Manisha Soni’s (16) father works as a helper in a printing press, suffers from chronic asthma, which requires expensive medication. Ms. Soni has an older sister and a mentally challenged brother who needs constant attention. While the parents wanted their children to get an education, money was a constraint. In 2012, Manisha enrolled in Silverdale High School, a boarding school in Panchgani where she stood second in her school in the SSC exams. She is pursuing her HSC in the Science stream from Sophia College, Mumbai.
Manisha is one of 45 children (24 girls and 21 boys from eight years to 21 years of age) from a lower socio economic background who are being educated in residential schools. The non-profit that is making this possible is Ra Foundation. “At Ra, we cater to all their needs and requests, and aim to provide them with the best opportunities, like we would for our own children,” says Sunil Nayak (48), founder.
In 2004, Mr. Nayak, who is the CEO (Corporate Service, Asia Pacific) of Sodexo Services, launched Ra (the Greek word for sun), focused on health and education. Ra began with health awareness sessions in Pratiksha Nagar, Sion and a women’s self-help group (Prerna Bachat Ghat) to encourage women to save for medical emergencies.
‘Changing their world’
Its turning point came in 2006, when through a common friend, a French woman approached Ra to help her locate a girl she had met during her visit to Mumbai. The child, Rekha Manjurkar (15) had been living on the pavement off CST with her blind parents and the French woman wished to support her. While the parents refused, Ra took it a step further — it decided to educate her, and other children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Rekha is pursuing an Arts degree in a city college.
Mr. Nayak felt that to help children develop their social and academic potential, it was essential to provide a nurturing, safe and healthy environment and the best way to achieve this was through the residential school format. “We decided to work with a few students at a time. We cannot change the world at one go, but we can help a few change their world,” says Mr. Nayak. That is how the Happy Kids Education programme was born.
Ra identifies a child in collaboration with Akanksha or Teach For India Foundation. The selection process involves interviewing the parents and child, and home visits. The parents, along with Ra’s members, then visit the partner schools and get the child enrolled. There are five such schools – three in Panchgani, one in Pune and one in Badlapur. On an average, the Foundation spends Rs. 1.90 lakh per child.
The Cipla Foundation supports 10 children, while individual donors and charitable trusts help with the rest of the funds. “More funds will enable us to enroll more children,” says Mr. Nayak. “The ultimate aim is to nurture happy children who can become a role model for the community and help in eliminating class barriers.”
Dreams come true
Ra offers counselling support and keeps in touch with the children. Its members visit partner schools every two months and constantly monitor the children’s academic progress, says Sonali Jain, programme director. Neeta Lakhote, a para professional associated with Ra since its inception, says the Foundation also conducts periodic health checks and if needed, a quarterly follow-up.
“Once the child completes her SSC, we help her pursue her talents and interests and assist in finding the right job,” says Vaishali Dhruva, programme coordinator.
Renuka Salve (21), who has benefitted from the initiative, is preparing for an MBA entrance exam and is doing an internship with Cipla Palliative Care at Pune. “I come from an economically challenged background, and could never have dreamt that I could pursue such an education. Now my desire is to join a firm of great repute and help Ra in their endeavour,” she says.
Rohit Salve (18) wants to become a businessman and help other children get a quality education. He sees Mr. Nayak as his role model. Siblings Renuka and Rohit were the first two children to be enrolled in the Happy Kids Education Programme in 2007. Their father had killed their mother in a fit of rage and was imprisoned. The children were referred by Akanksha Foundation, and Ra enrolled them in Sanjeewan Vidyalaya, Panchgani. Renuka stood third in the school in the SSC exams and has completed her B.A. in Psychology from Ness Wadia College, Pune. Rohit is in the second year of Business Administration in Pune.
Eventually, it is stories like these that keep the initiative going.
Ra Foundation
Founder: Sunil Nayak
Founded: 2004
Funding: Self, CSR, donations
Employees: 5