27th February 2024: Dr KR Shroff Foundation (KRSF) has forged a partnership with Sarjan Foundation, to uplift the lives of several underprivileged students, and extended its efforts and resources towards uplifting rural and underprivileged communities through education, Sarjan Foundation runs a Vocational Training Centre, named MARG, in Rampur-Vadla village in Amirgadh taluka of Banaskantha district, to support skill development and employment of underprivileged youth.
At present, over 350 students are enrolled at the Vocational Training Centre, all of whom are secondary school dropouts and aged between 16-22 years.
As part of the collaboration, KRSF, so far, has helped uplift the lives of some 279 children, by providing complete financial assistance for their mess expenditure for over two years.
Over and above these costs, KRSF is also funding two key infrastructure projects for the foundation under their collaboration. One involves building a multi-functional 600-seater hall for students’ multi-faceted learning and the second includes construction of a Boys’ Hostel that can accommodate up to 300 students.
Mr. Uday Desai, President, of KRSF, said, “Sarjan Foundation’s vocational training center at Rampur-Vadla is playing a key role here by upskilling and training students who have either failed their class X or were compelled to drop out of school due to socio-economic reasons. This enables them to earn a livelihood and become self-reliant. However, the organization used to face constant challenges in raising funds.”
“To ease this, KRSF partnered with Sarjan Foundation to provide financial assistance not only to meet Mess expenses but also for key infrastructure development in the campus that includes a multi-functional hall and a new boys hostel for 300 students. KRSF is proud to collaborate with Sarjan Foundation as it helps extrapolate our mission of uplifting rural, underprivileged communities through education,” Mr Desai further added.
KRSF’s support of the Sarjan Foundation’s initiative has benefitted several youngsters of that region, who took vocational training and are now employed in companies of repute all over Gujarat.
A case in point is 21-year-old Raju Laxmanbhai Mulana, who failed class X exams and then dropped out of school. Raju’s mother passed away and his father, a farm laborer, suffers from a chronic ailment. Raju was raised by his uncle. Hopes of him getting a job were bleak after Raju dropped out of school. However, he learned about the Sarjan Foundation’s vocational training from awareness and outreach programs carried out by the institution at his school. Raju enrolled himself for a 1.5-year training course in Welding and CNC Operator which he completed in 2021. He stayed at the hostel while he pursued the course and got a job placement immediately upon completing the course.
Today, he works as a CNC machine operator at a company – PowerDrive Bearings situated in Sanand, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, and earns Rs 16,500 a month. Ever since Raju began earning, he sent half of his salary to his family in the village to support his family and his father’s treatment.
Raju’s growth has inspired some 12-13 students from his village, who also enrolled in the vocational training center for different courses. Sarjan Foundation is a not-for-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life of the deprived, through its welfare projects in education, livelihood, healthcare, and women empowerment.
Bhupendra Prajapati, Principal, MARG Centre, Sarjan Foundation, said, “Our partnership with KRSF is vital for the vocational training center, as this has enabled our students to get access to clean, hygienic lodging and boarding facilities and healthy and nutritious meals. The new hostel building and the multi-functional hall will only strengthen our training delivery and help meet our infrastructural requirements to operate and manage a thriving vocational training center, which was always a challenge. The necessary infrastructure will further enable the foundation to rope in more students from the village, provide them with the necessary skills to gain employment and become breadwinners for their families to uplift their lives.”
“We provide 6-month and 1-year courses free of cost for welder, fitter, turner, robotics, wireman, and motor rewinding trades, among others, which make students employable in industries. Students get near 100% placement in several engineering, automobiles, auto ancillaries, and other companies in the Sanand industrial area” added Bhupendra Prajapati.
Over the past decade, KRSF has been relentlessly and successfully working towards bringing about a measurable change in improving the quality of education across some 665 rural schools in 650 villages of Gujarat.
