Bloom India

Poor rural communities in India need access to quality education and we want to expand our approach to learning by establishing digital centers in different at-risk schools focusing on science, math, and English for students from 1st grade to 6th grade. Our focus is to provide high-quality education to underprivileged children throughout India to help them to be successful and break the cycle of poverty not only for themselves but for their communities and the generations to come. Many schools in rural areas are understaffed and under-resourced. The rate of turnover is high for teachers in general much less for qualified or skilled teachers. These disadvantaged children then are stuck not having the necessary basic skills or proficiency to compete with their counterparts. We know that there are many other poor rural communities in India that need access to quality education and we want to continue to expand to reach as many as we can.

As our students reach 10th grade and continue to excel in their board exams we are committed to providing scholarships so they can pursue higher education from PUC (Pre-university) to beyond.

Only 3.6% of children in the state of Karnataka eat an acceptable minimum diet. We are developing a strategic plan to address the issue of food insecurity which includes launching a sustainable food program for our 540+ students. For the vast majority of our students, this will be the only nutritious meal that they receive that day. Most of our children's parents are daily wage laborers who work very hard to provide for their families but they often make anywhere from $2-$5 a day which has to go to pay all their expenses including groceries.

A lack of sanitary bathrooms and resources for girls can lead them to miss school during menstruation or drop out altogether. Not having access to menstrual products, waste management, and education causes physical, mental, and emotional challenges for young women. More than 40% of students in India resort to missing school while menstruating because of social stigma, isolation, and embarrassment.

Less than 1% of government schools in the city of Bengaluru have playgrounds. The lack of playgrounds or open areas causes a lack of physical activity which is one of the greatest contributors to childhood obesity as well as anxiety and depression. Playgrounds and physical health programs are designed to promote play, activities, and social interaction among children which are all necessary for the full well being all children.

As our students reach 10th grade and continue to excel in their board exams we are committed to providing scholarships so they can pursue higher education from PUC (Pre-university) to beyond. That is a continued commitment to all our 10th-grade graduates to ensure they have the resources to excel.

We want to continue to expand to add additional Bloom Schools in areas where we see a great need and can mobilize our efforts to help. We know that there are many other poor rural communities in India that need access to quality education and we want to continue to expand to reach as many as we can. With the education crisis continuing throughout India, we want to expand our approach to learning with multiple centers in different at-risk schools by placing digital classrooms with a focus on science, math, and English subjects for students from 1st grade to 6th grade.

We are launching a sustainable food program for our 540+ students. We want to renovate the kitchens at the school so we can provide a hot, healthy homemade meal to each of our students and staff.

We are making renovations which include 20 updated toilets and stalls so all our students have access to sanitary and hygienic bathroom facilities. We will continue to address proper hygiene and access to sanitary conditions in the schools and centers we establish.

We want to update our grounds with playground equipment so our students can also just be kids and have fun. We want our children to have the same opportunities to be well-rounded and enjoy being a child.

We have been able to support all our 10th graders from the pandemic onwards. We provided added support to help ensure that the 10th graders stayed connected by providing laptops to continue their education online. Our teachers also were committed to providing extra help to make sure they all successfully passed! Once they passed we supported each of them to pursue PUC as well as onward to degree programs in engineering, nursing, and commerce. We know we can continue to provide to ensure that they are all successful.

We are partnering with low-income, hard-to-reach schools to establish smart classrooms to provide needed science and math courses. Our team of excellent math and science teachers provides online instruction while local teachers facilitate hands-on projects in specially-designed STEM classrooms. We were able to successfully pivot to digital learning during the pandemic when our students were at home for over 20 months. Our teachers are trained on various digital tools and platforms to provide support and creative learning solutions.

We recently renovated the kitchens at the school so we can provide a hot, healthy homemade meal to each of our students and staff. We were able to install new equipment, provide all the necessary utensils and plates as well as hire kitchen staff to ensure meals are homemade for our 540+ students and staff. This has ensured that our children can focus on learning and not being hungry as many of our families are daily laborers struggling to make ends meet.

We renovated the bathrooms which include 20 updated toilets and stalls so all our students have access to sanitary and hygienic bathroom facilities. We also have provided menstrual products and proper waste management so our female students don't have to be concerned about these resources. We have staff and teachers that are trained in teaching and addressing health concerns and hygiene.

We have updated our grounds with a cricket pitch, volleyball courts, and updated playground equipment so our students can also just be kids and have fun.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, we quickly acted to meet the needs of students, their families, and the school community by providing emergency food relief, necessary medical care, and digital learning.

Due to the strict COVID-19 lockdown in India, our schools were shut down, and we pivoted to distance learning. The majority of low-class children in India do not have access to the internet let alone have the funds to afford digital devices. We immediately trained our teachers on Google classroom and other online resources and purchased over 400 devices for digital education. We delivered over 400 at-home learning kits with new textbooks and school supplies. The Digital Divide is a big problem, but now our students have access to the technology they need to succeed in the 21st century.

We expanded beyond just education for children to provide for their families and the local community. We provided 70,000 lbs of emergency food relief to address growing food insecurity, 50,000 units of PPE, and 24 ICU ventilators for our partner hospitals.

We have been able to support all our 10th graders from the pandemic onwards. The classes of 2019 onwards have all had a 100% pass rate on their board exams. We supported each of them to pursue PUC as well as onward to degree and vocational programs in engineering, nursing, and commerce.

In 2022, students were allowed to return to in-person learning for the first time in 2 years. We expanded our school partnerships and focused on improving science and math education by launching the Bloom STEM Centers educating 600 hard-to-reach, underprivileged students.