Background
The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) is one of the leading independent, nonprofit development organizations working in India primarily in the area of education. RGF, in partnership with the Shri Sivasubramaniya Nadar Educational and Charitable Trust (SSN Trust), initiated a scholarship program called “Vidyagyan Scholarship” for Muslim and Dalit girls in UP in 2007. The program is implemented across three districts of UP — Raibareli, Varanasi, and Barabanki — to reach girls from the most needy and economically weaker sections, enabling them to complete their education till class 10th. HWA was identified and selected as one of the partner organizations supporting RGF in executing the Vidyagyan Scholarship.
Major Activities
Community libraries: With the support of RGF and SSN Trust, 6 community libraries run in the project area to promote the habit of study. Each library is stocked with informative books, story books, personality development books, popular magazines, and daily newspapers. Daily 25 to 30 people (men, women, and children) visit and spend one or two hours with the study materials.
Chief Functionary involvement: The Chief Functionary is involved in supportive measures for the development of girls and their parents, and the Project Director works for the convergence of various government activities and awareness among community leaders, opinion leaders, and officials.
Important Events
- A one-month beautician training program at Madarsa Khwaja Garib Nawaz, Rahimpur, Lohta — organized by UBI with HWA facilitation — provided free vocational training and certificates to 30 girls from Muslim, Dalit, and other poor communities.
- Mothers of the project girls participated in a Union Bank of India program on credit linkages of Self-Help Groups facilitated by HWA.
Library Development
2-day training (August 2010): Librarians and supporters from three NGO partners (HWA, MALA, and SSK) participated; resource persons Mr. Surendra Prasad Singh and Ms. Shweta Verma led the training on 7–8 August.
Workshop on community libraries (13 September 2010): Held at HWA Resource Centre with approximately 100 participants from three blocks (Chiraigaon, KVP, and Cholapur), led by resource person Noshaba ji. The workshop focused on general attitude development among children, updating newspapers and current-affairs cuttings, providing information on biodiversity, motivating youth for income-generating creative work (mehandi, painting, toy making, embroidery, beautician, tailoring), and organizing story-based competitions.