Launch of 'Arunoday', a need-based scholarship program

I am delighted to write to you on the official launch of 'Arunoday' (Sanskrit: the rising sun; the light of life) at Hope Hall Foundation School in New Delhi, where I presently serve as Director.

When I first moved out of India to study in the United States, I noticed an empathic culture of meritocracy and equality in the university I attended and in the schools I taught at as a volunteer. Unlike in India, where money and influence often won students seats in reputed private colleges, there was an abundance of poor but bright, and non-influential but talented, students in schools and universities around me.

In my university, this extraordinary feat was largely possible through merit and need based scholarships, which empowered even the destitute and the downtrodden through a world-class education. If you had a hunger to learn and if you had a demonstrated record for high-performance--I was delighted to notice--you could obtain an education.

This opportunity to empowerment and education is one that 'Arunoday' provides poor but intelligent students in New Delhi, India.

As it stands today—and as you may be aware—children from low-income backgrounds in India either attend poorly-funded but affordable public schools or NGO’s divorced from the mainstream system of education or no school at all. While there are several challenges this poses before an otherwise developing society and country, probably the most severe and heartening of these is the inability for bright, talented but poor students to further their potential and realize their dreams.

Arunoday will provide such children a 100% merit-based scholarship to attend Hope Hall Foundation School, an English medium, co-educational institute affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The scholarship will also sponsor a student's books and uniform fee. In its first year, the scholarship will reach out to about 5-7 students entering Grades 9 or 11 and will commence from April 1, 2010.

We are actively reaching out to low-income families and schools to source students for the program and we are also approaching private donors to sponsor this program. If you know of any students this program can be useful for or if you are keen to invest in and be part of this program, please do reach out to me by commenting on this article.

Look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you on the program soon!