ABOUT US
Background
Education forms a foundation for the progress of individuals. It is
instrumental in identifying and developing the potential of individuals in an
increasingly challenging world that would support them to lead a
good life. Around 700 million people in India live in more than
600,000 rural villages. Many children in rural areas receive a very poor
level of education. More than fifty percent of children in India do not finish high school. Even if they finish primary and secondary schooling, many
promising students cannot pursue higher education due to a lack of
funds or information on where to seek funding. These children leave
school for a variety of reasons; many of them leave because their
families cannot afford it and so that they can work in the fields; where they
can earn for the family, and some leave because of lack of interest. As
these children grow into adults, many are still illiterate by the age of
forty. These adults, since are not aware of the importance of
education, are reluctant to send their own children to school. This
continues for the next generation.
How can we bring a change in the current system? This was the
question asked by a group of college friends who were born and
brought up in this system, but graduated high school and were well-employed. They did not want to simply take part in discussion, they wanted to act and foster the education of rural children. That is how Samatva (meaning, towards equality) Trust was born.
When did it start?
Samatva Trust was started on 1st June 2002. Initially, an opportunity was
created for five rural children who were interested in higher studies
but had no financial support or facilities for higher education in their
villages. Samatva Trust was officially registered in 2005 in India, and in 2015 it was granted tax-exempt nonprofit organization status, 501(c)(3), by the US Internal Revenue Service.
