Shadhika

Reading Time: 4 minutes Donors and board members would sometimes ask me why we were supporting Uddami in Kolkata. At first glance, it seemed like an outlier for Shadhika support, just being a computer-training center. When I got these questions, I would just reply, “Wait until you meet Rabia.” Rabia was Uddami’s Director, and a product herself of Uddami,   

Reading Time: 5 minutes As we ascend the steep ladder to get to the second story meeting space, I feel like a girl again, climbing into a secret tree house. This is the new meeting space for the Vacha students participating in the after-school program that Shadhika is funding. The room is small and packed with girls between the   

Reading Time: 4 minutes Memories of yesterday’s event wake me up early. The silence of the early morning is filled with images of family, friends, and supporters who gathered to mark the graduation of Shadhika’s first class of college scholarship recipients at our partner site, Vacha, in Mumbai. When we started planning this event, the graduates asked explicitly for   

Reading Time: 3 minutes Working at Shadhika, I am continually reminded of the freedom I enjoy and the things I take for granted.  Even the most mundane acts, like being able to walk where and when I want to or knowing I have access to a toilet pretty much whenever I need to, are privileges not shared by the   

Reading Time: 5 minutes Our visit with Equal Community Foundation (ECF) in Pune has been sitting with me for days, challenging me to grow in my understanding. Challenging me to see our work in new ways. This is the beginning of our second year working with ECF as part of our Boys for Girls initiative which focuses on working   

Reading Time: 2 minutes Women’s Foundations across the U.S. condemn the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy and the continued detention of immigrant families. While the new executive order issued by the Trump Administration will pause the practice of separating immigrant families at the border, ending family separations without ending the “zero tolerance” policy means that women, children and   

Reading Time: 4 minutes The cave is cool, a welcome respite from the heat and humidity. I listen as our guide describes the ancient stories carved into the huge granite stones before us. We are at the Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO site in Mumbai. I am joined by a group of Shadhika college scholarship students from VACHA, our partner