GyanSetu Community Education Centres

India

Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) supports an impressive portfolio of initiatives aimed at educating and empowering underprivileged girls in urban and rural India. Since it began in 1994, SHEF has reached over 2,500,000 students through direct and indirect initiatives in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Many kids living in the very poor “slum” areas in cities or in remote villages never attend school. These one-room schools provide primary and early childhood education to marginalized children in city slums and poor rural villages to prepare them to transition to the public schools. They also provide critical training for mothers on health and hygiene, domestic violence, child marriage, and alcoholism and connects them to available community services.

We support the 120-200 children of 4 Gyan Setus. These primary schools are Kasawan, Laltapur, Mohammadpur, and Unai. located in urban slums around Lucknow, India where there is no access to clean water, sanitation, or education, and a family of 4 lives on less than $2/day.

86% of these children successfully transition to public school and have a fighting chance for a better life for themselves and their families.

Program Components:

Education

Transitioning out of school children in slums to public school system
In the first half of 2022, 204 children transitioned to mainstream schools

Program Components:

Community Development

Adult education programs: 167 women enrolled in adult literacy program in 2022
Counsellor services to support and educate parents in issues of domestic violence, substance abuse, and child marriage

Advocacy

Neelam, a student of Nabipanah center, reported that her family was in a financial crisis and her parents had refused to pay her school fee. Our system of councillors advocated on behalf of Neelam to the government Social Welfare Department who agreed to pay the school fees of the girl. Neelam is now happily continuing her studies.

Domestic Violence Intervention

A case of alcoholism and domestic violence after marriage was reported to us in Nimdi. Our counsellors assessed the situation and coordinate with police to secure the woman’s safety and initiate divorce proceedings.

Justice

One of the toughest cases handled by our counsellors was a child sexual assault. Our counsellors initiated police proceedings and supported the victim’s mother in pressing charges despite family pressures. The perpetrator was convicted and is in prison.

What we do:

Fund the construction and operation of 5 one-room classrooms
Includes all costs for supplies, teacher-training, parent workshops, and community development initiatives
Funded much-needed supplies including masks, food, sanitation supplies, and smartphones in response to COVID-19 pandemic
The total annual operational costs for 1 Gyan Setu is $4000 Canadian