Give 400 needy children & youths a future in India

In the Keshwa Gurukul School in our Keshwa Child Welfare Center in Sonbhadra, the 2025-2026 school year ended on March 31st, and the new 2026-2027 period began immediately afterward.

The last school year was very successful. A total of 222 children took part in the final exams. This is the first time we have exceeded 200 participants.

We now offer classes from Lower Kindergarten up to grade 8. The number of students in each grade was as follows:

LKG:         38
UKG:         27
Grade 1:   49
Grade 2:   30
Grade 3:   26
Grade 4:   24
Grade 5:   18
Grades 6, 7, and 8: 10 each

The decrease in enrollment from grade 4 onward is due to the fact that our school only opened in 2022, and students in the higher grades joined our Keshwa Gurukul School from other schools.
We expect to see an increase in the number of children in the upper grades in the coming years due to the natural progression of students to the next age group.

Naturally, there are also significant differences in the marks achieved in the exams by students in the individual classes. This is partly due to the fact that we were able to persuade many parents to send their children to the school, even though they were not necessarily keen on doing so. The school's positive development is primarily thanks to the persuasive skills and persistence of our Headmaster, Mr. Satyendrah Bahadur Singh, and our Program Manager, Mr. Hariom Tiwari.

The new academic session started on April 1st, before the long summer break beginning in May, due to the intense heat.
Finally we are very happy that the Government paved the bumpy road to our Keshwa Child Welfare Center.

We are well prepared and look forward to continued positive development. We will not be able to increase the number of students much because we first need to purchase land and then possibly build two more classrooms.
This will take us two to three years, as it is also a question of financing. However, we will purchase two Biswa plots of land this year.

Thank you so much for the tremendous support that makes the operation of this school possible.

When we opened our Keshwa Child Welfare Center in India in January 2020, we had big plans: We wanted to give girls and women the opportunity to complete a vocational training and thus shape their own lives more independently. But just a few months later, the pandemic hit – and all our plans had to be put on hold.

Despite all the setbacks, we did not give up. As life around the globe slowly returned to normal, we opened a school that continues to successfully educate children. However, the financial support promised by the Indian government for our training programs never materialized.

So, in the spring 2023, we took matters into our own hands: We launched our own Skill Program. Initially with courses in tailoring and fashion design – today, we train around 120 girls and women in these programs each year. Since the spring of 2025, we have also offered a second training program: Beautician. There, participants learn everything from henna tattoos and facial care to basic hairdressing techniques. Four dedicated instructors accompany them on this journey.

What effect does this training have on women?

For many women, it means far more than a new profession. It means freedom. The opportunity to earn their own money. The hope of building an independent and dignified life – for themselves and their families.

After their training, the women take an exam and, if successful, receive a state-recognized certificate. This allows them to officially register and often start working independently shortly thereafter. Microloans help them finance essential initial purchases, such as a sewing machine.

Each of these women follows her own path. And each of these paths begins with an opportunity – one that we make possible together.

We conduct regular surveys among our graduates to understand their goals from the training, their positive experiences, and our potential for improvement. It is always moving to hear that the most important success stories (the core messages) are consistently the same: the independence gained through their own income and the ability to support their families.