Educate to empower
WHAT IS EMPOWER OUR VILLAGE

WHAT IS EMPOWER OUR VILLAGE?

Empower Our Village is a community upliftment initiative where our Trust partners with diverse NGOs for the broader social cause.

We work together to help Thekkur village not only survive crisis like the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Gaja Cyclone of 2018, but to thrive despite these tremendous setbacks.

Our 4 Pillar Approach prioritises education and employment for women and girls to create self-sufficiency and social mobility in the long term. We supplement this with provision of free nutrition and health care to families below the poverty line during times of urgent need. We believe that working with girls and women is the best way to uplift the entire community and to creative positive social change and a more equitable environment.

WHY DOES A SCHOOL NEED TO DO

COMMUNITY
OUTREACH WORK?

Our students come from families that have suffered generations of deprivation, exploitation and inequality. Harmful social customs such as child labour, alcohol abuse amongst men and marrying young women to their maternal uncles persist. Many students live in homes where there isn't enough food or a steady supply of electricity. In order to ensure these girls have a conducive environment for a healthy childhood and don't drop out of school, we must engage with their families through community outreach.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH WORK

WHAT ARE YOUR KEY PROJECTS?

Distribute Rations

During lockdown, we distributed free food rations and sanitation supplies to 500 families.

Set up tailoring units

Next, we are setting up a tailoring unit in the village.

Train & employ mothers

We will train and employ 100 mothers of our students in embroidery so they can benefit from better work conditions and higher salaries than the jobs they currently undertake in the informal economy.

Provide clean water

We have a clean source of drinking water available on campus for students families to collect from. This is essential since collecting water is seen as women's work and girls otherwise skip school to help their mothers fetch water from far away pumps.

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