With its success in Pune, Wardha, Amravati and Nagpur, LPF will soon begin operations in Hyderabad to provide scholarships to girl students pursuing engineering. (Source: LPF website)Lila Poonawalla Foundation (LPF), which supports financially challenged girls to pursue their graduation and postgraduation, has completed 25 years.
With its success in Pune, Wardha, Amravati and Nagpur, LPF will soon begin operations in Hyderabad to provide scholarships to girl students pursuing engineering.
The foundation, started by Firoz Poonawalla and Lila Poonawalla in 1995 has supported over 9,300 girls. Several Lila Fellows, who are children of domestic helps and autorickshaw drivers, are now working in the US. Few have also become doctors and started their own hospitals.
“On my 50th birthday, I requested my company to give me monetary support to start my own Trust for supporting academically clever but financially challenged girls to pursue their education. This was accepted by Tetra Laval group and thus Lila Poonawalla Foundation was born. The first batch of 20 girls, pursuing postgraduate studies, received scholarships from us and ultimately my dream was realised,” said Padma Shri Lila Poonawalla.
The foundation went on to provide scholarships to girls in engineering, nursing, sciences, agriculture and pharmacy as well as the school project ‘2morrow 2gether’ for girls in 7th grade, guaranteeing to support them up to their graduation.