Education is the door to opportunities. Unfortunately, the literacy of women in India still stands at 64.6 percent. According to UNESCO reports, 132 million girls are out of school globally, of which 34.3 million girls are in primary school age, 30 million lower-secondary school age, and 67.4 million of upper-secondary school age.
However, after 34 years, the Government of India has taken a progressive step to support quality and equitable education for all girls and transgender students, as per NEP 2020. India needs more such initiatives to make education affordable for girls and fight against gender inequality.
With a ray of hope around the corner, Haneen Farid and Disha Panda, two Bangalorean girls came up with an idea called “Project Arambha”, in collaboration with an UN-accredited NGO called 1M1B (1 Million for 1 Billion).
Speaking to Life Beyond Numbers, these two 17-year-olds have shared their story on how they have raised funds to help girls study amid coronavirus outbreaks.
What is Project Arambha?
Arambha means ‘beginning’ and Project Arambha signals the start of a new life for underprivileged girls.
Their program includes workshops on communication style, professionalism, resume-writing, and interviews. They also guide the girls through the job application process and help them secure a good job after completion of their education.
We asked them how they got the calling to start this initiative.
Disha also added about her calling to this project.
How did it start?
In February 2021, an UN-accredited non-profit organization called 1M1B, i.e., 1 Million for 1 Billion came to DPS Bangalore North, where Disha and Haneen were studying and were introduced to their 1M1B Future Leaders program. This program discovers and nurtures the world’s most promising leaders by providing more clarity over their purpose using a framework before turning them into an actionable project aligned with the UN SDGs.
“We realized that this is the opportunity where we would have to add meaning to our lives and the lives of many other girls. Hence, we signed up for the program in a heartbeat, and that is how Project Arambha came to be” stated Disha and Haneen. The duo is one among those chosen from over 120 students to join the 1M1B Activate Impact Summit, 2021, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Through this project, they stood up against gender inequality.
“We will do whatever it takes to ensure that the girls of India aren’t deprived of the basic right to get quality education”, asserted the duo. The girls also receive scholarships from the funds that they raise and it goes to paying their college fees for those who can’t afford them. So far, 44 girls are currently being benefited under Project Arambha.
Fundraising
To make any of the above happen, funding is necessary.
“The Himalaya Drug Company was kind enough to sponsor 14 girls under Project Arambha for a total of three years. We have been working on Project Arambha for the past one year”, professed the duo.
To date, Project Arambha has done 3 crowdfunding campaigns. The first one is ‘Help Us Find the College Education of Underprivileged Girls’ on Impact Guru. They raised INR 2 lakh between May and July. The second fundraiser was called ‘Campaign to transform the lives of girls through higher education’ on Fueladream where they raised INR 4,65,000 between September and October.
And finally, the third fundraiser is called ‘Help two teenagers save underprivileged girls from dropping out’ on Impact Guru. Their goal is to raise INR 4,20,000 out of which they have raised about INR 40,000.
Along with crowdfunding, they have also collaborated with organizations like Sparsha Trust, which is their first beneficiary organization, where they work with 14 girls to fund their college fees, and conduct career sessions for them. Radiant Life Charitable Trust was their second beneficiary organization, where they work with 30 girls here to fund their college fees, and conduct career sessions for them as well.
Challenges & happy moments
Well, difficulties have their share too. The biggest challenge has been meeting their fundraising requirements. Even after raising about INR 15 lakh, they still need to raise INR 4 lakh to support some of the girls for their current academic year. Hence, they have been chasing corporates for the past few months to convince them to contribute. Although the deal was not done, instead have only improved their proposals, pitches, and professionalism.
If there are bad times, certainly there would be good times too. So is for both Disha and Haneen with the Project Arambha.
Another girl named Seemitha P, a II PUC student and aspiring IPS officer who was benefited from this project said, “Project Arambha has supported me in a lot of ways. The online career guidance sessions not only gave me clarity on my aim in life but also helped me understand how to achieve my ambition. The knowledge and direction I received from the seminars were valuable. And it set me up on the right path to my goals.”
Looking ahead
Down the line, they have plans to educate 300 girls and conduct career sessions for all of them to help them secure their future and move up the ladder in their careers. “We want our girls to break the glass ceiling in their fields of interest, and have nothing stop them”, concluded the duo.