Shanti Bhavan is an all-encompassing residential school that believes every child, regardless of caste or circumstance, deserves a high-quality education and a caring home. Exclusively for children born into India's lowest social and economic class, we provide our students with 17 years of intense intervention - from their first day of school to their first day of work - in order to address extreme discrimination and break the cycle of poverty in a single generation
The "untouchable" caste is ignored by the rest of Indian society. Our students come from families surviving on less than $1 a day; they are children of rag-pickers, quarry laborers, and sex-workers. Basic literacy and rudimentary education are insufficient in helping elevate children out of poverty. If the poorest of the poor are to succeed, they require a vigorous academic experience. There should be no glass ceiling for the poor: Shanti Bhavan enables our students to have equal opportunity.
We provide 300+ students with everything they need to succeed and thrive: a free, holistic education, clothing, medical care, and a caring home. High-quality staff and international volunteers educate our students from the age of 4 to 17 on the most rigorous academic curriculum. The students compete in sports tournaments, study music and dance from Broadway professionals, develop leadership and public speaking skills. We are more than a value-driven community - we are a family.
Shanti Bhavan seeks a quantum change in the trajectory of each child it serves. The school's success is unprecedented- graduating nearly 100% of our secondary school students on to college. Each Shanti Bhavan graduate will earn more in 5 years of work than their parents will earn in a lifetime. Every single graduate now gives back 10%-50% of their salary to their families, communities, and other children in need, creating a powerful multiplicative impact - permanently ending the cycle of poverty
