About Us
Why we do what we do?
In the past few years, an increase in the number of private schools in rural areas have made parents shift to these schools. This has caused multiple issues. Parents from low-income houses struggle financially to pay the exorbitant fees of the private schools
The admission numbers have come down in government schools.This has further led to reduction in the number of teachers appointed to these schools.
The government schools have to now cope with decreased staff. So the existing teachers have to handle multiple roles. Not just teaching they have to juggle with administrative duties as well.
This is where Avakaasha Foundation comes in. We identify potential schools in need of teachers. We work with the schools in recruiting women teachers from the local community.
We also monitor the schools for improvement. Primarily we focus on improvement in admissions, better academic results & good feedback from parents.
Apart from this we also provide funding to build basic infrastructure like toilets for girls, library, computer labs, internet, etc. We also sponsor training, cultural and sports events.
We are aligned with UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Our Mission
Our mission is to improve the quality of free education in rural areas, to empower children from low income homes to excel in their education.
Our Goals
● Equal opportunity for all:
We try to reach children in remote places and provide them with an opportunity for quality education. We currently focus on UN Sustainable Development Goals #SDG4 – Quality Education. By providing skilled teachers for subjects like Mathematics, English and Science, we not only help increase the admission to the schools, but also help the rest of the staff to focus on what they are trained to teach. This improves the results drastically thereby attracting more students to the school.
● Rural development:
While rural communities will benefit from better quality of free education, we also want to transform and empower communities in villages through participatory rural development. We aim to achieve this transformation by partnering with communities, industry and enterprise on various high impact projects like sustainability, climate change, health & hygiene, agriculture etc.
● Experiential learning:
Avakaasha encourages experiential learning in children, our focus is on active learning. We also focus on improving the communication skills of students in Kannada and English. We understand that sports also plays a major role in overall development of children. Hence the Foundation also sponsors awards for sports events and sponsor student participation in various sports.
● Employ & empower qualified rural women:
Avakaasha hires qualified women teachers who are recruited locally to these government schools. Thus Avakaasha provides employment and the right opportunity to talented rural women.
● Basic infrastructure:
In addition to ensuring the schools have sufficient teaching staff, Foundation also provides funds to build basic infrastructure required in schools, such as toilets, library, classrooms, computer labs, internet conectivity etc.
Our Team
Avakaasha is run by a small team working remotely, with a big support from volunteers and donors.
Shreepad Kuthyar
Being from rural background Shreepad understood the need to support children from rural areas. He started Avakaasha Foundation to provide quality education to children in remote, rural parts of Karnataka, India.
Usha Hariprasad
Usha handles most of the ground work for Avakaasha. She is the Program Manager of Avakaasha Foundation and works with schools that are associated with us. She is passionate about making a difference in the rural communities through education.
Vasudha L
Vasudha manages collaboration with donors, corporates and likeminded individuals who love to make a difference in the community. She is the Director, Corporate Relations at Avakaasha Foundation.