PROJECTS
Educational opportunities for single mothers and their daughters is most crucial in making sure that the family and the community (and by extension the nation) at large can thrive. The Emelie Foundation is committed to supporting and helping, to the extent possible, aspirations of those who are at the bottom of the economic pyramid to get opportunities to educate their daughters as well as single mothers.
In this section, we provide case studies of those who were provided with those opportunities by the Foundation. In each of the following cases, a thorough wetting of the applicants was conducted in terms of the income level of the family, the opportunity they had for education (such as admission to accredited educational programs) and the level of financial support they were requesting. In most cases, the Foundation provided financial support which augmented the resources the applicant had through personal savings or through other supporting organizations.
Mrs. Shakuntala S. Patil (Widow). Shakuntala has three children. Two twin daughters – Komal Patil and Kiran Patil and one Son. She supports herself and her family by working as a household worker. Her annual income is Rs. 60,000 (approximately US$960). With this income she supports a family of 4, including herself. Her two twin daughters have now completed their highschools and are now in college. Komal is in the second year engineering (civil engineering) and Kiran is in the college of Arts, Science and Commerce. Kiran is pursuing a degree in Commerce. It is to the tenacity and determination of their mother Shakuntala that she has made it possible for her two twin daughters to enter higher educational institutions. The Emelie Foundation is very proud to provide Komal and Kiran the support they needed to continue their college education.
Mrs. Shakuntala S. Patil
Shakuntala Patil with her twin daughters Komal and Kiran. From left to right: Trustee Hetal Shah, Trustee Parag Shah, Trustee Ameeta Datar, Kiran Patil, Shakuntala Patil and Komal Patil, receiving the award Check.
Kiran Patil receiving her award Check from Trustee Ameeta Data.
Mrs. Rajni G. Ohval
Mrs. Rajni Ganesh Ohval. Rajni is a widow at a very young age. She is supported by her brother currently and has no income of her own. She is also a mother of one child. To support herself and improve her future earning potential as well as to improve her chances for self-support and for providing education for her child, she has enrolled in a computer class which will prepare her for data entry, as well as office related job. The Emelie Foundation is very proud to help Rajni enroll for this opportunity to register in a computer training institute for a one year training course.
Rajni Ohval receiving her award Check from Trustee Parag Shah
Mrs. Rajshri R. Kalal
Mrs. Rajshri Raju Kalal was widowed eight years ago. She does petty household jobs and earns about Rs. 50,000 per year. (less than $800) Part of her household expenses are taken care of by the aid she receives every month from Shri Madhav Seva Mandal, a sister charitable trust. Both, she as well as her husband were not privileged to receive education. Rajshri has 2 daughters - Priyanka (Beneficiary) is the elder one. Savita, the younger daughter, has passed 10th Standard and has secured admission in 11th Standard in the Arts field.
Priyanka has passed her 12th Standardd Arts and has secured admission in First Year (Arts) at the Appasaheb Jedhe College. She aspires to be a teacher.
It is to the credit of Rajshri, an uneducated widow to struggle and scrape together enough resources, not only to support her family of three but to educate her two daughters through high school. Now that her elder daughter Priyanka is entering the college to study for a BA degree in Arts and eventually become a teacher, the Emelie Foundation is very pleased and proud to support her college education.
Priyanka Kalal (left) and her mother Rajshri (right)
Rajshri Kalal receiving the award for Priyanka’s education from Trustee Parag Shah
Mrs. Kamal Kowkuntla
Kamal Kowkuntla, a 42 year old widow has three children- two boys and one girl. The eldest (22 years) is a son named Siddharth. Laxmi, the daughter is 19 years old. Rahul, the youngest son is 16 years old. Kamal was widowed in 2008 at the very young age of 33 years. She has worked as a housemaid at an annual salary of about Rs.60,000 per year. Under such impossible economic hardship, she has educated her daughter Laxmi upto High School Graduation as well as 12th Grade. Now, Laxmi wishes to join a Nursing program in college. This is a good decision by her mother as well as by Laxmi since there is considerable demand for Nurses in the country as well as the world. The Emelie Foundation is very proud to assist Laxmi towards her goal of becoming a registered nurse.
Chairman Hetal Shah handing over the check to Kamal and Laxmi Kowkuntla