-health was also a factor in his dropping out of school, along with his lack of interest in education back then. Since he started coming to E&H Foundation run classes, Rohit has become more sincere with his education and his attitude towards studying has dynamically shifted.

According to his class teacher, Miss Deepali, Rohit is sincere and thoroughly enjoys studying Maths and Language, especially English, which is her favorite subject. His attendance for the academic year 2018-2019 was 90% and he scored 317/320 in his final year-end examinations that were held in March 2019. Rohit credits his outstanding performance to his teacher and his family, who are supportive of his needs and allow him to pursue his studies thoroughly.

Poonam says, “Rohit has been given a second chance at life. Being the first born, he fell extremely sick a few years back and we were afraid we were going to lose him. But now, Rohit has proved to be one of the best performers in class. Not only this, he is extremely considerate and helpful even at home”

Poonam feels she missed out on having a daughter but Rohit makes it easier for her. Rohit takes pride in helping his mother do the cooking. He also helps her in taking care of the house. Sometimes, when she does Zari work at home, Rohit fills the water with his dad. He also takes care of his youngest brother, often roaming around the house carrying the little one on his shoulders. Sometimes, even studying and doing his homework through that. 

When asked how Poonam feels about Rohit going to GyanShala, she said, “Rohit is extremely intelligent and also gifted. But the biggest change we have seen is his unaverred commitment towards his studies on a daily basis and his enhanced ability to do calculations on the go, whether we send him to buy groceries or just milk.

Rohit's father, Sushil (40) is a zardozi worker and earns somewhere between 4000-6000 on a monthly basis. For them, education is not only important but imperative for the boys to grow up in a world of opportunities unlike themselves. Rohit’s parents are aware of the importance of quality education and have high expectations for him and his future. This increased awareness is also due to the effort of our field officers and supervisors, who tirelessly work with the parent community to encourage them to send children to class and be more involved with their studies, even if it means, simply instructing them to do their homework.

In 2019-2020, E&H Foundation is supporting the education of 7500 children like Rohit in partnership with two uniquely successful models - ESO's Gyanshala classes and Bharti Fouundation schools. 

We are grateful for our supporters and our partners at Global Giving for their continued encouragement towards our work. You can also join us in our quest of enabling brighter futures for these kids. Visit Our Project Page and Change a Life !

In the academic year 2018-2019, E&H Foundation supported the education of ~7000 children through the GyanShala and Bharti Foundation models in the state of Uttar Pradesh from Std 1-5.

Of this, approximately 6200 children are covered under the GyanShala model in Farrukhabad and Lucknow districts and 720 students are supported through 3 operational Bharti schools in Farrukhabad from Std 1-5.

From a Participant to a Leader: The Unrivalled Joy of Giving Together

We started this project in September 2018 and have steadfastly moved on from a project leader to a superstar partner, all because of our supporters. We are now one of the top ranked organizations on Global Giving, thanks to the unwavering support from our donors and socially conscious individuals all over the globe.

So far, our project has raised $8581 and has made 64 new friends, all united for a good cause. Their recurring support and collective effort of supporting the education of children has enabled new horizons for E&H Foundation.

Reminiscing the Year That Was: Overview of our Primary Program in U.P.

Under the Primary Education Program in association with Gyanshala, E&H Foundation ran a total of 217 classes covering 5736 students from Class 1-3 in Farrukhabad and Lucknow in the year 2018-2019. 50% of our students under the program are girls. This is extremely good given the average % of girls in private and government schools in UP is much below 50%

Of these 5736 students in Uttar Pradesh, coverage in Farrukhabad is through 138 classes supporting the education of 3676 students and coverage in Lucknow is through 79 classes supporting the education of 2060 students from Std 1-3.

Your Support is Our Strength: This is What You Helped Us Acheive

• We ran a total of 217 classes in over 100 localities (57 in Farrukhabad and 47 in Lucknow)
• These classes are held in the poorest sections of UP, India and 80% of our students are first generation learners.
• 50% of the children under our program are girls.
• Average student per class in both districts is 26.
• We enabled reading, writing and arithmetic abilities at the foundation level for ~7000 children (5736 from Std 1-3) and supported their education in 2018-2019.
• We worked with marginalized families and encouraged them to send their children to classes regularly.
• We maintained average attendance of 70% in all our classes. This good attendance is attained due to significant efforts made by project teachers and supervisors throughout the year, in motivating parents regarding the importance of attending classes for improved child performance.
• Year- end assessments were conducted in the month of March 2019 in all the four subjects i.e. English, Hindi, Mathematics and projects. Exams were conducted in all the 138 classes being run in Farrukhabad, Of the total 3676 students enrolled in these classes, 86% of the students gave exams.
• 66% students scored between 80% and 100% marks and only 4% sored below 40%.
• Overall learning level of the students has been consistently good. Performance of each student was shared in the annual parents’ meetings. Report cards were handed over to all students and the graduated batches were enrolled into Class 2,3, and 4.

We Continue Writing Stories of Success: The Way Forward

I am delighted to report that one of our third graders, among many others, became the first in his family to ever read and write. Priyank* (name changed) has exceptional aptitude for logic and reasoning. He is an acknowledged scholar of his class, often finding his own way to solve questions, always challenging the status-quo in class. Priyank’s parents have never been to a school. His mother is a house wife and father is a wage labourer, earning somewhere between 200-250 per day.

Being the only one in his family to read and write efficiently in Hindi, Priyank can often be spotted reading the daily news to his family from the local newspaper. He feels that E&H Foundation classes have given him a lot of confidence and have made his base stronger than most of his friends in the basti. (slum). 

At present 60% of students in U.P cannot read words as yet. In such a scenario, this video of him reading the newspaper is a testament to the good work we are doing and results that we are trying to achieve.

In the absence of support from our donors, there is high probability that Priyank would not have achieved these strong foundational standards and would have dropped out of school years before he reached this level of learning. In the academic year 2019-2020, E&H Foundation aims to support the education of 7500 children like Priyank in the most dismal sections of India. I hope that you will continue being a part of our journey and keep engaging with our project in this new academic year.