Educate for Life

2024-25 Annual Report

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 04:16:23 -0800

We're delighted to share our Annual Report which outlines the activities and achievements of the year in our secondary education and healthcare programmes.

Thank you for your ongoing support and generosity which allows Educate for Life and our partners to continue working with this under-served community. We hope you enjoy reading the report!

A Site Visit to India

Tue, 06 May 2025 07:16:56 -0700

In February, Akshay and Jess visited Southern Rajasthan to meet with partners, see the progress in the education and health programmes, and discuss plans for the coming years.

It was fantastic to see the positive impact that the teams are continuing to have in the schools and wider community and to spend time with partners to share ideas for continuing to improve programmes.

Project Diganth: Improving Secondary Education

The team of eight facilitators are teaching engaging, fun lessons to students to support their learning in a safe and supportive environment. Foundational learning levels have always been lower than national average, but it is clear that focus in this area has led to improvements in students attainment and confidence.

Parental and community engagement has seen a huge improvement this year. The school committees have successfully advocated for long-awaited roof repairs at Mandwa and the construction of a girls' toilet at Jhed. While in India, a community meeting was held with an excellent turnout and positive inputs from students and parents on how learning can be supported at home.

A key area of improvement identified for next year is around careers. It is important that students understand their options following graduation and that thinking around this starts at a young age. Students want to continue their education or begin vocational training, but are unsure about the processes for how to do this.

Students also raised the issue that there are no female teachers or facilitators in either school. However, there are now female role models in the community, including two diganth graduates who are...Read More

2023-24 Annual Report

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 07:10:58 -0800

2023-24 has been another impactful year for Educate for Life and our partners in Southern Rajasthan. We're delighted to share our Annual Report which outlines the activities and achievements of the year.

India Trip Updates

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 04:12:18 -0700

We are happy to share updates of the positive impact that the secondary education and community health programmes are having in Southern Rajasthan.

Project Diganth: Improving Secondary Education

Partnership with Jatan Sansthan and Kshamtalaya

We have been working with Kshamtalaya and Jatan Sansthan for five years to improve attendance and learning outcomes at two government secondary schools in the project area. The dedicated team continue to build positive relationships with students, government staff, and community members to improve secondary education provision.

A recent priority has been supporting young people in the transition from secondary school to higher education. The team have held sessions exploring students' aspirations and the career options and pathways available to them. Selected final year students have been attending a bridge course to prepare for university entrance exams.

A Quality Improvement Group meeting was held, including partner teams, school teachers, parents and students. The group explored trends in attendance for students living in different areas, the barriers for those...Read More

2022-23 Annual Report

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 08:57:13 -0800

We are pleased to share with you our 2022-23 Annual Report, which shows the fantastic achievements of our partner organisations in Southern Rajasthan.

Updates from India

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 03:44:41 -0800

The time since our last update continues to be a period of uncertainty for those living in our project area, as the plans to construct a new dam remain unclear. Our partners in India are working closely with the community to improve health and educational outcomes through a challenging time.

Community Health Outreach Work

The community health team continue to support pregnant women and children and the community’s health more widely through a mobile clinic service. We will continue to work with Rajasthan Bal Kalyan Samiti (RBKS) and the Global Hospital and Research Centre to deliver these programmes.

Since our last update in July, 101 women and 402 children have been supported by the safe motherhood and childhood programmes. The mobile clinic has visited the area 10 times, providing medical care and advice to 599 community members, 52% of which were female.

The Safe Motherhood Programme supports women through pregnancy by providing advice and accompanying women to antenatal checkups and vaccinations. The team encourage delivery to take place in a safe place. Since July, 78% of births took place with a skilled attendant present.

The Safe Childhood Programme supports parents and children up to the age of five to promote healthy development through identifying any challenges and ensuring full vaccination of children. 96% of children enrolled in the programme over the age of two have completed their recommended vaccinations.

“Ever since the mobile clinic started coming to the village there has been a lot of help in our health related problems. The medicine of the mobile clinic is very good. "
Community Member

It has been fantastic to have Hunar Ghar School open over the past few months and children laughing and learning together in and around the school again. In November, the school kitchen was permitted to re-open too. Since then, hot nutritious meals have been freshly prepared on site and served to students each day. This has encouraged more regular daily attendance across all year groups, with full tummies helping to improve concentration in class and energy levels.

“After the school reopens, I am so happy to meet my friends and talk to teachers but along with that food is also necessary for good study…my family is not cook breakfast for anyone so I need food…I feel so happy after a hot meal…I am getting different food for a whole week.”
Hunar Ghar Student

Supporting Teachers
With students back at school, the Hunar Ghar teachers are very aware of gaps in their learning and knowledge. Even before the pandemic, students, who are mostly the first in their families to go to school, needed a lot of support to develop their literacy and numeracy skills. These basic skills are vital to children being able to understand and explore broader curriculum topics and concepts and to develop their academic knowledge. The interruption of regular classroom-based learning over the past two years, has had a significant impact on children’s learning levels and confidence, with some students forgetting what they have previously learnt.

Hunar Ghar School is committed to tracking students’ progress and...Read More

Bridging Gaps

Mon, 05 Apr 2021 00:25:29 -0700

Providing Primary Education

Hunar Ghar School Reopens for Older Students
Hunar Ghar School has reopened to older students, in accordance with Indian legislation. It is wonderful to welcome about 120 children to school each day. The team are following Covid-safe protocols for the safety of students, staff and the whole community.

Ongoing Provision of Community Learning Opportunities
Throughout the pandemic, our local partner, RBKS, has been committed to remaining in regular contact with all Hunar Ghar students and their families. This engagement is vital to encouraging regular attendance at school as soon as this is possible. Sadly at present, younger students are still not permitted to return to school.

This means that Hunar Ghar teachers are now teaching both in school with older students and holding outdoor classes for younger children. Teachers are also visiting children at home who are unable to attend these sessions and providing them with stationary, activity sheets and library books. The aim is to ensure all children are reached on a regular basis. The actual in person contact time with a teacher is so important and this is the cornerstone of all educational programme work.

Improving...Read More