rural india

From a reluctant family to lack of knowledge about the sector, nothing stopped Shuvajit Payne from quitting his well-paying job in London and settling down in a village to teach the villagers English. What is it that drove him to take such a drastic step? And how does he feel about it now? Read more to find out.

Watch an amazing video showing how this NGO used the concept of upcycling in a creative manner to solve 2 of rural Indian schools' biggest problems.

Started five years back, Educate Girls aims to get as many girls as possible into school so they can benefit from a good education, improve their lives and become an asset to their communities. And what started with just 500 schools has now spread to 4425 schools! Safeena Husain, the founder and Chief Executive Officer, tells us about it.

This photo essay captures the range of activities, colours and festivities amidst the verdant hills brought about by the monsoon rains in rural areas of Maharashtra, including the celebration of the Vatapoornima festival.

Remember the 2004 Bollywood film in which an NRI Mohan Bhargava (played by Shah Rukh Khan) returns to India and is moved by the harsh realities faced by the people in his village to become an agent of change? The name of that film was Swades, and here is an organization called Swades Foundation that shares a similar mission - to bring about change in rural India. To know how they are doing this, read more.

One of the main obstacles in the path of students in India is the absence of reliable sources of illumination. Electricity is non-existent or at best patchy in most parts of rural India, and other sources of light like the humble kerosene lamps pose health hazards, are ineffective, expensive and unreliable. Read how one organization is dispelling the gloom with a viable alternative.

As a social enterprise committed to providing some of the poorest households in India with solar power, Mera Gao Power is making great inroads. Starting from Sitapur district in Uttar Pradesh, the venture has reached out to more than 3500 customers in just over a year. In this lovely photo essay, Anna Da Costa shows us some of the impact when people living off the grid are finally included in the growth story and shown the possibilities.

Aneesha Menon, an India Water Portal Fellow, travels with The Nirmal Bharat Yatra (Great WASH Yatra) to understand the mindset in rural India on health and sanitation issues and to educate young girls on menstrual cycle and hygienic practices. While the lack of awareness is shocking, Aneesha finds an eagerness to learn and adapt which is encouraging. On visiting two schools to take a survey, she is happy to note that their visit seems to have left a positive impact on the young minds.

Dr. Rani Bang narrates how she was drawn to healing India's poorest. Narrated by the doctor herself, here is an account of what got her started.