How ‘Guardians of Dreams’ are fulfilling educational aspirations of underprivileged kids

A Bengaluru-based NGO--Guardians of Dreams--is raising funds to provide education to students from financially weaker sections of society.

Bengaluru, Feb 16: Meet Ashok (name changed to protect his identity), an inmate at a home for students in Sheshadripuram, Bengaluru. The 'brilliant' teenager, who is a class eleven student, loves computer. It is because of the financial hardship faced by his family, Ashok has been staying in the home-established in 1932 and the foundation stone of which was laid by Mahatma Gandhi-since he was 10.

In spite of all odds, today Ashok is able to pursue his educational dreams because of a group of good Samaritans-- Guardians of Dreams-helping bright students from financially weaker sections of society to fulfill their goals. "Computer science is my favourite subject and I am keen on pursuing a career in this field," said Ashok.

Like Ashok, Vinay (name changed), another inmate from the home, also shares similar ambition. As Vinay's father is a construction worker, it's beyond his means to provide his son's college fees. Once again Guardians of Dreams took upon the task of providing educational fees for Vinay.

Guardians of Dreams is a Bengaluru-based social enterprise set up to build effective and scalable childcare solutions that focus on 'at risk' youth residing in shelter homes in Bengaluru and Cochin.

In order to support the education of these children, the social enterprise provides scholastic awards to bright students from financially poor families.

Currently, Guardians of Dreams in association with Rang De--a non-profit organisation from Bengaluru-- is raising funds to support more than 80 bright students from the city. Click here to be a part of this good cause.

Explaining about the tie-up with Guardians of Dreams, a senior member of Rang De told OneIndia, "The organisation has approached Rang De for a loan of Rs 5.5 lakhs. The loan amount will be utilised to provide scholastic awards to 82 bright students who have excelled in their 10+2 exams. These children come from single parent households or have lost contact with their families. Despite these disadvantages, the 82 students who have been selected for the award have all scored more than 60% in their qualifying exam."

How the journey of Guardians of Dreams started

The idea behind starting the social enterprise is to address the issues of children in need of care and protection.

Thus Aditya Surneni, Gloria Benny, Mekha T and Sujith Varkey came together to start Guardians of Dreams, an organisation that works exclusively for the welfare of orphans and children in shelter homes.

"When we meet children [we know], we see them doing well. On the other hand, there are children who have potential, but lack guidance, support and financial assistance to pursue their education," said Surneni, one of the co-founders of Guardians of Dreams.

"We want to ensure that every child receive care, resources and support needed for a secure future," he added.

According to statistics, out of nearly 435 million children in India, 40% are estimated to be in need of care and protection.

OneIndia News