Smile Foundation powers development at the grassroots level through Civic Driven Change that brings together corporates, local government bodies, individuals, institutions, media and larger civic society. The collaborative and partnership based approach has brought about sustainable change in the lives of more than 1.5 million children and families in its journey with a sharp focus on girl child education and empowerment.

Mumbai, November 29 2019: In its endeavor to continue facilitating change for an equal society by supporting girl child’s education, Smile Foundation, under its flagship Swabhiman Scholarship program organized a day-long Learning Fest for 80 Smile scholars in Mumbai.

The day-long event saw these 80 girls come together from all parts of Maharashtra to celebrate their academic achievements. The Smile scholarship programme helps academically bright girls, studying in schools and colleges continue their education.

“Starting from career counseling, yoga sessions, health awareness sessions, body awareness workshops, these girls are given life-skill training to uncover their true potential,” said Seema Kumar, national lead, Swabhiman, Smile Foundation.

“The learning fest gives these young girls from the underserved strata an opportunity to girls for breaking out of their cultural shells. Through interactive and self exploration workshops they learn to express themselves. With help from experts, they hone their personality, interpersonal relationships and career choices.”

The sessions help the scholars to learn to assert their rights in the family, in the community and in social settings and to enable them to make genuine choices over the kinds of lives they wish to lead in the near future.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee, Smile Foundation said, “Through Swabhiman, SMILE seeks to enable girl children realize their potential and also give wings to their dreams. These dreams can only be realized when these girls belonging to the marginalized community are given full educational support by way of funds.”

“Smile Foundation is committed to overcoming the pressing challenges of gender discrimination, women’s uneven access or limited access to resources and gender-based violence. We believe that education holds the key to empowering women in all walks of life.”

The program identifies adolescent girls and women from the community and develops them into Change Agents, who in turn actively contribute to the community mobilization process.

Wide disparities are existent in Indian education; data by UNICEF suggests for every 100 boys enrolled in secondary education, there are 81 girls enrolled.

Swabhiman scholarship program started in 2006, helps academically bright girls, studying in schools and colleges continue their education.

Jaya Shroff: Smile Foundation: [email protected] | 9818194294

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation reaching out to more than 600,000 underprivileged children, youth and women directly every year through more than 250 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Website – www.smilefoundationindia.org