Alisha Malhotra, in conjunction with One Kind Act and YUVA Unstoppable, is delighted to be able to continue with her Bright Start Program with Improved Lavatories, Handwashing Facilities, Smart Classrooms and Scholarships
'Seven years ago, after suffering a stroke in my mid-twenties, I had to put my teaching career on hold. The work I use to do empowered children to stand on their own two feet. More recently, I returned to education. In partnership with One Kind Act and Yuva Unstoppable, I launched Bright Start - An Educational Scholarship Programme to help some of the brightest but most marginalised children in India. This programme of education, mentoring and support has helped children from 15 years old, through to university and then their first job. It has given them an opportunity they never dreamt possible, that is to pursue academic aspirations and break out of the poverty cycle they find themselves in. I have now enhanced this Programme to allow you to also consider other aspects of the learning experience for so many poor children of India.'
Alisha Malhotra
BRIGHT START
In partnership with Yuva Unstoppable, One Kind Act see various aspects of helping children to gain a Bright Start in their personal journey in Education.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME FOR 2 YEARS
DONATION AMOUNT - £1,000
The Problem?
Only up to 50% of India’s children go to school, of which 71% come from impoverished backgrounds but who invariably have to drop out of school by the age of 15
Why?
For reasons totally out of their control - their family poverty, child exploitation, forced marriages, poor teaching, lack of school meals…this sad list is endless.
The Impact?
This drop-out pattern means these children never get out of their poverty cycle and cannot aspire to dreams they are capable of fulfilling.
What?
This Bright Start Scholarship Programme will provide access to further education to the smartest children in India's most economically challenged families; children who are carefully selected by YUVA Unstoppable via a rigorous selection process that takes into consideration their academic ability and their social economic background (family income less £3,000 per annum).
The 2-year scholarship will support the meritorious but needy students who have got 90% or above at 10th Grade (age 14) to study further in 11th and 12th Grades (age 15-16) at a good govt or semi-govt school in the field of their choice eg Medicine, Engineering, Commerce or Arts. They will get all the support they need to meet their educational expenses and academic demands to ensure they score well at end of 12th Grade and to secure admission in a reputed College.
These two years are deemed to be the most crucial to facilitate progression into college and therefore, is recognised as needing the greatest support. Additionally, the expense for coaching for the entrance examinations required for medical & engineering students are quite high and such students are unable to afford these expenses. Further monetary support is required to prevent drop-out of students from 10th to 11th Grade. Empowering students at this stage is seen to have a vast impact on the overall socio-economic development of each state and ultimately, the entire country.
With a holistic and well-rounded model of providing scholarships, mentorship and personal/career development through regular feedback and school reporting during these two years, these students will be able to progress onto their chosen careers with greater certainty and ultimately, give back to their own communities as they establish their careers.
How?
With your support of £1,000, we will be able to provide a child of 15 years of age with 2 years of education, mentoring and support to ensure they achieve almost guaranteed entrance into college. Your donation will not be handed over to the beneficiary but will be handled by YUVA over the 2 years to pay for all educational expenses of admission to college, tuition fees, stationery, textbooks, college projects and field trips. And whilst your donation will be directly supporting the full educational needs of the child, our partnership will ensure that the families get any financial support they require to see through their child’s education. In addition to your donation, we offer you an opportunity to effectively adopt your child and get to know them personally through modern technology, mentor them to help them grow and inspire them to dream and realise their ambitions. You will be regularly appraised of their performance and achievements.
Education is a human right and a public responsibility. Please help us to help to change the trajectory of the lives of talented children, to invest in a more sustainable future for them and to help them give back to their community in a way that simply was not possible before.
SCHOOL TRANSFORMATION PROJECT
One Kind Act has partnered with Yuva Unstoppable for their core program of Renovation & Refurbishment of existing Government Schools in India. Sadly, of the 1.3 million government schools in India, 72% of these schools have some form of toilet facilities for girls but almost 85% of them are non-functional, lack privacy and security for girls. Likewise, government schools in around 60% of rural areas have not been connected digitally in India. This stark gap is becoming even more apparent post the pandemic.
YUVA Unstoppable has a Vision to transform 10,000 schools in India through the intervention of new & improved sanitation facilities for all and through the medium of providing digital education for children. So far, Yuva Unstoppable has already transformed 3000 schools reaching over 6 million beneficiaries spread across 14 states of India via better toilets & sanitation facilities, improved drinking water areas, scholarships, smart classrooms, value-based trainings, behaviour change sessions etc. The aim is to overall enhance and improve the ambience of the school and make schools a better learning space.
SMART CLASSROOMS IN 1 SCHOOL
DONATION AMOUNT - £3,000
Yuva identify government schools that want Smart Classroom facilities in all the major Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal, and Madya Pradesh.
As part of this initiative, they carry out the following:
- Refurbish classrooms to facilitate a digital education setup.
- Develop various Bala tools in the classroom keeping in mind their audience of students
- Provide all necessary furniture eg desks, benches in the classroom
Refurbishment takes place of 1 classroom for schools with less than 300 pupils, 2 classrooms for those with above 300. Upon completion of the project, the Donor is provided complete reporting and a utilization certificate for the donation made.
Based on an LSE case study model, Yuva have measured an increase in academic performance, attendance, enrolment, and students’ engagement in classrooms by 15% and a 4-times improvement in Maths and Science.
CLEAN SANITATION (NEW TOILETS & WASHING FACILITIES) IN 1 SCHOOL
DONATION AMOUNT - £7,000
Yuva identify government schools in all the major Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal, and Madya Pradesh where the toilet, washing and drinking facilities are in deteriorating, often appalling, condition, such that it is a life-threat to their health and well-being. Girls do not feel safe in using such dreadful facilities, which means they often abstain from school, particularly during menstruation.
As part of this initiative, Yuva completely transform the drinking water and dish washing areas of a school and newly install a toilet block of 6WCs for girls and a toilet block of 12 urinals for boys for every 300 pupils. They also undertake all necessary painting/colour work associated with this project. Maintenance visits and BCC sessions take place at regular intervals. Upon completion of the project, the Donor is provided complete reporting and a utilization certificate for the donation made.
SMART CLASSROOMS & CLEAN SANITATION IN 1 SCHOOL
DONATION AMOUNT - £10,000
Yuva enter a needy government school and provide all of the above 2 categories as well as the following:
- Provide all other infrastructure facilities like water purifiers, library books, playground items, dustbins, etc. as per requirements and the number of students.
- Facilitate Environment-Friendly Campus with Solar Panels to supplement eco-friendly electricity generation, rainwater harvesting to conserve rainwater and improve groundwater level, and beautification of campus via tree plantation.
The entire scope of all above project work (identification of school, requisite permissions, background testing, final design and layout, school administration support, supervision of work-in-progress, hand-over and impact assessment) is all done by Yuva Unstoppable.
About YUVA Unstoppable
Please note that YUVA Unstoppable is a non-profit in India which has benefited over 1800 schools and 800,000 underprivileged children across 41 cities of India. They work with 100 top corporate companies (HDFC Bank, 3M, IBM, Google, SGS, Korn Ferry, Vedanta, Disney, Hexaware, Nomura Bank, HT Parekh Foundation, CAF, UNICEF, UnitedWay and many others) to transform government schools (better toilets, improved drinking water, scholarships, digital literacy, value-based training, etc.). KPMG audits financials and Deloitte reviews processes.
About One Kind Act
One Kind Act Changes Communities and lives of others globally who suffer as a result of Poverty of Health, Nutrition and Education and may have Fallen Through The Net of the larger charities. Learn More here
Grants Awarded to Yuva Unstoppable by One Kind Act
1. 13 FEB2023: With the kind donation of Savan Patel and topped up by OKA re gift aid, a grant of £10,000 was made for the installation of new toilets, clean drinking water and Smart classrooms at a government school in India.
2. 27 FEB 2023: With the kind donation of Your One Wish supporters, a grant of £5,000 was made for Education Sponsorships for 5 children onto the Bright Start Programme.
3. 17 APR 2023: With the kind donation of someone who wishes to remain anonymous and other OKA supporters, a grant of £25,000 was made for Education Sponsorships for 25 children onto the Bright Start Programme.
4. 17 APR 2023: With fundraising efforts by our Sponsor Partner, Firdaus Nagree (FCI), a grant of £7,000 was made for installation of new toilets and clean drinking water at a government school in India.
5. 29 MAY 2023: With the kind donation of Rajesh Passi, Narinder Kohli & Avnish Goyal, a grant of £41,000 was made for Education Sponsorship for 1 child and installation of new toilets, clean drinking water and Smart classrooms at 4 government schools in India.
6. 11 JUL 2023: With fundraising efforts by our Sponsor Partner, Firdaus Nagree (FCI), a grant of £7,000 was made for installation of new toilets and clean drinking water at a government school in India.
7. 15 AUG 2023: With the kind donation of a Supporter, a grant of £1,000 was made for Sponsorship for 1 child onto Bright Start Programme.
8. 19 SEP 2023: With fundraising efforts by our Sponsor Partner at their Prideview Cricket Day and from the AAA event, a grant of £20,000 was made for Education Sponsorship for 10 children and installation of new toilets, clean drinking water and Smart classrooms at a government school in India.
9. 04 OCT 2023: With fundraising efforts by our Sponsor Partner, Pyramid Pharmacy at our Garden Party and from the AAA event, a grant of £48,000 was made for Education Sponsorship for 15 children, installation of new toilets and clean drinking water at 1 school, of Smart classrooms at 2 schools, and of both new toilets, clean drinking water and Smart classrooms at 2 schools.
10. 05 NOV 2023: With the kind donation of various Supporters and from the AAA event, a grant of £124,000 was made for Education Sponsorship for 21 children, installation of Smart classroom at 1 school, and of new toilets, clean drinking water and Smart classrooms at 10 schools.
11. 07 DEC 2023: With fundraising efforts at the AAA event, a grant of £20,000 was made for installation of new toilets, clean drinking water and Smart classrooms at 2 government schools in India.
TOTAL GRANTS AWARDED TO YUVA UNSTOPPABLE FOR THE BRIGHT START PROGRAMME FOR 2023 IS £308,000
SUMMARY OF FUNDS RAISED - New Toilets, Clean Water and Smart Classrooms @ £10,000: 19 Manual Donations + 1 Online Donation = TOTAL £200,000
SUMMARY OF FUNDS RAISED - New Toilets and clean Drinking water @ £7,000: 3 Manual Donations = TOTAL £21,000
SUMMARY OF FUNDS RAISED - Smart Classroom @ £3,000: 3 Manual Donations = TOTAL £9,000