Sponsor the college fees of a differently abled student by Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled

Sponsor the college fees of a differently abled student

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This program is fully funded because of donors like you.

Impact

Naksha overcomes her disability and wins a gold medal in the college sports meet

Naksha is from Chikamagaluru, Karnataka. She is visually impaired and lives with her mother, two brothers, and a sister. The family has an annual income of Rs.30,000 (approx. $405). Her father passed away, making her older brother the sole bread-winner.

With her disability and her financial problems, she lost the hopes of going to college. She decided to drop out of college because of economic challenges.

One of her friends then introduced her to a team member from Samarthanam. After knowing her situation, Samarthanam intervened. They provided an opportunity for her by funding her higher education. This had a life-changing impact on Naksha.

Naksha was then able to enroll into junior college. She is currently pursuing 1st-year PU at the BES Govt College.

Naksha works hard in academics, but she is excellent at sports. She has participated in the district level Athletic Meet. She has bagged silver in Shotput and Gold in the 100-meter race.

Today, Naksha is a young girl with dreams of a bright future for which she works very hard. She is filled with gratitude and wants to make the best out of the opportunities she is being given.

Without the support and care of Samarthanam, Naksha would have dropped out of college and struggled with her disability being a roadblock all her life. The aid she has received has given hope for her future.

You can also help poor differently abled students get opportunities that they deserve. You can donate so that they can get the education and aid with which they can build their independence. You can give with confidence because every program listed is GIVEASSURED.

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About The Program

What the beneficiary gets
Tuition
What you get
Tax Exemption
Periodic Reports
Program Description

Samarthanam Trust focuses on visually impaired, disabled and underprivileged students from urban and suburban areas in Karnataka who don't have sufficient support for pursuing higher education.

Donation to this program supports part of the monthly tuition fees of a differently abled college student.

The long-term benefit of the project is to help these students join mainstream professions, thus contributing to social development and eradication of poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment. Students are selected based on the criteria of disability and financial status.

Selected students receive counseling for their interest areas. Accordingly, they are enrolled in suitable educational institutions.

The students receive free nutritious food and hostel facilities. Hostel fees range within Rs. 5,000 to 15,000 for 6 months. Academic progress is monitored by trained staff with individual attention, including visits to their schools and colleges. Volunteers also read notes to visually impaired students and help in identifying scribes to write exams.

Every weekend, corporate volunteers conduct classes on life skills and effective communication. Students are encouraged to take part in extracurricular activities like yoga, dance, and sports.

Samarthanam has a union of old students called Samuha, which interacts half yearly with the current students, thus helping in increasing their network and making them aware of present employment opportunities.

When you donate to this program, you help a differently abled student get a college education. This education can help them become independent and build a better future for themselves.

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About The NGO

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled
Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled Logo
Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled is a National Award winning NGO that works for the empowerment of persons with disabilities and the underserved. They primarily cater to people in need by providing a plethora of services including quality education, accommodation, nutritious food, vocational training, sports and placement based rehabilitation.

Their initiatives strive towards creating opportunities for them to keep pace with the rest of the society. Today they stand as a complete solution provider by supporting education and livelihood needs of persons with disabilities and those from underprivileged backgrounds. Apart from these initiatives, they also foster the game of blind cricket amongst visually impaired players across India, through their cricketing arm Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI).

They envision to touch at least 100,000 lives by 2020, providing comprehensive solutions to the differently-abled and underserved communities. They were felicitated with the National Award for Child Welfare by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India and received it from Smt. Pratibha Patil, Honourable President of India in 2010.

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founders
Founded in 1991
NGO Leadership

Mahantesh G. K

areas of operation
Area of Operation
Area of Operation

Mid-day Meals | differently abled

location of work
Location of Work
Location of Work

Karnataka

last audited
Last Audited
Periodic Compliance Checks by GiveIndia

Renewals FY 19-20

Program Updates

Program Updates

22 September, 2023

An update on the program you are supporting

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

Total number of beneficiaries impacted - 11, in Bangalore


Challenges faced and next steps

The program coordinator connected with more than 10 reputed colleges across Bangalore for enrollment of students to the higher education program. 11 students were enrolled on the scholarship program of Samarthanam, where the college admission and tuition fees are taken care of by Samarthanam. Timely study materials and opportunities for extracurricular activities have been provided to the students.


Stories from the ground

19-year-old Nagashree belongs to Bangalore. Her father Ravichandran R.G is a cab driver, and her mother Pavithra work as assistant in health camps. Nagashree is the only child and she is blind by birth. She is a hardworking girl and is extrovert by nature, she has lots of friends. She passed Board examination from Mathru Educational Trust for the Blind (83%) then completed her higher education from Ramanashree Udaya Education Society (68%). Now she is pursuing her 1st year degree from NMKRV College Bangalore. Her ambition is to become a singer and a psychologist. She loves watching Kannada movies, listening to music also interested in making Tik-Tok videos. She enjoys Basketball, Tennis and Hula-Hoops. Her favorite foods include Maggie and Masala Dosa. She is well versed in Kannada, English and Telugu, also she can write the stated languages in Braille. Her favorite subject is Sociology. Despite being blind she is very focused and adamant about achieving her dreams.


5 December, 2022

Sponsor the college fees of a differently abled student

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

As part of this program, Samarthanam field staff visited around 35 colleges in Bangalore, and 100 students were mobilized, including disabled students. Further to this discussions and meetings were done with Principals and concerned college authorities ensuring maximum fee concessions for the students. A total of 90 students were enrolled on the scholarship program of Samarthanam, where the college admission and tuition fees are taken care of by Samarthanam. 28 students are supported under Give India support. Apart from this timely study materials and opportunities for extracurricular activities are also provided. Thus Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled can contribute to higher education support for the disabled and underprivileged youth. The program will be providing continuous and consistent support and guidance ensuring continuous education of the marginalised and disabled youth, thus enabling them to become independent and self-sustained. The program supports the achievement of the physical, social and emotional well-being of the disadvantaged and differently-abled youth, and their families. This will also reduce the financial and emotional burden on poor and marginalized families including families of the differently abled youth.


Challenges faced and next steps

As the students are from a rural background, most of them are not aware of the courses and career opportunities available to them including the college details. Before the admission itself, Samarthanam ensures that all the counselling needs of the students are met on time and are directed or supported to take admission to the right course and right college. Our goal is to reach out to more marginalized and disabled students and to encourage them to pursue higher education ensuring a better future.


Stories from the ground

Vijaya Kumar N.R, Son of Rajashekar and Gangamma was born on the 25th of March 1991; he is visually impaired by birth. They belong to a small village in the district of Hasan, Karnataka. His father is a farmer and his mother is a homemaker; he has one elder brother who is working in a private company. He has done his schooling in Govt. school for the blind at Mysore and he completed SSLC in 2010 and scored 65% marks. Later he enrolled for Diploma in Computer Applications at JSS College, Bangalore for pursuing Diploma in computer applications. He is good at studies as well as extra-curricular activities including sports. He has done all his schooling in the Kannada medium; thus he faced difficulty in pursuing his Diploma course. He was not ready to give up; he did hard work and learned English; by practice, there was much improvement in his communication skills including written communication. He knows how to read and write in Braille script; both in English and Kannada languages.

From his school years itself, he was very much interested in cultural activities and sports. He participated in many competitions and won medals and prizes at the college level too. He is an Athletic runner; he participated in many district, state and national level athletic events and won many medals and prizes in the category. He attended the Paralympics 2008 with the support of Samarthanam, attended short put and running cadre conducted by Samarthanam, he won first prize in short put and 800-meter running cadre.

After completing his Diploma course he started his career as a Braille embosser operator in KWAB, Mathur Chaya, Sahana Trust, later he joined Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled as a Braille embosser operator in 2019. After joining Samarthanam, he got a lot of support from the Samarthanam team. They motivated him to pursue higher studies. With the support and guidance of the Samarthanam higher education team, he enrolled to BA program at BES College, Jayanagar Bangalore, which is an evening college. Samarthanam is supporting him with all his educational needs. He's currently pursuing BA II year. He scored 7.86 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)in BA I year.

He is thankful to Samarthanam for all the support and guidance he received from the education team. His dream is to grab a government job and he is preparing for the same too whenever he gets time. Wishing Vijaya Kumar all the success and achievements.


30 June, 2022

Activity Report for differently abled students

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

We were able to sensitize about 100 students and visited about 35 colleges in Bangalore. We enrolled 55 students for the scholarship program, and we have paid the college admission and tuition fees. Due to COVID-19, online classes were conducted and we provided students with tabs. Students were able to attend online classes and their financial burden was reduced due to the support they received from Samarthanam.


Challenges faced and next steps

Due to COVID, colleges were closed and offline classes were stopped. The challenge we had to overcome was convincing students to take online classes from their respective hometowns. To achieve this, we had to guide them from the start on the importance of attending classes online. We provided them with tabs with the internet facility so they could attend the classes. As students were in their hometown, we paid the students' fees directly into the college accounts. We also provided vaccinations to all our students. Our goal is to reach out to a greater number of students and encourage them to pursue higher education.


Stories from the ground

During lockdown, one of our higher education students, Jagadeesh, who is a visually impaired student, faced a lot of difficulties attending online classes. We provide tab and internet connectivity. For attending exams during COVID lockdown time, we faced an issue with arranging scribes for him. Somehow, we arranged scribes and he scored 87% in his BA final year, and he continued for further education. He joined for a post-graduation MA at Bangalore University.


28 November, 2021

Sponsor the college fees of a differently abled student

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Activities and work undertaken in the last 5-6 months

58 disabled and underprivileged youth were supported through Samarthanam’s higher education scholarship program in Bangalore Urban and Rural, Karnataka State.Students were mobilized and enrolled on the scholarship program. These students were supported for college tuition fees, books and stationeries during the period Jan to June 2021.A. In January books and stationers were distributed to higher education students of the Bangalore branch in Bangalore.B. On February 11th, the Department of Empowerment of differently Abled and Senior Citizens of Karnataka had organized the “Word Disability Day” program at Ravindra Kalakshetra, Bangalore. Hon'ble ministers Sri. S.T. Somashekar (Minster of Co-Operation, Govt of Karnataka) and Smt. Shashikala Annasaheb Jolley (Minister of Empowerment of differently Abled and Senior Citizens of Karnataka) visited Samarthanam’s stall. Both the ministers appreciated the work done by Samarthanam Trust for people with disabilities. 65 beneficiaries and staff from Samarthanam Trust participated in the program.C. On March 13th, higher education girl students from the Bangalore branch participated in the “International Women’s Day” program held at Samarthanam Trust’s Head Office in Bangalore


Challenges faced and next steps

On April 2nd week 2021, the deadly CORONA virus again shook the entire Karnataka State and the State Government announced a complete lockdown. The colleges were closed again and most of the colleges had to continue the teaching through online mode only. Many Educational Institutions / Universities across Karnataka had either postponed or cancelled the annual examinations to be held during April – June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic WAVE -2 crisis. Few Universities had even promoted their students to the next class by considering their internal exam scores and previous semester exam scores. There was a subsequent delay in the admission process and the Educational Institutions were not able to commence the classes as per the regular academic calendar. Students, parents, teachers were all living in a very uncertain situation with regards to the commencement of the academic year and students were also much worried about their academic career Most of the parents were worried about the health of their children due to the sudden onset of COVID-19 WAVE – 2 pandemic crises across the State Most of the parents/guardians lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic and children were disturbed and worried about the ways to make the payment to college tuition fees Many parents informed that they would ask their children to drop out or discontinue this academic year as they were concerned about the safety of their children Samarthanam coordinators arranged a virtual counselling session for all these parents and students. They informed the parents/students about the importance of continuity of their education and assured full academic & financial support from Samarthanam to each student in whatever way possible. This had a great impact on these parents/students and boosted the confidence level of students As a result, many students are now continuing their higher education without getting dropped. Despite the ongoing COVID WAVE – 2 pandemic crises, students were supported for higher education Students are now able to continue their higher studies in reputed colleges without getting dropped out


Stories from the ground

Ms Varsha is 21-year-old. She was born to a poor farming family, who live in Aadivala, which is a small village near Hiriyur taluk, Chitradurga district in Karnataka. Her father Umapathi and her mother Yashodha both are working in farming the land. Varsha was born with her blindness and thus had to face many challenges right from birth. She is the only daughter of her parents. They earn very little and in the rainy season, it is very difficult for them to farm. The family faces a lot of problems and difficulties. She has completed her primary education in her village. She faces a lot of challenges in school because of her disability. One of her teachers, suggested her mother write the exams with the help of a scribe. She has got support from her uncle, by way of arranging scribe and reading service during the SSLC examinations, with their support she completed her tenth standard in Government high school in Chitradurga with 80%. She is a very talented girl, She wants to continue her education and also she wants to become an athletic player. One of her school teachers recognized her talents and suggested she continue her education in Bangalore. She is staying with her uncle in Bangalore. She joined PUC in GFGC College, Basavangudi, Bangalore. She scored 87%in Second Year Pre-University Board examination. She is very interested in cricket and one of her college friends suggested she approach Samarthanam Trust for joining the girl's cricket team and also she approached Samarthanam to support the continuation of her further education. Samarthanam HEP has supported scholarships to continue degree education with their help, she joined Surana College. She is currently pursuing B.A. final year. Samarthanam trust has recognized her talents and also supported her in sports activities. She is playing in the Indian blind cricket team. She played test matches in Kerala and Delhi. She won the woman of the match in both places. In the future, she wants to become a good cricket player.


23 March, 2021

Empowering the differently abled and underprivileged youths by facilitating higher education

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The purpose of the project is to provide higher inclusive education in renowned educational institutions, by providing college tuition and admission fees,facilitating students to participate in the online classes by providing tabs and internet data packs, virtual soft skills, English language and technical trainings, and improved standard of living for the differently abled and underprivileged youth.
In the long term the outcome of the program is to create an inclusive society which provides opportunities without any discrimination for the development of the differently abled people.


Higher Education Program Coordinators were able to mobilize and enroll differently abled and underprivileged youth in the age group of 15-25 years to the higher educationprogram across Karnataka. The Coordinators connected students through whatsapp groups and enrolled them to the program. They also counselled the students and the parents and  motivated the students to continue their education and asked the students not to dropout from their courses due to the long lockdown imposed by the state and central government due to the onset of COVID-19 pandemic crisis across the country.


Yes, there was a slight deviation in the activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis since April 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis the Higher education batch of 2020-2021 was declared a virtual batch.


Challenges due to COVID-19 Pandemic:
For the academic year 2020-2021, most of the Educational Institutions / Universities across Karnataka were either postponed or cancelled the annual examinations to be held during March – August 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Few Universities even promoted their students to the next class by considering their internal exam scores and previous semester exam scores.
 
There was a subsequent delay in the admission process and the Educational Institutions were not able to commence as usual. Even till date the admissions are still ongoing, reopening of the Colleges / Educational Institutions have been delayed, and are also further dependent on the guidelines from UGC and SOPs from State Higher Education Department. Students, parents, teachers are still living in a very uncertain situation with regards to the commencement of the academic year. Currently, there does not seem to be much clarity on when colleges will function as usual and there is a lot of confusion.  Also, most of the parents have expressed their consent to colleges to continue the teaching through online mode.


In spite of the ongoing COVID pandemic crisis, students have been enrolled to the program
Students are able to continue their higher studies in reputed colleges without getting dropped out.
Other differently abled students are also getting motivated to pursue higher studies by seeing their friends graduating successfully and getting employed.
Increase in self-worth and self-esteem as their on par with their able bodied students
A purpose for life and streamlining of their focus towards a better future
A sense of security and emotional bonding.
The financial burden of 170 plus parents/families have been drastically reduced
The students are able to focus on their studies without any other financial worries
Better career opportunities.
The ultimate results can only be seen in the long term, but we have taken the first step for their holistic development ensuring that in the long term the results are positive.



5 August, 2020

Empowering the differently abled by facilitating higher education'

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Empowering the differently abled by facilitating higher education'




Through the support of Corporate and Individual donors, many differently abled and underprivileged youth across Karnataka have been able to get admission in renowned educational institutions. Our students are also getting the state of the art facilities in these colleges along with other abled students.


 Students have been provided free accommodation and nutritious food
 English Language training, soft skills, life skills training and computer training were imparted for students.
 Visually Impaired students were provided with audio books which would be helpful for them during examinations.
 For the below average students remedial class was also arranged.
 We have also distributed assistive aids to students
 Scribes were arranged for the visually impaired students for the semester examinations held during November and December 2019.
 Students have participated in various events / extracurricular activities like sports.


Along with academic studies we also recognize strengths/ talents hidden in each student & help to bring out the best in each of them in extracurricular areas like music, dance, theatre, sports etc. Students have participated in various events / extracurricular activities like athletics, Independence Day celebrations



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