DS5 - Educational Aid To Underprivileged Children

DS5 - Educational Aid To Underprivileged Children

Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” For ages, education has been the only reliable way out of poverty. Around the world, education for underprivileged children has a disproportionate benefit, both to the child and the society at large. The United Nations regards education as a worldwide “passport to human development”. Children’s education needs to be prioritized to secure a nation’s future. The sad reality, however, is that the underprivileged children often attend substandard schools, and don’t get a quality education. Education is their only shot at a better life, and irrespective of innate ability, underprivileged children can’t access quality education equally.

India is largely a poor or low-income country, where 134 Million people live under extreme poverty–living on less than $2 per day–and 1.162 Billion are low-income–living on $2-10 per day. The pandemic has expanded the ranks of the poor by 75 Million people. Cash strapped parents often overlook the eventual benefits that quality education brings. For many families, the short term need for earning hands outweighs the long term benefits of education. Poor parents put their children to work or keep them at home to help with chores, especially girls who help with raising their younger siblings. Children skip school and get caught in a cycle of poverty by foregoing their education.

Kalyan Krupa Foundation aims to dispense grants to support these underprivileged children through capital and capacity building. It also works on developing a research ecosystem focused on devising collaborative platforms for knowledge-building and engaging with the central and state governments to strengthen policy formulation and implementation.