Padmashree Ms. Lila Poonawalla along with her husband Mr. Firoz Poonawalla established the Lila Poonawalla Foundation (LPF) in 1995 with a vision to contribute to the empowerment of Indian women. LPF supports academically outstanding and financially deserving girls through scholarships to pursue higher education. LPF places great importance on nurturing women’s abilities through comprehensive education, including personal development workshops, activities, study tours, and other enrichment programs. Since its inception, LPF has transformed the lives of over 10,800 girls and their families. The foundation gives Scholarships to the girls from Amaravati, Wardha and Nagpur in Maharashtra and Hyderabad in Telangana.
IDRF partner since: 2009
Focus Area: Education and Women’s Empowerment
Location: Maharashtra and Telangana
Project Title: Merit-cum-need based scholarships and skill-building
Details: LPF awards scholarships to academically meritorious girls from the economically weaker background:
School scholarships (7th grade up to graduation)
Undergraduate scholarships and skill building project (engineering, engineering after diploma, pharmacy, nursing, and science courses)
Postgraduate scholarships and skill building project
The focus of LPF scholarships lies in the overall development and transformation of the scholarship recipients. Besides the financial assistance provided for completing their professional education, LPF focuses on ‘Beyond Scholarship’ by investing in the Skill Building & Development interventions to transform its girls into confident employable professionals for the industry at large. This also makes them balanced, empathetic and responsible human being. LPF provides them support in locating internship and placement opportunities, especially to those girls who may not get campus placement opportunities. LPF School Project is also supported with need based infrastructure and counseling of girls and their parents.
Many LILA Girls/LILA Fellows are working as Leaders in organizations such as Google, TCS, IBM, and Walmart in the USA. In India, thousands of LILA Girls and LILA Fellows are excelling in their career with Corporate MNCs, Hospitals, Academia Institutes, Research Organizations, Consulting and Civil Services.
LPF encourages the culture of give back within the LILA Girls/LILA Fellows through donations to help other girls get an education and blossom into confident young ladies through mentoring.
Skill building and training program for LILA Fellows.
Lila Girls from Wardha in a training class
Please click on https://www.lilapoonawallafoundation.com/ to know more about how Lila Poonawalla Foundation champions the significant cause of promoting girl’s education and women empowerment
The Jayarama Educational Society started a school in West Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. This English Medium School, Jayarama Vijnana Vihara, has provided economically-disadvantaged children from surrounding villages with quality, value-based education since 1999. Presently the school has about 300 students from kindergarten to tenth standard.
IDRF partner since: 2012
Focus Area: Education
Location: Andhra Pradesh
Project Title: School Construction and Expansion
Details: The school building was completed in 2015 and IDRF sent a grant to take care of its whitewashing and fixing fans and doors. IDRF donor, who is a native of this area, has been supporting the expansion of this school building. This expansion has provided classrooms, dining rooms, other general facilities, as well as an activity space for kindergarten students. The benefactor couple visited the school recently and donated a marble statue of Goddess Saraswati for the school. On Vasant Panchami, the school celebrates Saraswati puja and 5 year old kids write their first letters in front of the Goddess’ statue. There are more than 350 children from poor families from the nearby villages that attend this school. As the number of children in the school is increasing, IDRF sent grants in 2018, to construct additional restrooms and water tank for the convenience of the students.
The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is an education organization committed to promoting literacy through tribal and rural India. The foundation is working throughout India, and has nearly 52,000 teachers. Thousands of these individuals are volunteers, and they provide quality education to children in remote villages in 22 Indian states.
IDRF Partner Since: 2007
Focus Area: Education
Location: Bihar
Project Title: Ekal Vidyalayas
Details:
IDRF has partnered with Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation to sponsor 250 one-teacher schools throughout Bihar and the tribal Northeast.
Health Aid Trust (HAT) is a nonprofit organization, established in 1999, committed to providing advancement of health related issues without discriminating on the basis of cast, creed, religion or gender. HAT also provides relief in accidents and natural calamities, such as drought, floods and other natural disasters. They also provide medical activities and organize treatment camps for the needy from time to time.
Details: In 2009, HAT started building a 172 bed hospital in Chaparda, in Junagarh district of Gujarat. Chaparda is a hamlet situated on the foothills of Girnar Mountains and is more than 20 miles from Junagarh city. The hospital is very crucial for medical care of 600,000 people, mostly Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, residing in 250 villages. These people have very limited access to medical services and in case of an emergency, have to travel for more than 60 miles to the nearest city of Junagarh. Furthermore, the medical facilities provided in the city are expensive for these BPL families. IDRF succeeded in fulfilling the keen desire of a native of Chaparda by supporting HAT. IDRF has been regularly sending grants, for meeting the critical needs of expansion and modernization of the hospital facilities, besides supporting the unavoidable operational deficit. The HAT managed “Jayambe Hospital” at Brahmanand Vidhya Dham, Chaparda, since April 2012 has become the center of health services for rural areas of Saurashtra. Recently, the Managing Trustee Mahant Muktanand Bapu -Guru Shri Bhagavatinand Bapu, has decided to provide free medical services to the poor people of the area. Patients belonging to BPL families get free treatments, room facility, food, laboratory and MRI services, while at the hospital. About 500-600 patients get Outpatient health care in one day at this hospital and about 50-60 patients are admitted to the hospital daily. The proposed facilities at the Hospital will provide services in the following medical fields: Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Medicine, Ophthalmology, Dental & Ortho-dentistry, ENT, Pathology, Dermatology and Gynecology.
OPD at Jay Ambe Hospital
Operating Room at Jay Ambe Hospital
Jay Ambe Hospital
Please click on the link to know more about Health Aid Trust’s hospital project. http://betindia.org/hat/
Chaitanya is a developmental non-profit organization established in 1993, as a pioneer of community based micro-finance institutions in Maharashtra. It has been a catalyst in facilitating the process to help the rural women out of the vicious cycle of poverty and bring about gender parity. Chaitanya has been able to provide the women a platform which can address their financial and social needs at grassroots level. Their programs are mutually reinforcing and try to address social issues in a holistic manner. Chaitanya not only develops village level people’s institutions as the core of development process, but also tries to form a sustainable partnership with local organizations.
IDRF partner since: 2005
Location: Maharashtra
Project Title: Livelihood Enhancement Action Program for Women (LEAP)
Details: IDRF has been collaborating with Chaitanya Trust for the enhancement of women’s livelihood programs. The Taleghar area in Pune district has 90% tribal population that was entirely dependent on monsoons for their farming activities. As a result they were growing only one crop in a year and for six months -from December to May, the families had no other sources of livelihood. Some families were thus, forced to migrate to other neighboring villages in search of work. With IDRF’s support, Chaitanya launched the Sustainable Livelihood Enhancement Program aimed at generating multiple livelihood options and improved agricultural practices in order to supplement their incomes. Women have been trained for several activities like: clean milk production, better fodder processing, improved rice farming, organic farming practices, vermi-composting, kitchen gardening and animal husbandry. This enhancement of knowledge of livelihood practices and imparting of skills required to manage available resources, has provided additional source of income for the poor rural women. LEAP has been successfully able to show that new livelihood options and opportunities can be available through a combination of livelihood and micro-finance.
Women-run Enterprise: Cattle Management
Women-run Enterprise: Flour Mill
Women-run Enterprise: Papad Making
Please click on the link to learn more about Chaitanya Trust’s various programs.
Economic Rural Development Society (ERDS) is an NGO established in 1982 in a village in West Bengal. ERDS owes its existence to the dedication and hard work of Mr. Madhu Basu, who wanted to combat the growing poverty in villages and urban areas. It is a non-profit, secular and non-political organization dedicated to the mitigation of misery and poverty, and upliftment of the impoverished.
The primary objective of the organization is to engage in sustainable development techniques to empower the local rural communities, especially women and children. In the initial years it concentrated on non-formal and adult education. Gradually ERDS has diversified its activities in other fields such as women and child development, child education, child sponsorship, health & nutrition, low cost sanitation, care & rehabilitation of the elderly.
IDRF partner since: 2005
Focus Area: Education Health and Women Empowerment
Location: West Bengal
Project Title: Kesarben Memorial School, Gajole, Dist. Malda, and Primary School for Hindi Speaking Children, Boral, Dist. 24-Parganas
Kesarben Memorial School (KMS):
Started in 2013 with support from IDRF, to ensure the overall holistic development of students hailing from poverty stricken background. Apart from providing quality education, extracurricular activities like sports, physical education and self-development are also encouraged. KMS has reached a new height in standard of education due to a dedicated team of qualified teachers and efficient management of ERDS.
Hindi Primary School, Boral:
IDRF came across a unique situation wherein, the future of Hindi speaking migrant laborers in West Bengal was bleak because of their inability to study in Govt. schools, where the medium of instruction is Bengali. Being cognizant of this situation, ERDS succeeded in securing 100% tax exemption under Indian Income Tax Section 35AC- rarity in INDIA, which allowed them to meet IDRF’s requirement of 50% co-financing. Thereby IDRF succeeded in establishing ‘Velji Vishram Popat Primary School’ in Boral, District South 24 Parganas.
All 300 students that attend this school are from below poverty line families (BPL). In order to accommodate all the students and due to shortage of school rooms, the school is run in two shifts. To reduce the rate of drop-outs incentives in the form of toys, occasional tiffin are given to the children. As an integral part of imparting education, school creates awareness about health, hygiene and environmental sanitation so that the children can cultivate good habits from their childhood. The curriculum also includes teaching Bengali, computer, drawing, dance & music.
Students at Kesarben Memorial School, Gajole
Please click on the following link to find more information about Economic Rural Development Society (ERDS). http://erds.in/
Computer Shiksha is a non-profit organization that was founded by corporate leaders in 2012 to bridge digital divide in India. The skills and experience of the founders has led the NGO to provide free but quality computer literacy programs spread over 55 weeks curriculum to underserved children attending the government and municipality schools.
IDRF partner since: 2018
Focus Area: Education
Location: Learning centers in 16 states
Project Title:Computer literacy and digital skills for the underprivileged children
Details: In today’s world of rapid developments in technology, there are still hundreds and thousands of marginalized in India that neither have access nor afford computer literacy and skills to better their lives. The government schemes are mostly available online, which people from under-served communities are unable to access. IDRF is funding to continue a unique program in partnership with Computer Shiksha to impart computer knowledge and skills to the underserved children, who can use technology for the betterment of their lives in every possible way.
The computer literacy program began in April 2013, with just 15 laptops taken in a vehicle to 60 poor school-going children to train them in the beginners level course (31 to 62 weeks), followed by advanced-level course (24 weeks).
The success and popularity of this program led to the implementation of Stage-2 in April 2016. The partner schools are provided with refurbished computers to conduct classes using course content (in multiple languages), self-learning videos, teachers’ manuals, hardware, and upkeep. The classes are monitored live on the internet and students are evaluated periodically for certification. The NGO also delivers computer education to poor students pursuing higher education. Currently, 100,000+ students in 16 states of India are availing of these computer classes at 560 schools. Another great benefit of the program is that the IT infrastructure laid can be used by multiple organizations to impart various kinds of learning modules in the future.
IDRF partner provides lifetime maintenance support for all hardware and software through trained manpower and a helpline. The success of this program has led to requests for the expansion of this model to other countries like Ghana, Nigeria, and Barbados, etc.
Children proudly showing off their computer course completion certificates
Teachers from 22 schools in Jalaun district, Uttar Pradesh completed their computer training course
(August 2021)
Children attending a computer literacy class in their school
Please click on the link to learn more about Computer Shiksha
Bodh Shiksha Samiti has evolved from experiences of collective action that helped establish a community school or bodhshala in Jaipur (Rajasthan, India). The school was initiated in 1987, and has motivated India’s ultra-poor communities to transform their villages and slums into centers of education excellence. It has pioneered the ‘common schools movement in India’, where schools (called Bodhshalas) are built, co-owned and co-managed by, mostly Below Poverty Line (BPL) communities in areas untouched by the government education system. Its key strength lies in its emphasis on learning from varied community settings and classrooms and holding students, parents and teachers in a tight loop of accountability and partnership
IDRF partner since: 2015
Focus Area: Education
Location: Rajasthan
Project Title: Supporting Bodhshalas in the slums of Jaipur (ongoing) and Education of Girls (completed)
Details: The beginnings of the common school movement were simple. The first Bodhshala began with classes under trees, or in dispersed rooms donated by families. Learning was spontaneous with curious children, men and women as participants. A year later, the community identified land and pooled resources to build its Bodhshala with its own hands. Today, Bodh directly manages 43 Bodhshalas in rural and urban Rajasthan and the average student strength of a Bodhshala is 150. For the past several years, Bodhshalas have sustained on community will and participation. 50% of the cost of operations of rural Bodhshalas is covered by the community in some areas. This, is in addition to the land, labor and infrastructure costs that the villages bear. A couple of decades ago, in the blocks of Alwar, where rural Bodhshalas operate, and less than 5% girls were enrolled in schools. Today, with the support of IDRF and other organizations, all girls are enrolled in schools with a drop-out rate of less than 15% at the senior secondary level.
Since 2018, IDRF is financially supporting these Bhodhshalas situated in the slums of Jaipur.
1. Bodhshala Ramdev Nagar: In Ramdev Nagar slum, there is no government school for the children to attend. There are about 100 families living in this slum area and most of them are engaged in making illegal liquor or work as daily laborers. Hence, this community is considered unlawful, deplorable and perceived as a threat to the society. Bodh Samiti runs a primary school that is attended by 100+ students and is encouraged by the community. As this community is socially stigmatized, the students don’t feel safe or respected in schools in other areas. Besides this the parents fear for the safety of their children going outside the slum to attend school and therefore, back this Bodhshala in the slum itself. Even though most of the children who attend this school hardly study beyond grade 8, they are relatively different from the older generation and do not engage in illicit activities, have better social skills, feel more confident and have literacy skills to do better in their jobs. These changes in the children of this marginalized community makes it imperative to raise funds to ensure the continuation of this Bodhshala in this slum. 2. Bhodhshala Guruteg Bahadur: The community in this slum mainly comprises of migrant Sikh families who have been displaced several times by the government and finally made to settle in Jaipur. These marginalized people mainly work as ironsmiths and don’t have enough resources to send their children to schools outside the slum. 30 years ago, Bodh Samiti had established a school here with grades pre-school to 2nd and 60+ students enrolled in it at present. Up to 2005 the school did not have its own building and the classes used to be held in 18 different houses in the slum. The women use to cook meals for their families early in the mornings and they let the school use their houses to conduct classes on a rotational basis. Since then the Bodh Samiti has been able to provide a building for this school which stands tall as a testimonial to the women of this marginalized community who wanted their children to receive education. Even though private schools and government schools have come up in the surrounding neighborhoods, this school needs to be sustained and reformed so that it can continue to work as a demonstration/resource school for the children of the slum.
Education of girls at Residential school-Manas Ganga
Bodh Samiti also runs residential urban and rural senior secondary schools for girls called Manas Ganga. In 2015 IDRF partnered with Bodh Shiksha Samiti to provide free child-centered learning to girls from poor families. Bodh’s first residential senior secondary school ‘Manas Ganga’ is a girl’s only school from sixth grade onwards and provides hostel facilities for the economically and socially marginalized. The school makes a significant attempt at providing a holistic educational framework to balance academics, arts, sports and vocational education components in order to enhance the skills of the girls. IDRF supported the education and annual expenses of 13 girls staying in the hostel.
Free education for children living in slums of Jaipur
Activity-based teaching methods are used at Bodhshalas
IDRF supporter Durgesh Gupta at the girls’ residential school Manas Ganga
Please click on the link to know more about Bhodh Shiksha Samiti’s education programs for the deprived urban and rural communities.
Access to healthcare is among the most basic human needs. IDRF supports projects that provide healthcare in rural areas, towns and cities to those who cannot otherwise afford it. IDRF has supported mobile medical clinics in hard-to-reach villages as well as treatment centers and hospital. These programs also educate people on good health practices like healthcare for pregnant women, immunization, and family planning.
The following table contains IDRF’s NGO-partners working to provide health facilities to the underprivileged. Please click on each NGO-partner to learn more about their programs:
The concept of Auroville – an ideal township devoted to an experiment in human unity – came to the Mother as early as the 1930s. In the mid-1960s the Sri Aurobindo Society in Pondicherry reached out to Her that such a township should be started and in February 1968 some 5,000 people from 124 countries and every state of India attended the inauguration ceremony. The Unity Fund has been established as the primary channel for all income into Auroville.
IDRF partner since: 2002
Focus Area: Education
Location: Tamil Nadu
Project Title: Udavi School.
Details: Udavi School started in 1971 as a Creche (Balwadi). Slowly it grew and in 1995, it was recognized as a Matriculation School and since then it has been functioning as such to cater to the rural population in Tamil Nadu. It has about 290+ students from Pre-k to 10th grade. It aims to give a high quality education to the children from disadvantaged families that come to school from Edayanchavadi and nearby villages. It ensures all round development of personality of the children and infuses them with high ethical values.Sri Aurobindo Ashram supports the running expenses of this school that imparts quality education with modern facilities for an all-round development of personality of the children and infuse them with high ethical values. Since 2002, IDRF has been supporting ‘Udavi School’ that aims at imparting the vision of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. Children’s formal education is supplemented by an array of activities: clay work, dance, drama, music, carpentry, tailoring and art work.Over the years, IDRF grants have met varied needs such as construction of compound wall (2002), relocation of library building (2006), staff residences (2005), dorm-room furnishings, and upgradation of computer rooms (2008) and construction of math laboratory (2009).One of the principal challenges faced by the school was to find good teachers. One of the incentives which help teachers and volunteers to come and work in Udavi School is to provide them with residential accommodation. In 2005, with IDRF’s support two additional rooms on top of an existing building were constructed. This has helped in recruiting qualified teachers and staff to work at this school. In 2015, IDRF funded the construction of a sports store room and caretaker’s residence on the campus. In 2017, a water tank to provide water for the upper level of the school became an urgent need and IDRF helped in the construction of a 20,000 liters water tank to meet the growing water needs.With the spread of the school’s reputation and an increase in the population, in 2018, IDRF supported the expansion of school facilities by providing additional classrooms, refurbishing existing rooms with ceiling fans and light fixtures, activity tables, and a playground and sand pit for the playschool. In 2019, some expansions and repair needs came up at the school that needed immediate attention. IDRF helped with repairs to the waste treatment plant on the school campus, cement floors where children play table tennis and seating area of open air theater, fixed support structure for the asbestos-sheet roof over rooms, construction of a STEM lab, additional toilet and septic tank near playground and lights in the parking shed.Today with the help of the infrastructure and facilities provided with IDRF’s support, Udavi School is able to expand the horizons of the poor rural children, who are able to aspire for things, for which they would have only dreamt of before!The sky’s the limit for this Udavi School Alumnus…. Aravindh comes from a poor family in the village and was the first member to get education! After the completion of his schooling and graduation, he got an air pilot’s license and is leading a successful life today.
Kindergarten students in the newly added wing
Students in the classroom
Students outside the newly constructed STEM lab
Please click on the link below to watch a video on Udavi School and the enthusiastic students from disadvantaged families discussing their future professional plans! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGxDD4SwCkA&t=3s
Ms. Shubhra Garg (Masters in Mathematics; MBA), USA
Secretary
Member since 2022
Shubhra Garg retired from the World Bank in 2015 as Chief Administrative Officer, having served for over 25 year in a variety of senior management and technical positions in the areas of strategy, leadership, budget, performance management, finance, and administration. She has also served as treasurer and secretary on the Board of another NGO. Shubhra did her Master in Mathematics from Delhi University and an M.B.A from University of Maryland.
Mr. Adesh Jain (Masters, B.Tech), USA
Member since 2022
Adesh is a seasoned, hands-on leader with over 30 years of progressive experience in leading an information technology services business. He is currently responsible for Belcan’s Federal Civilian business and Vice President and General Manager. He is passionate about building trusting customer relationships, and business management with sharp focus on growth. Adesh has a Masters degree from University of Maryland at College park and Bachelors from Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur, India. Adesh enjoys reading business books, running, badminton and volunteering in various organizations including IDRF, Capital IIT and Girls Scouts. He lives in Herndon, VA with his wife and two kids.
Dr. Prem Garg (PhD, Engineering-Economic Systems), USA
Treasurer
Member since August 2014
Dr. Prem Garg retired from the World Bank in 2007 after serving as the Director for the Quality Assurance Group and in a variety of operational and executive positions for 35 years. He is recognized as a leader in providing innovative approaches to development programs. Dr. Garg received his doctorate in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University.
Rajeev has over 20 years’ experience in starting and scaling small business for success and impact. He’s been involved with IDRF as a volunteer, adviser, Board member and now as their Executive Director. His focus is making IDRF more efficient and impactful in its mission to serve the underprivileged. He holds a B.Tech. from IIT Delhi and an MBA from University of Maryland.
Donor Spotlight
Mr. Inder Sud, a former World Bank Director and President of the 1818 Society (2015-21), is
a highly respected member of the Indian-American community in the Washington DC Metro Area. Over the years he and his wife Peggy have supported several projects in India through IDRF. In 2022, they supported the
renovation of a hostel mess at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in Jalandhar, Punjab with the help of the Udhampur Rotary Eye & General Welfare Foundation.
Dr. G. R. Verma (Ph.D. Mathematics), USA
Member since 2011
Dr. Verma is among IDRF’s top donors. He visits India every year, devoting his resources to rural women’s education, self-empowerment and social reforms. IDRF benefits tremendously from his extensive experience in development. He guides NGOs in India to create scalable projects that can accelerate social development.
Bharathi Mallampati (MS, Engineering), USA
Member since June 2022
Bharathi came to the USA for her MS in 1991 and pursued her career with Bell Communications Research. She was involved in IDRF from 1995 and later became the New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia chapters’ coordinator. Moving back to India for family, she started a small-scale industry for a few years and worked as an Associate Professor at CVR Engineering College. She participated in different projects under Sewa Bharati and was the joint secretary for Vaidehi Ashram, a home for destitute girls. She later started a new project for adolescent girls from poor neighborhoods called Vaidehi Kishori Vikas Yojana. Since 2015, moving back to the USA, she has taken an advisory role in projects in India and actively works with IDRF to raise funds.
Ms. Nisha Narayanan (Masters in Economics), USA
Member since 2021
Ms. Narayanan is a risk and compliance professional with over 15 years of experience in anti-money laundering, anti-corruption and political and economic risk. She became interested in sustainable development while working at the World Bank and through a prior project on corporate citizenship in India. She brings to IDRF a passion for empowering marginalized communities with the tools to improve their lives through strong local partnerships that focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance goals. She received an M.A. in Economics from George Mason University and a B.A. in International Relations from William and Mary.
Mr. Mohinder Gulati, (MBA-Finance, Masters in Physics), USA
Member since 2017
Mr. Gulati retired from the World Bank in 2015 after having served as Advisor (Energy) at the World Bank and as Chief Operating Officer of United Nations Sustainable Energy for All. He has also worked in several executive positions in India in a financial intermediary, commercial banking, investment banking, and armed forces. A post-graduate in Physics and Management from Delhi University and Management training at Harvard Business School, he brings 40 years of development experience to the Board.
Dr Vinod Prakash (PhD, Economics),USA
President
Member since 1988
Dr. Vinod Prakash is a retired World Bank economist and the founder of IDRF. He has been working pro bono since 1988 to help alleviate poverty and enable sustainable development in India. He provides strategic oversight to leverage maximum benefits from donor dollars and shapes programs so they address the interlocking needs of the less privileged.
Dr. Suresh C. Gupta (M.D.), USA
Member since 2020
Dr. Gupta is a highly respected physician who has been honored by the state of Maryland for his work as chair of the Maryland Board of Physicians. He has been elected as the first Indian-American president of Prince George’s Medical Society, Prince George’s Hospital Center, President of Hindu Temple, and President and Chairman of Durga Temple. He is actively involved in the cultural-philanthropic activities of the Indian-American community and several religious, health-related activities at the county and state level. Dr. Gupta has held leadership positions with several Indian-American organizations in the area.
