The K4K interns, traveling at their own expense, brought knowledge of essential applications like Google Suite and Canva and also a passion for creating lasting impact. 

This initiative, part of our Educate 2 Success (E2S) program, is more than just a teaching experience – it’s a testament to the power of youth-led change and the impact of digital literacy in today’s world. What makes this program truly special is its continuity and growth. In fact, some students who participated in previous years have gone on to college, actively using the skills they learned through K4K. And our interns this year hope to continue inspiring that momentum.

Voices of Impact: Testimonials from K4K Interns and LOLT Students

The experiences shared by both the K4K interns and LOLT students paint an exciting and hopeful picture of mutual growth, learning, and inspiration. You can learn more from these participants with the testimonials below. 

“Prior to the pandemic, students from a previous committee planned and took a trip to Light of Life Trust in India to teach students there firsthand and see the impact of their fundraising. Until last summer, the pandemic stopped the committee from revisiting. However, I restarted the program last year with a group of 8 volunteers educating 40 students on how to use computers and teaching them different forms of art. This summer, two separate groups participated in the program, educating around 50 students at LOLT, or Light of Life Trust in Worli, India. K4K’s fundraising efforts are allocated towards educating the underprivileged children of India, including the students at Light of Life Trust.

This summer, Anya and I volunteered at LOLT for the first week of the program. We taught the students how to use different computer applications. In addition, we quizzed them every day on what they learned (the students’ favorite part) and played fun games throughout the week.The experience was unforgettable and seeing the students so excited to learn new lessons every day was heartwarming. I met some returning students from last year’s program, and was excited to hear that some students had gone to college and were using the applications we showed them last year at their colleges. Teaching and talking to the students gave me incredible insight into their lives. It really showed me the need for proper technological education in India, especially as we enter a technological age.” – Rhea Shah, K4K President

“I went to LOLT for the first time to teach the kids this summer and showing them how to use the computer applications and activities was a special experience and truly humbling. All the kids were fun to work with, and I was able to see another side of the world which I don’t get to see in my day to day life. I’m so happy I decided to volunteer for the week and get a chance to build connections with all the kids. I am looking forward to going again and having other opportunities like this through SCF.” – Anya Shah, Project Fundraising Coordinator

“Teaching the students at the Lite of Light in India was such an enriching experience. Watching each of them learn new skills, like creating their own resumes and navigating apps like Canva, was truly inspiring. Their improvement in reading skills was particularly impressive. Seeing the curiosity and excitement in their eyes made it even more special as they engaged with what we were teaching. Some students were especially intrigued with learning AI on various apps like Canva and PowerPoint. The collaborative spirit among them was heartwarming as they supported each other along the way. It was a joy to witness such passion for learning and growth.” – Shanaya Parikh, Secretary of SCFK4K

The impact wasn’t lost on the LOLT students either. 

“I enjoyed learning all of the applications such as Google Sheets and Google Documents. I learned two new games as well – hangman and making origami fortune tellers.” – Vikrant, an LOLT student

“I found it nice when you came. I enjoyed learning new things. I enjoyed the games.” – Sanjana, an LOLT student

Continuing the Journey of Empowerment

The success of this summer’s K4K internship program at LOLT is just the beginning. With 5,000 already raised towards a goal of 20,000 this year, Share & Care Foundation is poised to expand its impact. But we need your help to reach our target and continue providing underprivileged children in India with the tools and opportunities they need for a brighter future.

By becoming a K4K member or donating to the cause, you’re not just supporting a program – you’re investing in the dreams and potential of countless young minds. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to bridging the digital divide and creating a more equitable world.

Join us in this transformative journey. Together, we can empower the next generation with the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world. Your support today can change a life forever.

The post Empowering Dreams: K4K Interns Transform Lives Through Technology in Mumbai appeared first on Share & Care Foundation.

Watch the videos below for a small glimpse into some of the projects your support makes possible. 

Women Empowerment: Giving Women the Skills and Tools to Become Entrepreneurs

The Samridhi Saksham project empowers over 500 women from 30 rural villages by providing the training, support, and materials needed to launch their own sewing and embroidery businesses. Watch the video below to meet a few of the entrepreneurs and to see how the project trains them to create beautiful, handmade embroidery. 

Educate 2 Success: Building Digital Literacy in Rural Schools

Share & Care has sponsored the creation of digital labs throughout several states in rural India through partnership with the Y4D Foundation, giving under-resourced students access to new technologies and helping them become digitally literate. In the video below, learn how these labs equip students to thrive in our increasingly digital world. 

Educate 2 Graduate: Helping Young Women Achieve Their Dreams

Share & Care partners with the Lila Poonawalla Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting brilliant but financially challenged young women who aspire to succeed in their post-graduate studies and beyond. Watch the video below to meet some of the program’s beneficiaries and learn more about how this foundation helps these young women develop educationally, professionally, and personally. 

Village Upliftment: Improving Quality of Life For Entire Villages

Lokmitras, or “friends of the people,” work to uplift entire villages by organizing community projects and offering support to individual villagers. In this video, hear from Anil, a Lokmitra in the Waghjipur village, and Pravinsingh Bhalu Singh, a local farmer, about how they have worked together to facilitate a water storage project with the potential to benefit everyone in the area. 

English Translation

• Hello, my name is Anil, and I work as a LokMitra in the village of Waghjipur, located in Kapdwanj district. I would like to discuss how to store rainwater into the ground to increase the water level. I have a farmer friend named Pravinsingh Bhalu Singh, who has conducted experiments at his house. I would like to know his response.
• Hello, Anilbhai, our village friend. He approached me and mentioned that Pravinbhai has a water store project. I asked him what the benefits would be. He explained that we should collect and utilize the rainwater that falls by storing it in the ground. He suggested digging or boring a hole for this purpose. I inquired if we could use the existing borehole, He said yes we can but he informed me that the costs of using pipes and other materials have increased. I replied saying that it’s not a problem, and if it’s beneficial, we should proceed. We took some measurements, and since my house is closer, we decided to use 4-5 pipes. We connected them to use the existing borehole, which was already dug up to a certain depth. Anilbhai accompanied me, and said i will assist you in the process. We dug a trench and laid the pipes, ensuring that the roof water flows directly into the borehole. Additionally, I installed a water tank on the roof. If the water level becomes too high, it will now flow directly into the drain. Initially, I had stopped using this borehole, but now I have started using it again, and the water supply is much higher than that of the previous borehole. After about 15 minutes, the water flow decreases briefly but then starts again. The previous borehole used to provide less water, but this new one delivers a sufficient amount in approximately 10 to 11 minutes. After it reaches full capacity, I turn it off, and if I need water again, I can simply restart it. Therefore, I have benefited from this improvement. If you share this with others, please let them know about the advantages. Within 10 to 15 minutes, I have access to an abundant water supply. If all the villagers follow the same approach, everyone will benefit.

Healthcare 2 Unreached: Providing Medical Care in Rural Villages

Share & Care helps provide healthcare to underserved rural areas of the state of Manipur in India through mobile medical clinics, healthcare for mothers and children, and medical education within the community.

The post Reports From India: See Our Partner NGOs in Action appeared first on Share & Care Foundation.

Please watch the videos below to see our partner NGO’s in action.

Village Upliftment: Lokmitras Ensure Children in Village Are Cared For

Lokmitras often look out for village children like Anil and Vishnu, who are forced by circumstance to largely care for themselves and depend on the generosity of others for meals and income.

Women Empowerment: Project Launches to Empower Women in Kashmir

The “Saamartya – Power of Girls” project, supported by Share & Care, was launched in Kashmir to empower girls as community leaders. The project works to fight gender inequality and reaffirm the belief that girls can do anything.

Educate 2 Success: Supporting Highschool Students In Rural India

Share & Care empowers students in four state rural districts (Maharashtra, Madya Pradesh, Orissa & Rajasthan) by ensuring they have the supplies and support necessary to complete their education.

Healthcare 2 Unreached: Providing Medical Care in Rural Villages

Share & Care helps provide healthcare to underserved rural areas of the state of Manipur in India through mobile medical clinics, healthcare for mothers and children, and medical education within the community.

Nirmal Village Program: Lokmitras Reach Out to Communities

Lokmitras (“friends of the people”) offer relief, education, and mentorship in their villages in Gujarat. With the backing of Share & Care, they provide much-needed supplies and support.

Educate 2 Graduate: Making College Education a Reality

For some students like Manimegalai, in TamilNadu, the path to higher education is out of reach without the financial support of Share & Care. Through scholarship funding, she and students like her have a pathway to success.

The post Glimpses of Our Work in India appeared first on Share & Care Foundation.

E2G began as a loan program in 2007, and has evolved into a scholarship program designed to give financial support to students who have shown their desire and ability to earn a college degree, but are unable to afford the tuition and living expenses.

E2G has so far graduated 1,614 scholars, more than half of which (850) are gainfully employed and earning an average salary of $6,500. For the 2019-2020 school year, 73 students were enrolled, with 65 more in the current school year. COVID-19 has interfered with school openings, among other things, but we responded with additional skill development training to help ensure successful graduates.

The E2G program is conducted in several regions of India. The following tells of the admission process from the perspective of the NGO Kalanjiyam in Tamil Nadu, but it also applies to programs carried out elsewhere, including Higher Education Support Trust out of Bharuch, Gujarat.

Kancheepuram District Today

Country-wide, higher education is the single most important ingredient in fostering confident and enlightened adults able to achieve financial independence for themselves and their families.

To that end, we are receiving around 60 applications per year from hopeful students living in villages in Kancheepuram district, one of 38 in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Here, village populations range from around 350 to 1,500. The main source of income is agricultural labor, which is only available around 15 days each month on average, and earns local laborers Rs 60 to Rs 150 per day (roughly 81 cents to just over US$2.00 per day). Additionally, around 90% of the population of the district’s rural villages still use the open fields for toileting. The few homes with indoor facilities often don’t use them due to water supplies and lack of space, using these “rooms” for storage.

Having worked with this population for many years, our partner Kalanjiyam reports a 25% to 34% dropout rate occurring around grades 6th to 8th, with another 55% to 60% dropping out around grades 9th and 10th. Broken out by gender, young women have much higher dropout rates than males. Accordingly, literacy rates for the district’s male rural population is 84.18% vs. 68.96% for women.

Toward the goal of providing financial support while earning their college degrees, plus career guidance to obtain careers in high-paying IT and medical fields, we partnered with Kalanjiyam based on their proven expertise in sustainable change through community development:

• Development of a participatory model for community development that brings local leaders together to achieve village-wide improvements.
• Training interested individuals to assist in village projects and develop their own skills and leadership abilities, and ultimately serve as local role models.
• Targeting the poorest communities to become self-sufficient through education, vocational training, and women empowerment.
• Working directly with district and village schools to address the root cause of dropouts, including transportation issues.
• Improving hygiene and sanitation conditions in schools, including low female attendance due to various cultural and economic factors. Without proper facilities and education regarding menstrual cycles, girls are much more likely to become a dropout statistic.
• Working with parents to reinforce the value of an education for the family as well as individuals. To this end, Kalanjiyam has achieved 100% primary school enrollment and reduced dropout rates overall for middle and high school students.

In all, they have engaged with more than 1,000 rural and urban students to continue their education, often to graduation or college.

As part of this engagement, they also seek to provide various types of scholarships — as available — to lower-income students who have shown the will and desire to achieve an education that can pull themselves and their families out of poverty now, and for generations to come.

With goals commensurate to ours, Share & Care is able to take Kalanjiyam’s successful, knowledge-based program to the next level.

How It Works

We began our alliance with Kalanjiyam in 2016 and have supported 50 students, with nearly half (24) already graduated.

1. The Application

Students submit their application that includes details about their education so far and their family situation. Eligibility is based on:

• Overall financial situation among earning family members.
• Family history of college attendance, i.e., establishing a first generation college student.
• Community standing, such as Scheduled and Tribal Castes.
• Student’s interest.
• Parent’s emotional support of student’s goals.
• Family makeup, including single parent families.
• Physical and mental disabilities.

2. Application Follow Up

Based on the above criteria, applicants receive a home visit to learn more about their living situation and to interact with their family members.

The applicant’s previous schools are also visited, and teachers and other staff are interviewed for this feedback regarding the student.

Next, a personal, one-on-one interview is conducted with the applicant, followed by additional discussions with the family regarding the child’s choice of school and their intended studies.

3. Approved Candidates

Once selected, the scholar receives up to 80% of their college tuition fees, plus associated (fixed amount) financial support for living expenses.

4. Current Students

Once in school, students also receive continual tracking, monitoring, and mentorship. During monthly assessments, students can discuss their academic performance and how they’re handling college life in general. Mentors work with each individual to help guide them through issues of productivity, low self-esteem, and myriad other barriers to their overall success.

This part of the program is especially important as rural children, even the most intelligent and driven, have little opportunity to develop well-rounded personalities. Without available role models, they often need assistance in developing leadership and future planning skills, as well as how to hone their own skills and talents, both personal and professional.

Parents and teachers are also consulted on a regular basis. Parents are kept up-to-date on any issues regarding poor performance, and teachers help determine if additional support for the student is needed through mentoring or counseling.

5. Graduates

Support doesn’t end at graduation. Graduates receive additional assistance with finding a job (which begins prior to graduation), including using local contacts and other employment services.

For those who wish to continue their education, assistance is provided regarding degree options and finding additional financial support.

Success Stories

We are excited to be able to share a couple of success stories. There have been so many throughout the years we’ve supported E2G. First, we have Saranya.

Saranya

Originally from Tirukazhukundram (also spelled Thirukkazhukkundram) in the Kancheepuram district, Saranya was the youngest of three daughters. Her oldest sister was able to attend college, received her degree, and is now married. The middle sister earned a BE in mechanical engineering. Even though their father is a farmer — and unlike the majority of his peers — this was all made possible due to his attitude toward education for his daughters, which he fiercely supported.

Given her older sister’s education successes, Saranya was counting on reaching the same if not higher levels of achievement. Then, four years ago, her family had a severe financial crisis when it became clear that the family’s support in paying for her older sister’s wedding and other housing expenses was more than they could afford.

Now trapped by overwhelming debt, Saranya was now destined to find a job immediately and abandon her dreams of a college education.

Ah, but it doesn’t end there. Saranya was able to turn her situation around when she applied to the E2G program. Once approved, she received 40,000 rupees (US$542.57) per year for her four-year nursing program at Mohamed Sathak AJ College of Nursing, Chennai. Her dream of serving others through nursing was now certain, and her spirit and drive restored.

Currently in her final year, Saranya has already secured a position at Gleneagles Global Health City hospital in Chennai, where she will begin following her final exams. Through continual contact with her Kalanjiyam mentors, she has repeatedly expressed her wholehearted thanks and appreciation for what the E2G program has allowed her to accomplish, and that through her career choice she has the opportunity to pay that forward.

Good luck Saranya! We hope to hear from you soon as you continue your life’s journey.

Bhautik

Bhautik had always wanted to go to college, and had decided on an engineering degree when he applied to Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology. But it wasn’t until after he had been accepted that it  became clear his family could not afford to send him there.

Bhautik’s father is a diamond worker in Surat (Gujarat) and while he always kept his family safe and supplied their basic necessities, his yearly earnings of 85,000 rupees (US$1,152.96) was barely more than a third of the annual tuition his son needed.

Bhautik reached out to the E2G program through Higher Education Support Trust, and was later accepted into the program. Today, Bhautik has a degree in mechanical engineering and with assistance for job placement, he is starting as a product engineer at Sprinklr India Private Limited in the coming year.

The irony is that while Bhautik’s family was too poor to put their son through college, Bhautik will be earning 29,75,000 rupees annually (US$40,353.73), an astounding 35 times more than his father. For Bhautik, he now is able to honor his father’s years of work to secure his son’s future by providing for him in his later years.

For Share & Care, when we see our graduates earn 30 to 40 times that of their parents, we know that entire families (and communities) are being liberated from the cycle of poverty.

Chitra

Chitra is all about breaking stereotypes. Not only has she chosen mechanical engineering as her profession, she hopes to help encourage other young girls to choose their path based on their interests, and not on cultural expectations.

“I am all about breaking stereotypes, who said
mechanical engineering is only for boys?”
—CHITRA

This is all in spite of the fact that Chitra comes from poor beginnings, including an alcoholic father who rarely worked. But her drive prevailed, she studied and worked hard and was awarded 1,000 rupees (US$13.56) due to her good marks in class X board exams — 423 out of 500.

The award came from Kalanjiyam, who was able to follow this up with support through the E2G program, and Chitra is today in her third year pursuing her BE in mechanical engineering at the Vi Institute of Technology in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu.

We are proud of her not only for her academic achievements, but for being a true role model for all girls, particularly those whose lives began in situations similar to hers.

Congratulations Chitra, we can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

We need to and will continue this valuable and proven program that is changing the lives of families every day. Education is at the heart of our mission and we hope you can help support these deserving scholars, their families, and their generations to come.

MAKE A DONATION

The post Educate to Graduate Continues Blazing New Beginnings for Impoverished Families appeared first on Share & Care Foundation.

Educate 2 Graduate operates in several villages throughout Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

It’s back-to-school time. As students of all ages prepare to head back to class, we at Share & Care are thinking of those who are unable to fulfill their educational goals. Some can’t afford supplies or tuition. Some have parents who want them to stay home, work, and help support their households. Many don’t understand the importance of education, and lack positive mentors to point them in the right direction.

In rural India, these scenarios are all too common. That’s why we’re committed to providing resources that not only help children and young adults get a basic education, but also help them earn degrees that will contribute to brighter futures for them and their families.

To make a donation toward our education programs, please click here.

An E2G Student Success Story

Rajubhai Bholabhai Sadadiya grew up in a rural village in the Rajkot District of Gujarat, where he lived with his parents and his two younger sisters. They faced many struggles. His father has a chronic illness, and both of his parents are illiterate. To pay medical expenses and support their family of five, the couple (and sometimes Rajubhai) worked 12- to 14-hour days in the field. And still, wages were meager.

Rajubhai was fortunate to be able to attend primary school in the village while also helping with the farm. His dream was to become a software engineer and to eventually raise his family’s quality of living. In his classes, he went above and beyond. He studied in nature camps, participated in state-level art competitions, and achieved high marks.

He was eventually accepted into a residential school. After 12th grade, he attended college and acquired a Bachelor of Computer Applications. It seemed as if he was right on track to attain his goal.

Then, he found out he needed a master’s degree to get the kind of job that would pull his family out of their impoverished circumstances. He had neither the funds to pursue the degree nor the resources to stay in a larger town where he could attend the necessary classes. He felt crushed.

Thankfully, one of his instructors encouraged him to apply for Share & Care’s Educate 2 Graduate loan-scholarship program, and even provided a letter of recommendation on his behalf.

With help from E2G, Rajubhai completed his master’s degree. He now works as a software engineer at Bytes Technology Ahmebadad, where his salary has tripled in less than three years.

He is now able to support himself as well as his parents and his sisters. He achieved his dream.

Rajubhai’s journey demonstrates the value of hard work and determination. It also shows that lending a helping hand to someone in need really does change lives, and can create ripples of positivity that extend even further than expected.

Would you like to help others like Rajubhai?

With a gift to our E2G program, you can help other brilliant yet marginalized students achieve their dreams of higher education.

DONATE TODAY

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