EDUCATION
Bringing optimism and lasting change through care and education.
India is home to more than 1.3 billion people, representing nearly one-fifth of the world's population. Yet over 287 million people remain illiterate, accounting for almost 40% of the world's uneducated population. These numbers place India among the countries facing one of the greatest literacy challenges in the world.
Government education is free in India. So why do these numbers remain so high? The answer lies in poverty.
Poverty continues to be one of the greatest barriers to India's holistic development. For millions of families, education is not a choice—it is a luxury they simply cannot afford. Nearly 35% of India's population lives in slums, where families face overcrowded living conditions, limited access to clean drinking water, inadequate sanitation, poor healthcare, and little social security. In environments where every day is focused on survival, basic needs always come before education.
Many parents work long hours in low-paying jobs just to provide food for their families. As a result, older children are often forced to stay home to care for younger siblings or begin working themselves to contribute to the household income. Although schools may be free, these circumstances keep countless children away from the classroom.
Without access to education, opportunities become limited. Children grow into adults with few employment options, low incomes, and little hope of breaking free from poverty. The cycle repeats itself, generation after generation.
At Jeevan Asha, we believe this cycle can be broken.
Education is one of the most powerful tools for creating lasting change. By helping children access learning opportunities and improving literacy within underserved communities, we are empowering individuals with knowledge, confidence, and hope for a brighter future.
Every child who learns to read, every student who stays in school, and every family that begins to value education is one step closer to a future where poverty no longer defines their story.
Together, we are not simply educating individuals—we are building stronger families, healthier communities, and a generation equipped to create lasting change.
OUR PROJECTS
Hope Learning Centre
Our Hope Learning Centre as the name suggests, brings hope and transformation through care and education. This project reaches nearly 50,000 children living in five disadvantaged sociology-economical areas in Thane. Education is our mission but holistic development is our heart. Classes are taught in safe, secure, clean environments where our goal for mental, emotional and physical well-being is prioritized over a child’s academic performance.
Our educators intentionally teach using play-way methods to ensure positive learning environments which enhance the chances of students developing a love for learning. Fresh, nutritious meals are provided every day because we focus on and value our students’ holistic development.
NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling)
The National Institute of Open Schooling is a government board that enables individuals complete their tenth or twelfth grades through Distance Learning.
This is a super opportunity for many residing in low socio-economical areas, as they consistently face compounded challenges many others will never have to experience, leading to a high rate of school dropouts.
Jeevan Asha began this project in 2017 with a collective goal to improve the futures of low-income families, promote education and break cycles of poverty, providing a route to a second chance at life.
Adult Literacy
When one is illiterate, there is a compulsory dependency on others. And when that someone is taught to read, write, do basic math and use a computer, a whole new world opens up before them. And this massive difference provides opportunities to escape poverty, reduce healthcare costs, find sustainable jobs and ultimately, change their life.
Enter Jeevan Asha, which commenced their Adult Literacy Program in 1999 with eight women meeting in a small apartment.
Gaining literacy skills skyrocketed their self-esteem, motivated participation in decision-making, and added to the women’s overall sense of identity, value and worth.
Anand Ghar (Joy Clubs)
Jeevan Asha’s Anand Ghars or “Joy Homes” first started in 2011. The ‘Joy Homes’ are fun, interactive gatherings where children aged 4-14 can be themselves while being introduced to good values and sound principles in an atmosphere of security and love. These sessions take place once a week for around 2 hours and are hosted in homes, schools or community halls.
Neighbors have commented that children attending our Joy Homes have become polite, disciplined, better able to express themselves, and have grown in team spirit and relationships with others. It is a proud moment to watch our students become agents of change, spreading joy and care through their families and neighborhoods..
Skill Development
Many migrant workers - along with their families - settle down in the slum areas and often have a poor quality of life, especially in areas of health, social security and wage structure. Children leave school to work and contribute to the household income, resulting in another uneducated and unskilled generation who have few options for the future.
Jeevan Asha identifies such candidates and serves as a catalyst, bridging the gap between resources and recipients. Many of our recipients are young women and based on their interests, our team liaisons with NGOs that provide skill development programs and work to provide them with employment opportunities, education and skill training.
Value Education
“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.” – CS Lewis.
In response to this need, Jeevan Asha started Project
Value Education in the year 2016. This course which deals with peer pressure, making right choices, etc. has been successfully implemented in municipal and government aided schools.
Our Goal through this program is to put back values in Education and make the child a better, more compassionate human through the choices he makes.
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