|
Fellow Highlight: Varsha Parchure, Khelwadi
The problem: The rural village of Mokhada is situated in one of Maharashtra's most heavily tribal blocks. As is the case with many such villages, Mokhada's government schools suffer from poor infrastructure and a lack of quality teachers and appropriate teaching tools. Additionally, the absence of jobs in Mokhada means that families are forced to migrate in and out of the area in search of work, disrupting their children's education.
After working in the Mokhada region, Varsha Parchure left her senior job at an NGO in Mumbai and started Khelwadi.
The venture: With the vision to develop the tribal villages of the Mokhada block in the Thane district, Varsha's venture Khelwadi runs a school plus program for primary schools, where local teachers are trained to teach the children in a fun and innovative way.
Khelwadi's approach: Khelwadi's program is run after school hours in its own center across 5 hamlets in the villages. Varsha trains local community youth to take up the role of the teacher at these Khelwadi. Khelwadi runs for primary school children from first to fourth grade with a custom curriculum in the subjects of Math and Marathi. Khelwadi is now expanding its programs to English. Along with academic teaching, Varsha also undertakes arts and crafts and exposure visits to ensure the overall development of the children. Khelwadi runs two hours daily from Monday to Saturday at its center.
Khelwadi's impact: In the past year, Khelwadi has seen the literacy rate of its in Marathi increase from 23% to 51% as well as increased attendance rates. So far, Khelwadi works with 170 across 2 village in Mokhada. Varsha plans to run 20 Khelwadi’s in the next 3 years and reach out to 500 students.
"UnLtd India supported me to implement my model effectively, which has helped me reach the tribal children. UnLtd India provided me with guidance on strategy and impact measurement and it is because of UnLtd India's support that I can say that change is possible here."
--Varsha Parchure, founder, Khelwadi
|
| |
|
| UnLtd India Featured in Nesta Report |
In January, Nesta in partnership with the UK's Department for International Development, published their report on "Good Incubation in India" highlighting UnLtd India and UnLtd Tamil Nadu's incubation practices as models for the sector. You can read the full report here. |
| |
| Fellow Aasaanjobs Receives Follow-On Funding! |
 |
We're excited to announce that our Fellows Dinesh Goel and Hardik Rathod's venture Aasaanjobs Pvt Ltd has received $5 million in Series A funding from Aspada Advisors. Aasaanjobs is a platform to upskill and connect unskilled individuals with employers, using training courses and a benchmarking scheme to ensure employee performance. |
| |
| Fellow Greenway Grameen Receives Investment from Acumen Fund |
 |
We're proud to announce that our Fellows Neha Juneja and Ankit Mathur's venture Greenway Grameen has been selected for investment by Acumen India. Greenway Grameen aims to co-create BoP products for rural consumers that are low cost as well as pro-health and productivity and environmentally friendly. |
UnLtd India Fellow Akanksha Hazari wins Vital Voices Award! |
 |
UnLtd India Fellow and founder of the social enterprise m.Panni, Akanksha Hazari, is a recipient of the 2016 Vital Voices award. Vital Voices was founded by Hillary Clinton and Madeline Albright to advance and recognise women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights.
|
| |
| Three UnLtd India Fellows Receive Ashoka Fellowship |
 |
We're excited to announce that our Fellows Lewitt Somarajan (LIFELabs), Pranil Naik (LeapForWord), and Will Muir (Equal Community Foundation) have all received Ashoka Fellowships for their work. |
| Media Highlights |
 |
Equal Community Foundation featured on NPR. |
All the best,
The UnLtd India team:
John, Karen, Kavita, Meena, Nikita, Paroma, Pooja, Ratna, Roshan, Rubali, Ruchi, Shefali, Swati, Tori, and Uday |
UnLtd India is a launchpad for social entrepreneurs.
We find, fund and support exceptional individuals whose ideas, passion and entrepreneurial skills can bring about long-term solutions to India's social problems.
This includes:
Seed funding and incubation for early-stage social entrepreneurs.
Network Huddle -The UnLtd India Network Huddle is a two day event in Mumbai that brings Fellows, mentors and leading figures within the social entrepreneurial space together to connect, share, showcase and celebrate.
Affiliate Network -
A nationwide community of UnLtd India-inspired incubators for early stage social entrepreneurs.
-----
Thank you
All that we do is made possible by our supporters.
----
Take Action
STAND UP - Have an idea to change the world? Mumbai-based? Become an UnLtd India Fellow.
COLLABORATE - Mumbai-based? Use your expertise to enable our Fellows to maximize their impact. Become a mentor on our Expert Panel.
SUPPORT - Your donation is a highly leveraged way to bring about social change in India. Contact us now to learn more.
-----
Stay connected
   |
