Most children in the slums in Hyderabad are studying in small private schools near their homes. The fees for the schools work out to almost Rs 18000 per year per child on an average, including the cost of books and uniforms. Families face an income shock when there is death of the main breadwinner, or there are serious health issues for any of the family members or desertion by the spouse, and are often unable to afford the fees and the children are pulled out of school. After the last two Covid years, schools have also drastically increased the fees making it much more difficult for the parents to educate their children.

Under Project Disha, we identify such children who are at risk of dropping out of school and provide them financial assistance to continue schooling till at least Class X. We are likely to increase this support till Class XII under the new education policy.

• Each year, donors help support around 400 children in the program.
• Children are selected based on evaluation of the financial position of the family. Orphan Children, Single parent families, families that are undergoing financial hardships due to illness, disability or death are selected.
• School fees are paid for both girls and boys, largely from classes IV to X with preference given to older children.
• Enrolment to the program happens during the months of March to June with some students joining the program during the academic year either when some hardship befalls them or if they heard of the program late. The list of students enrolled in Project Disha for the academic year is confirmed (in most cases) before the school begins.
• After Covid, there is demand for scholarship support from children who discontinued their education or to join further education programs (Intermediate, degree) as the colleges are charging higher fees
• Mentoring sessions are held from July to February for the children in 9th and 10th grades to inculcate life skills and soft skills. For more information on Mentoring, Click Here
• The children in Grade 10 are given career counselling.
• Parents of children in grades 9 and 10 are given special counselling that focuses on how to deal with exam stress in the house, plans for continued education of their wards, reducing child marriages and available options for scholarships in higher education.
• The children are also taken for a field trip/ picnic every year.
• If you would like to donate to our program, please click here