IIMPACT - Making a difference through education

RESULTS FOR ALL TO SEE....

2011-07-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

IIMPACT GIRLS

ACHIEVE FANTASTIC RESULTS !

Thousands of girls at IIMPACT have passed class I and joined class II this year. Many of those who completed class V have joined formal schools in class VI - this year their number of graduates is 762!

CLASS V RESULTS 2011

762 Girls Appeared For the Exams this year. 100% passed.

IIMPACT CLASS V RESULTS 2011
GIRLS APPEARED IN CLASS V IN 2011	762

GIRLS PASSED WITH FIRST DIVISION	598

GIRLS PASSED WITH SECOND DIVISION	160

GIRLS PASSED WITH THIRD DIVISION	4

TOTAL GIRLS PASSED IN 2011	762

A new milestone -

762 girls had appeared in class V exams at two IIMPACT locations, Alwar in Rajasthan and Sitapur, in Uttar Pradesh. These girls performed very well indeed attaining good marks.

You will soon meet some of the outstanding performers:

This year the number of girls who have successfully completed class V from IIMPACT is 762. As a point of reference the first batch of 75 IIMPACT girls had passed class V in 2006 and joined formal schools from class VI, this number has gone up in successive years and this year alone 762 girls have passed and a majority are ready to join class VI.

Join us to congratulate all these girls and wish them success in the future!

We thank all our donors for making all this possible – their steadfast support is hugely motivating and inspirational.

IIMPACT GIRLS SHINE ONCE AGAIN!

2011-05-24T23:08:00.000-07:00

CLASS V EXAM RESULTS DECLARED:

OUR GIRLS SHINE ONCE AGAIN!

There is an air of excitement across IIMPACT centres in Alwar. This year 463 girls appeared for the Class 5 examination in Rajasthan, 302 girls obtained Ist division and all who appeared have cleared Class 5 . This is a 100 % result!

Our coordinator in Alwar says- "The Class 5 syllabus is not that easy but our girls really worked hard, our teachers worked overtime, mothers did not involve their daughters in household chores and the fathers blessed them as they sat on the charpoys keeping an eye when the extra classes were on. Magnificent collective effort and the results are for all of us to see."

Our best wishes to all the girls!

IIMPACT Secures A Spot On GlobalGiving.Org

2011-04-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to share that IIMPACT has successfully secured a permanent spot on the international charity website GlobalGiving.org. In order to qualify to be listed on GlobalGiving, IIMPACT had to complete their Open Challenge - which required us to raise $4000 from 50 donors by April 30th. We are thrilled to report that we successfully met both fundraising targets and are right now in the 9th place - among 247 competing charities - for donations, with $9180 raised so far, and in 27th place for number of donors, with 63 donors. Here is the link to our page on GlobalGiving.org http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/iimpact-educating-the-girl-child-in-india/

You can also view the current rankings of all the charities at http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/v2/leaderboards/global-open-challenge/index.html?showAll=true

Publish Post

We thank all our supporters for making this happen.

P.S. Viswanathan to Run Boson Marathon to Raise Funds For IIMPACT!

2011-04-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

We at IIMPACT are all very excited and wanted to share with you that IIMPACT is being represented at the Boston Marathon. Many thanks to our ardent supporter P.S. Viswanathan (or Vish, as he is known to all of us) for expressing his support to us this year in such a unique and laudable manner - by running theBoston Marathon on April 18, 2011! Vish is pledging all funds raised to IIMPACT.

At 64 Vish continues to achieve new heights - he is running his 7th complete 42km run in Boston on the 18th of the month and as always, is supporting a cause he truly believes in.
So while Vish trains and runs and succeeds, it would mean a lot if you could follow the link below, read his pledge, and encourage people to donate however much you can towards this goal.
We at IIMPACT applaud him for this effort and invite you to cheer him on as well, reaffirming your belief in him and your solidarity with IIMPACT, educating the girl child.
Here's the link:
http://www.iimpact.net/2011/03/28/p-s-viswanathan-to-run-boston-marathon-for-iimpact/
You can keep track of news related to Vish and the Marathon on our website www.iimpact.net.
It would be great if you could circulate this information amongst your family and friends in order to help lend additional moral support to Vish through your network.

Get your friends to be part of the IIMPACT story.

Vikas Patnaik and his family visit IIMPACT centres in Mewat ...his experience in his own words

2011-02-13T22:26:00.001-08:00

On Januray 7, 2011, we visited the Kankadkhedi and Raipuri centers of IIMPACT.

Walking into the first center was like walking into a temple. There were throngs of people there to greet us – children, their parents, village elders – all with smiles and the same glint of hope in their eyes. They garlanded us to welcome us. I was moved to tears. We entered a very old room, painted in red, with cracked walls and a faint natural light diffusing in from outside, where the little girls sat in line, their backs against the walls, their heads covered in shawls to bear the fierce cold, their eyes peering into us with a heartwarming mix of curiosity and shyness. Upon instruction from two young and very able teachers, the girls then performed songs, recited poems, solved arithmetic problems on a small blackboard in the corner – all with an uplifting confidence, rarely faltering – offering a glimpse of a future, secular India, and reaffirming the notion that no country can truly progress until its women are educated and empowered.

The second center was a few miles further south, in another small village with no paved roads and no proper sewage system. This center was painted a lush blue; recently so, I found out, thanks to one of the oldest women of the village, who now lives all by herself with no one to look after her. Again the same overwhelming welcome, the positive energy and the humanity, the air so full of hope and posing the question again and again in my mind – how is it that utter deprivation preserves the innocence of the human spirit? In addition to the children’s routine of poems, reading and math, blankets were distributed at this center, in the hopes that the girls would be able to fend off the looming cold from the surrounding mustard fields.

If there is such a thing as a religious experience, this was it.

To Change the World, Invest In Girls

2011-02-11T10:47:00.000-08:00

An article in the current issue of Time Magazine, titled “To Fight Poverty, Invest in Girls“, talks about the importance of investing in girls to reduce poverty and disease in the developing world. Across most of the developing world, very few girls are educated and most end up tending house, cleaning and cooking by the age of 12. In parts of Africa, less than 1 in 5 girls make it to secondary school. Almost half are married by the time they are 18 and 1 in 7 are married by the time they are 15. It is shocking to learn that the leading cause of death worldwide for girls aged 15 to 19 is complications from pregnancy.

This vicious cycle can be broken easily by education. Just an extra year of primary schooling for girls results in 10% to 20% better wages for them. Studies have found that girls who stay in school marry later and have fewer children. And girls and women who earn an income, end up investing 90% of it in their families – compared to only 30% to 40% for men. Although the benefits are huge it is surprising that less than 2% of development funds go towards girls and 90% of youth programs are designed for boys. While there are many factors for this neglect it is partly because of cultural attitudes towards girls across most of the world. This is slowly changing but a lot more needs to be clearly done.

The article is very relevant to the work being done by IIMPACT and lays out a very compelling case for our own mission to educate girls in the rural and backwards regions of India. You can view the original article at Time.com by following this link: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2046045,00.html.

Check out the new IIMPACT website!

2010-10-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Responding to popular demand, the site at www.iimpact.net has been revamped with many new features and services.

On the home page you will see a new layout and easy to use menu - simply click on the drop down menu to reveal items of interest. With short news reports and stories about IIMPACT girls highlighted, you will see this content changing more frequently.

You can click on information links in the 'Get Informed' menu group and 'Get Engaged' enables you to sign up for site updates, contact us or support us with a donation.

Now you can also connect IIMPACT more easily into your FaceBook, Twitter and other social networks, so your friends know what great work you are doing with IIMPACT!

Finally, you will soon see an online payment service that will enable you and your friends to make donations with a credit card - did you know that even small donations can change a girl's life and 100% of your donation goes towards her education?

Do email us or post to this blog with your suggestions for our - no, your website!

IIMAGES IIMPACT

2010-09-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

A story in black and white- the girls emerge from a day's work in their learning centre. Their books now form an integral part of their lives.

IIMAGES-tell their own stories

2010-09-11T10:43:00.001-07:00

Haran Kumar- award winning photographer visited IIMPACT learning centres to capture a day in the life of IIMPACT on camera. He took some wonderful shots. He entered the lives of the girls and the villagers effortlessly and unobtrusively. Here are a few of his snaps....

BHUTERI – A GIRL WITH HIGH ASPIRATIONS - Her Story

2010-08-17T21:57:00.001-07:00

In Bandipura, a remote dusty village in Alwar, Rajasthan, lives a young girl called Bhuteri. She lives in a community where the girl child is often considered a liability to be dispensed with, hurriedly married off at a very young age.Belonging to a conservative and rather poor family, Bhuteri has 5 sisters and an elder brother. Her parents, father Kanhaiya Lal and mother Gulab, are illiterate and the father works as a mason. Bhuteri has a winning smile but it is her eyes that reveal a fierce determination – she has the distinction of being IIMPACT’s oldest student. It was Bhuteri who at a very young age took the initiative to enroll with IIMPACT where she was provided the opportunity to study. She was always a very earnest and bright student who tried never to miss a day of school, happily devoting 5 hours a day to her studies. She completed her class V at the IIMPACT’s learning centre in Bandipura where she developed a solid foundation and appetite for learning, and a drive to excel. She is currently class 11 in a local secondary girls' school and has ambitions of moving to a city college once she graduates. All credit must be given to Bhuteri for instilling in her parents and in her siblings the importance of education. Bhuteri has gradually taught both her illiterate parents to proudly write their names, recognize alphabets and identify numbers - something they had earlier never dreamt of. Bhuteri’s 2 elder sisters were never sent to school and were married off an early age in their teens. If had not been for the IIMPACT Learning Centre that opened in her village, that may have been Bhuteri’s story too. Instead, the same parents who did not believe in sending their daughters even to primary school, are now supporting her secondary schooling and are open to thinking about college. Bhuteri’s experiences have influenced the lives of her 2 younger sisters, who have followed her in to the IIMPACT program. She is also a role model for her brother’s daughters, who too have started their schooling, as well as for other girls in her community.Kanhaiya Lal and Gulab Devi are not the only ones filled with pride at Bhuteri’s achievements - the entire village community holds her up as a shining example to all their girls. Education is now viewed as an integral part of their lives. Everyone is confident that Bhuteri will do well in life as she charts her own path. IIMPACT will always remain a big part of her life.So not only did IIMPACT affect Bhuteri’s life, but it has changed her family’s and community’s thinking about issues such as girl child education and early marriage. Bhuteri has grown in to a smart confident young woman who is excited by learning and has dreams of going much further in life.

MOBILE SCIENCE LAB FLAGGED OFF

2010-08-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

IIMPACT, in collaboration with Agastya International Foundation has implemented its Model Science Lab project in Mehmoodabad, Lucknow courtesy ING VYSYA Foundation. Take a look at this exciting colourful van - the girls find it all so exciting.

Science education will now be imparted to our rural girls with the most attractive science teaching models fitted in this mobile van. This will encourage creativity amongst these young girls and will also help generate greater awareness about the importance of our environment.

IIMPACT ACHIEVERS CELEBRATE OUTSTANDING RESULTS

2010-08-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

On 3rd August, 2010, a small function was organised at Mehmoodabad, Lucknow to celebrate the academic performances of IIMPACT girls . This year marked the first time in this area, that our young girls - 163 in number- appeared for class V board exams.

All 163 of them scored a 1st division! We are all so proud of them!

The girls celebrated as well. They presented colourful performances as they san songs, recited poetry , acted and danced in front of our special guests. Mr Jayant Mehrotra - CFO ING Vysya Bank and Trustee ING Vysya Foundation, Ms Joyatri Ray- Director Projects along with a team of ING Vysya officials from the Lucknow branch were guests on this occasion. Mr Anil Tandon, Ms Manju Mithal and Ms Pramila Kishore, Nalanda and IIMPACT's operational team were also present on this day. 500 children were also seen in the audience.....

Friends of IIMPACT - volunteers

2010-07-06T03:03:00.001-07:00

During the recent school and college summer break IIMPACT welcomed volunteers who were keen to get involved and contribute towards our program in some way.

A couple of young 'friends of IIMPACT' spent considerable time in the villages of Mewat Haryana and Alwar Rajasthan despite the oppressive heat of the month of June! These girls interacted with the girls and village communities, getting to understand how girl child education was viewed by the various age groups.

Some wonderful photos for our ever growing photo library were clicked by these youngsters - happy to share some of them with all of you....

2010-01-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

IIMPACT featured in IIMA Alumnus - Oct/Nov '09 Issue

Naveen Anand - a well wisher -describes his visit to an IIMPACT Learning Centre

To share his personal experience and impressions do visit http://www.iimaalumni.org/n/front/home/pdfnov09/AlumniNews.pdf

Naveen supports an IIMPACT Learning Centre in Alwar District which educates 30 girls

Girls from Bryan Adams' sponsored Learning Centres sing his song

2009-12-21T00:49:00.000-08:00

Girls from IIMPACT Learning Centres sponsored by Bryan Adams enjoyed singing his well loved number -'On A Day Like Today'.

You too can listen to and enjoy their rendition. Simply visit :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0apuAZrahg

LOVE AAJ KAL - MEMORABILIA GOES TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER - PROCEEDS GO TO IIMPACT

2009-09-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

EBAY AUCTION OF IMTIAZ ALI'S MOST RECENT HIT MOVIE -'LOVE AAJ KAL' MEMORABILIA WILL BE ON TILL 5TH OCTOBER '09 (as part of the ongoing JOY OF GIVING WEEK)

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS AUCTION WILL GO TO IIMPACT !

PLEASE VISIT : www.ebay.in/jgw.

DO MAKE YOUR BID......

YOU COULD BE A PROUD OWNER OF THE ATTRACTIVE PROPS USED BY SAIF ALI KHAN OR DEEPIKA PADUKONE, REMAINING FULLY ASSURED THAT THE PROCEEDS ARE GOING TOWARDS A VERY WORTHY CAUSE. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE .

Message from Anil Tandon-President-IIMPACT:

'"On behalf of over 9,000 IIMPACT girls we thank the team of ' Love Aaj Kal ' from the bottom of our hearts. We are truly happy that 'Love' can make such a difference!"

IIMPACT GIRLS SING BRYAN ADAMS' TUNES

2009-09-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

Bryan Adams, the Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, has reached out to IIMPACT through his foundation and currently sponsors 20 IIMPACT Learning Centres in Haryana.

The girls at his sponsored centres have been really excited and have enthusiastically been singing some of his songs. They have learnt the lyrics to a few of his songs and manage to sing quite well !

Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVAdnLF9DoI and catch a glimpse of these young girls in action, singing out loud and clear......

Care for India declares IIMPACT NGO of the month

2009-08-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

Care for India's aim is to create a web based interface which will act as a library or a knowledge sharing portal where in individuals willing to extendsupport can get to know about others who have been involved in suchinitiatives.

Care for India chooses IIMPACT as the NGO of the month in recognition of the meaningful work carried out in the realm of education of the underpriveleged girl child in various parts of India.

You can read all about it - just go to this link:

http://www.careforindia.com/ngoofthemonth.aspx

ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE JAKARTA POST

2009-08-04T03:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 5:32 PM

Making an impact on female literacy

Aparna Bansal , Contributor , New Delhi Tue, 07/28/2009 9:46 AM Features

Girls only: IIMPACT, an organization created by members of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedebad Class of 1978, strives to increase female literacy in India. In Rajasthan, about 100 kilometers from New Delhi, the rocky roads are laden with trucks like wounded elephants waddling along the path.
Schools of goats smile placidly in the sunshine, small children in brown clothes run with scarves wrapped tightly around their heads to protect them against the fierce mid-morning rays of the sun, and men give you directions based on the location of the trees.
Here, in the March heat of Rajasthan, amid a swirl of yellow-brown mustard dust, 30 girls between the ages of six and 14 sit on the floor in a small, roofed hut, furiously scribbling numbers into their notebooks.
They wear salwar kameez or long-sleeved tops hanging over loose trousers, and some have a dupatta wrapped around their heads.
A young woman in a bright yellow salwar kameez with a nervous but friendly smile walks through the group, providing encouragement.
This is a mathematics class at the Devta-Arman center, one of the 287 centers of its kind set up across five states in the Indian subcontinent by IIMPACT, an organization created by members of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedebad Class of 1978.
As one of the founders, Anil Tandon, explained, at an alumni reunion in 2002 the graduates discussed how they wanted to give back to society in some way, ultimately deciding on the cause of education. They sought to improve literacy in the most backward regions of India, especially where there was a large disparity between male and female literacy.
“The multiplier effects of educating girl children are enormous,” said Abhay Borwankar, one of the organization’s donors. “They are the main victims of socioeconomic backwardness and are most often not given the chance to go to school.”
“By educating the women, we improve the lives of their whole family and the communities they are in,” Anil added. “We can break the poverty cycle, allow even the women to earn a livelihood.”
With donations from fellow graduates and other interested contributors in India and the USA, as well as support in terms of worksheets and curricula provided by other NGOs, IIMPACT was created, setting up one-room learning centers for girls in villages with low literacy levels across the nation.
These villages are the settings of child marriages and female feticide even today, and the organization aims to change some of these traditions through the introduction of education. The path to better education, however, was not easy.
Summing up life: Teacher Irfan leads the students through math class at non-governmental organization IIMPACT’s Chor Baseri center. JP/Aparna Bansal
“There was lots of backlash,” recalled Nirmala Tandon, co-ordinator of IIMPACT. “Centers were shut down because some members of the community felt we were intruding into their territory and didn’t believe that girls should be sent to school.”
But slowly, the communities began to see the benefits of educating girls first hand, as parents, who had never been educated themselves, could get help from their children when trying to calculate loans or read signs. Reluctant parents heard news of the high scores that girls at the centers were receiving, and finally agreed to allow their own daughters to attend as well.
“We also had to change the timing of [classes] so that the girls would still be able to attend the local madrasah and do odd jobs to provide income to the family,” Anil said.
Now, 9,000 girls who would have otherwise remained uneducated come to a center such as this one in Rajasthan to learn math, English, Hindi and environmental studies for about five hours each weekday. Each center has one teacher, who receives at least one month of training from the organization.
The local community provides the room, which has no air conditioning or fan, but does have a mat for the girls to sit on. Instead of textbooks and memorization, here the focus is on activity-based learning, with stories for Hindi class and counting stones for math.
In each area of the room, a different task is underway. The youngest-looking girls sit in one corner working on single-digit addition, while the oldest work through word problems. They are all the daughters of daily wage earners and most are Muslims. None of them knows exactly how old they are. As they scribble away into their notebooks, deep concentration etched on each face, their passion for learning is evident.
“They don’t receive any free meals or anything for coming — the only incentive for coming is education,” said Anil. “And they come regularly.”
At the Arman or Ambition center, the students live up to the center’s name. Kanta, about 13 years old, is one of the most outgoing girls.
Her favorite subjects are Hindi and English, and she wants to be a teacher one day. Her eyes light up as she daydreams with a wistful smile at the mention of airplanes and foreign lands.
At the Chor Baseri center, the girls are more shy and reserved. Karishma, about 14 years old, leans against the wall and works on two-digit division in a book wrapped in newspaper featuring the image of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai on the front. She speaks in a soft voice, with a hint of a smile playing around her lips.
She dropped out of government school in the 5th grade, finding it too distant and rote-learning based, and went to join the center. She is an only child, unusual in this area where families tend to have four or five children each, and after she gets home she is in charge of many of the household chores, including drawing water, washing dishes and cleaning the house.
Sitting beside her is Asma, around 12 years old, an avid reader who has read about half of the 50 books available at the center’s library, and even volunteers to retell her favorite – a story about a chicken. When asked what she wants to do when she’s older, she smiles down at her lap.
“That is up to God’s will,” she says.
Here, the boys take a backseat, watching their female counterparts learn. One boy stands in a corner with his baby brother in his lap.
“My mother is out cutting wheat, and my father has gone to town,” he explains. “My sister is one of the students here.”
A larger man stands outside the room, staring off into the sands.
“Two of my daughters study here,” he says, in a rough voice. “It is a good school. I am happy they are willing to do this.”
His words resonate with the sentiment of the few mothers present as well, all of whom watch with pride as their daughters write out Hindi words in their notebooks, words that the parents themselves cannot read. At the Arman center, the girls end the day reciting Hindi poems. Kajol, who looks to be about 10 or 12 years old, volunteers to lead, with the others repeating after her.
As they begin to sing, the sound seems to make the walls, and every colorful drawing of trees and fruits taped onto them, vibrate with energy.
Their voices rise above the ceiling and drift into the dusty, spring winds, their words almost a declaration, “The golden bird will come to my house too.”

ARTICLE ON IIMPACT IN TIMES OF INDIA - 17th June 2008

2009-06-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

B-school makes impact on these girls' lives
17 Jun 2009, 0531 hrs IST, Nandita Sengupta, TNN

ALWAR: The 15-odd chattering girls in the Islamiya Arabia madrassa are immune to criticism. For five years now, their parents have defied community
wisdom to send them to this school in Mahua Khurd, a dusty Muslim-dominated village 13km from Alwar. The girls, eight to 13 years old, sit straight. Even the youngest has a semblance of a veil thrown over her head.

Pinky Sahni, their young teacher, can be the envy of any private school. The girls are all attention as she goes through basic math at lightning speed. They cheer at getting the answers right and correct her as she frequently inserts mistakes to catch them unawares. "Khub maza aata hai," grins 10-year-old Noori, two teeth missing. Sahni's taught them a few good lessons for life.

Set up in 2003, this is Iimpact's first learning centre, an NGO created by IIM-A's 1978 batch. Today, there are 9,000 girls in 275 such centres across Rajasthan, UP, Karnataka, Jharkand and Haryana. Iimpact has put its considerable weight behind teaching girls not part of the ‘system'. "No dropouts, no secondary education. We target those who are left out of the system and have never been to school," says Anil Tandon, Iimpact's president.

When the alumni decided on its 25th year celebrations to ‘do something', girls education was the obvious choice. Its target is to enrol 60,000 girls in their five-year curriculum by 2014. The team knew doing the NGO grind was not the answer. Most NGOs work on contract. As a result, causes such as girls' education are pursued for a fund-driven period after which the NGO withdraws, leaving villages in a lurch. This simply wouldn't work, felt Iimpact. Iimpact's team put their expertise and networks together to create their own model.

"We partner with local NGOs to proceed on girls education," says Tandon, thus riding on a given NGO's credibility with locals and using it as a delivery mechanism. Iimpact raises and disburses funds, decides curriculum, trains teachers, conducts exams, helps girls get admission into secondary school and monitors, fine-tunes the five-year school package that every girl who enrols must go through. They are taught everything from maths to language to hygiene and civic sense, the idea is to make school a habit for girls and their families. The USP clearly lies in ensuring best management of the project.

"We are trained four times a year for 10-12 days each. We meet other teachers. Ek doosre ke problems bhi discuss ho jate hain," says Alwar-based teacher Santosh.

Going to school has indeed become a habit in neighbouring Moreda. A gaggle of happy mothers look on proudly as their daughters recite poems, read books and sing together.

Five years on, the centre has become the hub of activity for the villagers. The two young Iimpact teachers, from Alwar, engage kids to celebrate festivals and national days. This is where the village's community action is. "Instead of putting their angootha, a father takes his daughter along to sign.

It's a proud moment," says a beaming Shanta. The sparkle in the girls' eyes sure reflects India's shine.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/B-school-makes-impact-on-these-girls-lives/articleshow/4664980.cms

Our very special donors - children of Diegueno Country School, USA

2009-04-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is first time that we have seen children coming together to donate for the education of children of their own age, as they understand the need and importance of education. Everybody was so moved by the act of the children of Diegueno Country School, that we decided to make this learning center an exceptional one.

The area was identified by the organization on the basis of need. Most of the girls in this area were not in school. When a trained teacher and the staff of IIMPACT approached the community to propose a learning centre in their village - where only girls would be enrolled and would be taught till primary level - they welcomed the idea.

The community helped the teacher to identify the children and the place where the classes would be held. A thatched roof house was identified which was abandoned years ago by its owner Mr. Daruk Khan who relocated with his family to a town nearby. He was then approached by the community heads to motivate him to donate the area for the running on the centers for community girls.

Then the people from the community and especially Mr. Deen Mohammad, came forward to help the IIMPACT team to clean and decorate the place for the children. A classroom which has vibrant colors and pictures was made by the students.

Though in a village of Mewat, we tried to create an environment which is somewhat close to the private schools in the town area. This would not have been possible without the help of the village community and the local staff.

Classes at this Centre were formally started in February 2009. Most of the girls of this centre have never been to school. Thanks to the children of Deigueno Country School, Mrs. Sushma Patel and Mrs. Jas Grewal, the girls are getting acquainted with our method of joyful learning.

What's this Blog about?

2009-04-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to all those who care about changing India via grass-roots initiatives that empower common people to shape a brighter future for themselves.

IIMPACT is an initiative promoted by alumni of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and we seek support from thoughtful people around the world who may share in our goals.

Our Mission
To mobilize and motivate non school going girls, between the ages of 6 and 14, from economically and socially backward rural areas of India, and put them firmly on the track of literacy through quality primary education.

Our Objectives

Increase access and encourage enrolment to basic primary education, through community mobilization, for all girl children not in school.
Provide high quality relevant education through IIMPACT learning centres।
Encourage and enable each girl to become an independent thinker and self learner।
Make learning joyful.
Help transform the community.

In this blog, we will share our progress with you and ask you to contribute your own ideas and efforts to make our journey more fruitful।

We do hope you will join us!