Lotus Petal: Changing Dreams To Reality
Many schools worldwide are dedicated to educating underprivileged children who may not have access to quality education. These schools often partner with local communities, non-profit organisations, and government agencies to provide children a safe and nurturing environment to foster learning and growth.
One such school is the Lotus Petal Senior Secondary School, Gurugram, India. The Lotus Petal Foundation, through its school, aims to change lives, one child at a time.
The Lotus Petal Foundation was founded in 2011 by Kushal Chakravorty to educate children from economically and socially disadvantaged families. The programs run by the foundation focus on three thematic Areas in an integrated manner, namely – Education, Nutrition, and Livelihood covering SDG 1 to 10.
Lotus Petal's primary objective is to create equal opportunities for underprivileged children living in urban and semi-urban areas of Delhi-NCR. They create high-impact interventions in education, healthcare and nutrition by using innovative methodologies, scientific rigour, data and analytics for the child and their community.
Lotus Petal Foundation offers a comprehensive educational program that includes academic subjects such as math, science, and language and extracurricular activities like music, sports, and dance. The school also provides vocational training to help students acquire practical skills that they can use to earn a living later in life. Out of the 76 alumni from the Lotus Petal programs 47 are well placed in jobs in the industry while others are pursuing higher education in universities in India.
One of the critical features of the Lotus Petal Foundation is their focus on holistic education, which recognises that students' physical, emotional, and mental well-being is just as important as their academic progress. The school provides a safe and nurturing environment where students can develop self-confidence, leadership skills, and a sense of responsibility to their community.
Truly making a difference, Lotus Petal Sr. Secondary School, is a dream slowly taking shape in the form of a beautiful campus (under construction) that will be a hub of hope for more than 10,000 underprivileged children. The campus is partially operational with classes upto grade 9, staff rooms, STEAM Lab, computer Labs and hybrid rooms for live online classes. This school is aiming towards being the largest school for the underprivileged with a CBSE affiliation, right up to grade 12.
Under the Vidya Sahyog Program, teachers use the fully equipped hybrid rooms to take live virtual interactive classes, for schools across India where teachers are scarce. They also have a skill development program called Jeevika for youth from underprivileged families in the 18 - 25 years age category.
The Lotus Petal Foundation has taken many initiatives to make this campus green and environment-friendly. Gutter beams on the roof's periphery collect rainwater and channel it to rainwater harvesting pits for rainwater harvesting. One hundred twelve solar panels have been installed with a capacity of producing 350 KV electricity. The Sewage Treatment Plant on the campus can provide 130 KL of treated water daily, reducing the requirement for freshwater by more than 70%.
The school also has a 2-storey kitchen block on the campus. In addition, it has a kitchen and dining area where 1000 students can dine at once.
Lotus Petal Foundation trusts the intrinsic goodness of people and believes that giving selflessly transforms both the giver and the receiver. The Foundation believes education is the most empowering tool that changes an individual's life. To achieve this transformation, the Foundation provides exemplary school education to underprivileged children living in the urban slums of Delhi NCR. In addition, it enables people across the globe to support the cause in ways that make them feel engaged and agents of change.
https://www.lotuspetalfoundation.org
By Prasun Peter
