Shiva Valley School , Deulgaon Gada , Pune

Majalgaon Vikas Pratishthan was founded by Mr and Mrs Solanke in 2003 to enable them to reach out to the under privileged women and children in Majalgaon taluka in Beed district. In the last 8 years they have set up more than 450 Self Help Groups based on Nobel Prize for Peace winner, Professor Mohmmed Yunnus' theory of the Grameen Bank. They have helped more than 10000 families double or triple their incomes and there are now many women who are now entrepreneurs. Professor Yunus’ theory of the Grameen Bank has been adapted by the Indian Government to form Self Help Groups (SHGs) or what is commonly known as the Bachat Gat. Mrs Solanke along with her SHG coordinators visits villages in Majalgaon and encourages the women to form Gats. The women in this area are illiterate and poor but are very hard working. Though in many cases they are the main bread earners their self esteem is very low and also their confidence. So the first step was to make them realize that they were very capable and would be able to do anything once they received proper instruction and guidance.This was the beginning of a revolution in the villages… a much needed one to enable women to realize their potential! In the first 2 months 150 SHGs were formed and soon the entire Taluka was abuzz with this.Today more than 250 groups are linked with banks and have received loans from them without any collateral. The women use this money mainly to buy goats, cows or buffaloes. This becomes an excellent business for them and their incomes have already doubled. Needless to say that every penny that a woman earns goes towards the food, health and education of her children … unlike men who’s additional earnings are spent on alcohol, women or gambling.Their first school, a residential coeducational school, the Sindphana Public School was started in Majalgaon, Beed, which is among the more under developed parts of Maharashtra, This was started with the help of the Majalgaon Cooperative Sugar Factory, Telgaon, with consultation from the MadhaviKapur Foundation Pune, 9 years ago. This Sugar Factory was started by MrPrakash Solanke and his father MrSunderrao Solanke who was in the Maharashtra State Cabinet for 13 years and also Deputy Chief Minister, Maharashtra. Today this school is running successfully under the able guidance of Mrs Solanke and the student strength is close to 650 with more than 160 boarders.Their aim was to ensure that our rural counterparts had access to quality education, which would enable them to bring about progress in their region. They come to you with the experience of moulding these young and eager minds that do not have the disadvantage of the various distractions of urban life… the experience of reaching out to bright young first generation learners who are as keen and perceptive as any city born child. They have already proved that a child is capable of learning everything that is taught irrespective of his caste, creed or social standing. They firmly believe that children from different backgrounds need to come together to really understand integration, acceptance and inclusion.