Alumni Fellows (Old)

In order to encourage youth, Plustrust provides fellowships and supports them to carry out their work forward. We do this through fellowships at the pre-incubation stage and through events from time to time. Follow this link to view short bio’s of Plustrust Fellows over recent years.

Amba Kumari Meena (RWE), Rajasthan

Sashakt Naari Abhiyaan

Learning centre for out of school kids to re-connect them to education and explore alternate career options

Anita Das (RWE), Bihar

Koshish Ek Asha

Spreading awareness on health and menstrual hygiene among young girls and women to change perceptions

Bhramarabika K.G. (RWE), Karnataka

Angala Shaale

Helping children in the age group of 8-15 years, who are first-generation learners from low – income families during the pandemic

Babli Prajapati (RTR), Uttar Pradesh

Ujala Training Centre

Training centre for beautician course and sewing to make women financially independent

Fulkumari Devi (RWE), Bihar

Mahila Evam Kumari Silai Centre

Teaching women the use of new techniques in sewing

Hemlata Bajaj (RWE), Rajasthan

Sugam Shiksha

To educate children of migrant labourers working in brick kilns of Shri Ganganagar

Hemlata Soni (RTR), Rajasthan

Alamban Silaai Centre

Training migrant workers in sewing to start their own business and sell designer products at affordable prices

Kumkum (RTR), Uttar Pradesh

Prerna Canteen

To provide tiffin services

Laxmi Baghel (RTR), Madhya Pradesh

Rang Bhed

A space where women can openly talk about their issues related to Mahavari (menstruation)

Manju Jain (RTR), Rajasthan

Maayra Maahwari Swachta Abhiyan

A sustainable menstrual hygiene management programme creating employment for women

Meera Kumari (RWE), Bihar

Samta Ke Liye Pahal

Improving awareness about gender inequality among children

Nazmeen Bano (RTR), Uttar Pradesh

Rehnuma Skill Development Centre

Teaching women tailoring skills to make women’s clothes

Parvati Meena and Sawalal Meena (RWE), Rajasthan

Srijan Shala

Learning centre based on Nai Taleem philosophy and project-based curriculum with real-time projects

Parvati Chouhan (RWE), Madhya Pradesh

Pehel Pustakalaya

Education support to the children of the Korku tribal community

Renuka Meena (RTR), Rajasthan

Chaali Mere Sathi

Reviving goat rearing profession for women in villages

Sarita Devi (RWE), Bihar

Aatmanirbharta ki Aur Ek Jatan

Teaching women and girls in her village to make sanitary napkins and improve awareness about the use and disposal of sanitary pads

Savita Joshi and Bhagwati Vaishnav (RTR), Rajasthan

Mahvari Mera Adhikar

Educating girls on menstrual hygiene

Shama Parveena (RTR), Uttar Pradesh

Ujiyaara Foundation

Training groups of girls to stitch women’s garments and connect them with the tailoring community

Sheela (RTR), Uttar Pradesh

Kanha Animal Protection and Welfare Program

Teaching women about animal protection, animal husbandry and health care

Sonali Chaudhary (RWE), Bihar

Pragati Shiksha Kendra

Education for under privileged kids through fun and interactive ways of learning

Sonam Meena (RWE), Madhya Pradesh

Humari Pehchan

An initiative for school drop-out girls to continue their education and accomplish a dream that every girl child must be educated.

Vasanthkumari R. (RWE), Karnataka

Kitchen Garden Project

To address malnutrition and create awareness about seed conservation and food security

Fellows 2016-17

DEEPIKA KUNWAR of Kherwara Town dreams of developing child friendly schools. She has begun with one school, identifying the learning levels of the children and organising regular parent teacher meetings. A small governing democratic body of children has come up and the children have enthusiastically welcomed sport and cultural activities. Deepika observes that children are now more enthusiastic about coming to school.

ABHILASHA of Nichala Phala, Karcha, Kherwada Dt. has decided to plan and set up a learning and vocational guidance centre for women in her village. She has begun with home visits to mobilise women. She now shares information on health hygiene, government schemes and benefits available for farming households and works with them on basic literacy. One challenge has been to find a common meeting time convenient for women.

SONAL PATEL of Modiwasa B Kherwara Dt, want to improve attendance and retention of  children in primary school with a centre and bridge course. She has formed two groups of children already enrolled in school-one for those in classes 1 to 3 and one for those in classes 4 and 5. She has been able to  gradually attract them (and persuade their families ) to attend activities for academic support at her centre.

POOJA DULAWAT from Shiv Singh Ka Guda, Nedach, Nathadwara, wants to improve learning levels through a children from classes 1 to 8 and help the teachers in the government school. She has been able to build a rapport with teachers in the village school and is now launching new learning activities for the children.

SHYAMA VAISHNAV, Railmagra, Rajsamand Dt, is working towards a learning cum vocational centre for women. Village meetings have been encouraging. Women have come forward to identify a venue for the centre and agreed on timings which will work for most of them. Her work is gaining momentum now.

ASHWINI and DEEPIKA SAMBARE of Padhurna , MP wish to develop a democratic space of learning for children who do not have access to a decent education environment. They have identified a suitable space and are planning to equip it with learning and material , science kits and books. They are inspired by Pratyaya and will be using the approach and modules designed by Girish and his team

HANSKALA BAGADE from Darsikala, MP draws from her experience as an Asha worker in her community. She finds that the adolescent girls in the villages she visits are unaware of the opportunities available to them. She wants to address the issue by developing a group of life skills educators for to regularly meet and guide over 400 girls in her neighbourhood. She will work under the guidance of Navendu Mishra in Seoni.

SIMMI from Faizabad, UP is already engaged in running centres for adolescent girls and a primary school and she joined the Plustrust workshop to deepen her understanding child-centric and joyful learning. Her project will focus on teacher development and increased use of activity based learning in schools. She is exploring collaborations and networks in this regard.

Fellows 2015-16

Sajid Ali

Kalburgi

Computer Learning Centre for Youth| Sajid offers training in DTP and basic computer applications for vulnerable youth and prepares them for entry level jobs. His center is now functional and he has accessed bank finance to develop it as a sustainable business.

Seema Joshi

New Delhi

Education and skills for girls and women | Seema has formed Choti si Kushi, a community based volunteer driven organization. They offer after school classes for girls in public spaces and bring together the entire community to create support for the girls and showcase their talents.

Girish Mahale

Pandhurna, (M.P.)

Girish Mahale is an Education Scientist; he founded Pratyaya EduResearch Lab (A not-for-profit action research organization) in 2013. It’s based in Pandhurna block of Madhya Pradesh. Pratyaya working on a mission of nurture a “Self-sustainable Educational Ecosystem” at village or town level, within the existing system and the given local resources. They are developing “project-based-learning” pedagogical modules in science, maths, civics, language, fine art and physical education for primary, middle and high school level and building the capacity of educational leaders (school students, future teachers and in-service teachers) through various initiatives.

M. Daligappa

Ramnagaram

Chemical free gardens in government schools| Rosemary and Daligappa worked with ten rural primary schools to involve children and develop chemical-free kitchen gardens. The vegetable grown were used in the school lunch. They have also gathered details about the supply chain for the mid day meal scheme.

Rosemary

Ramnagaram

Chemical free gardens in government schools| Rosemary and Daligappa worked with ten rural primary schools to involve children and develop chemical-free kitchen gardens. The vegetable grown were used in the school lunch. They have also gathered details about the supply chain for the mid day meal scheme.

Navendu Mishra

Seoni

Education for citizenship | Navendu has been offering workshops on Governance and participative democracy in high schools, with a team of volunteers. His team would like to develop their own livelihoods and keep up their multiple interest in education and preventing corruption.

Brajesh Patel

Hoshangabad

Resource Centre for children in slums| Brajesh has developed a model resource room for slum children in Itarsi. Despite initial apathy, the community and children are very keen to use the centre. He plans to work in Hosangabad and needs funding support.

Chetan D Nerkar

Thane

Academic support for slow learners in Marathi Medium schools| Chetan has developed curriculum and materials for slow learners in Marathi (Classes I-IV). He wants to extend his work upto class VIII and develop Urdu material too. He is seeking CSR support to continue and expand his work.

Siddaiah B

Mulabagal

Computer education and life skills for Children in Government Schools| Siddaiah works with school children from poor families, offering them an opportunity to learn and play with computers. He began with four systems in his house and now plans to develop the center with outreach to schools.

Satyaprakash Chouhan

Itarsi

Sensitivity to animals in farming communities | Satya has brought together about fifty farming households, students, volunteers and the veterinarians and persuaded them to change their ways of treating pets and livestock in more humane ways. With perseverance he has transformed skeptics and critics into volunteers.

Abhijit Sinha

Abhijit started Project DEFY with an intent to enable individuals to create their own education that better fit their context and their interest, especially for those that do not belong to the urban middle and rich classes, but are marginalised and isolated with very few options to choose from. Project DEFY creates Nooks, which are essentially “Schools Without Teachers” where learners learn without the presence of an expert or a teacher. Nooks are provisioned with a few refurbished computers, an Internet connection, basic hand tools and lots of trash, which are used in creating projects of choice. So far DEFY has enabled three Nooks, two of them in India and another in Uganda.

Kaushiek & Shruti

Address: Pune | Fellowship Duration: January 2015 –June 2015 | Project Area: Inclusive Education – Helping children from Adivasi communities)|Project Objective: To engage with children from adivasi communities centering education for them on their traditions and everyday lives | To know more about Kaushiek and Shruti’s work use links below.

Manoj Singh Rathore

Address: Itarsi, Madya Pradesh | Fellowship Duration: January 2014-December 2014 | Project Area: Animal welfare (Conservation of Birds) | Project Objective: To provide water and shade to birds on roof tops and help them surviving the heat of summer with the help of community volunteers. | Achievement made from the project: He has worked on his idea of providing water and shade to birds on roof tops to help them survive the heat of summer with the help of community volunteers who host bird shelters on their rooftops.

Ashweeta Shetty

Address: Tirunelveli | Fellowship Duration: July 2014-December 2014 | Project Area: Inclusive Education (Capacity Building of rural youth) | Project Objective: To Set up Bodhi Tree (an Organization) to build capacities of rural youth and connect them to appropriate income generating activities. | Impact made from the project: She has successfully set up a Bodhi Tree and almost in a final stage of the registration process. To reach to the larger groups of rural youths she has partnered her Organization with other local NGO’s and social institutions in her village.

Lewitt Somrajan

Address: Pune. | Fellowship Duration: July 2013-June 2014. | Project Area: Inclusive Education (Providing Laboratory facilities to rural school children). | Project Objective: To set up science lab in under resourced schools. | Achievements made from the project: He set up science labs in various under resourced schools in Pune and is working on the prototype. He is now ready to run a larger program and has found the stable source of funding agencies for the smooth operation of his project.

Pragyan Mohanty

Address: Salaiya, Bhopal | Fellowship Duration: July 2013-June 2014 | Project Area: Inclusive Education – Trainings regarding personal safety to adolescent girls | Project Objective: To teach self-confidence and the self-defense skills among young girls in poor and marginalized community. |Achievements made from the project: She has been able to train young girls along with few trainers on self-confidence and self-defense skills. At present she is working for the empowerment of young girls and women in the rural community.

Angela Davis

Address: Secunderabad. | Fellowship Duration: June 2013-July 2014 | Project Area: Inclusive Education – Providing education to children of Joginis |Project Objective: To set up motivational centres to provide education support for children of Joginis. Achievement made from the project: She has successfully set up the motivational centers in the Jogini’s community and right now she is providing educational services to their children along with various types of trainings to the women.

Shweta Choubey

Address: Hosangabad | Fellowship Duration: July 2013-June 2014 | Project Area: Inclusive Education (Vocational Education for youth) | Project Objective: To prepare some of the entrepreneurs among school dropout children by providing them proper guidance through vocational education. | Achievement made from the project: Swetha has explored options like home based crafts for adolescent girls and zeroed in on computer-based skill development platform to feed into the ITES market. She has established the foundation for such work and it has been reached to a successful mode.

Abhisekh Neel

Address: Bihar | Fellowship Duration: October 2012-March 2013 | Project Area: Inclusive Education (Helping children from marginalized communities) | Project Objective: Helping children from the rag picker and Mushars communities for enrollment into schools and also providing them tuition facilities along with nutritive snacks | Achievement made from the project: Abhisekh started with tutoring 8 children from the rag picker and Mushar communities for enrollment into school along with nutritive snacks. Now, he has been actively trying to expand, taking in a committee associate from the Ramakrishna Mission to cater to a larger group.

Ayesha Pathan

Address: Itarsi, MadhyaPradesh | Fellowship Duration: October 2012-September 2013 |Project Areas: Animal Welfare (To work on the stray dogs issues) | Project Objective: To organize anti-rabies and sterilization camps and also set up a shelter for dogs in need | Achievement made from the project: Starting with a baseline census she identified three important locations with a large stray dog population and involved the residents as well in organising anti-rabies and sterilisation camps. She also set up a shelter for dogs in need. She is continuing her work towards taking care of the puppies in the shelter. She is also looking at adoption opportunities for the dogs in her care in addition to reaching out to the children in schools.

John Basynatary Daimalu

Address: Kokrajhar Assam | Fellowship Duration: October 2012-March 2013 | Project Area: Inclusive Education (livelihood generation and skill building) | Project Objective: To provide vocational trainings to the youths and build their skills for local livelihoods. Achievement made from the project: He was successful to provide training to local people on electrical work, carpentry, and organic farming in rural area of Assam. It has also helped John to assess the scope for further work and join hands with others engaged in similar efforts in the region. He is in the process of founding an NGO – Thulunga that primarily deals with skill building, conducting a 2 day orientation program followed by apprentice opportunity, creating a young skilled mason group in Kokrajhar.

Sandeep Mehto

Address: Itarsi| Fellowship Duration: January 2010- June 2011 | Project Area: Inclusive Education (Poverty reduction through higher education) | Project Objective: To link tribal youth to educational opportunities through a project called Bharat calling. | Achievement made from the project: He has provided 75 children with coaching and preparation for entry to higher education institutions. Being a cofounder of Bharat Calling he has done an outstanding work by linking up the rural and tribal students to the prestigious universities. To know more about Sandeep and his Bharat Calling use links below.

Tejaswini Madhubhusi

Address: Kukatpally, Hyderabad | Fellowship Duration: January 2011- June 2011 | Project Area: Inclusive Education (Youth Engagement in Local Governance) | Project Objective: To Promote Gram Swaraj in Dandakranya through facilitating youth’s engagement in local governance | Achievement made from the project: She has been able to mobilize several like-minded people to come together to campaign for gram Swaraj and interest youth in the area in adopting Gandhian ideals.

Vinit Alurkar

Address: Bawdhan, Pune | Fellowship Duration: January 2011-June 2011|Project Area: Inclusive Education (Teaching western music to children in rural schools) | Project Objective: To encourage rural school children and build their confidence in using English by teaching them western music. Achievement from the project: Vinit successfully organized a music camp for the rural school children and taught them western music which they do not have access to.