America India Foundation
Organization background

AIF founded in 2001, provides access to education, formal sector employment for urban youth and rickshaw drivers, and public health services to protect the health of mothers and their children in India. It does this by working closely with local communities and government institutions to deliver high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development. AIF's educations programs include Learning and Migration Program (LAMP) and Digital Equalizer (DE). They also run a Maternal and Newborn Survival Initiative (MANSI) and livelihoods/skilling programs include Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST) and Ability Based Livelihood Empowerment (ABLE).

LAMP seeks to universalize access to education for children at risk of migration by providing continuous access to quality education opportunities and advocating for special provision for education for migrant households. LAMP strengthens community ownership by educating school and government authorities on the support available from the government, and also providing material support in the form of learning resources when necessary.

LAMP does not create any parallel structures like an orphanage, hostel or a school, but works with Government owned and managed schools and residential hostel infrastructure. It provides technical support by building capacities at multiple levels — children, teachers, school leadership, school management, local self-government, block, district, state, and the national level, and creates a demonstration project for the entire district and state to replicate.

Project background

Data shows that in rural Karnataka almost 30% children in grade 8 cannot read at a grade 2 level and that more than 60% of children cannot do division (ASER 2018). The main problem is that children do not successfully transition from elementary to secondary school. Of those who do transition, many struggle to cope with the complexity of the curriculum and this results in a high percentage of children failing secondary grades and ultimately dropping out of schools.

In the Shimoga district of Karnataka, 64.4% of the population lives in rural areas and the majority of the population have small land holdings that do not provide year-round employment. The migrants from this district have the highest rate of illiteracy & the lowest standard of education and since they migrate along with their children, these children lose the opportunity to receive consistent education. In addition, the closure of Anganwadis (rural childcare centers) and schools due to the COVID-19 related lockdown imposed by the government has disrupted access to education & school nutrition for children and women.

On the basis of these findings, AIF will start its LAMP intervention in ‘Soraba’ — one of the most underserved blocks of Shivamogga district. The LAMP program implemented in this block will set up Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) in 7 villages that will support 50 villages in the district. Each LRC will host a library and provide children access to laptops, tablets, interactive software, online resources & other technical necessities, including STEM kits. This program will improve access to education and enhance the learning environment for children of sugarcane migrants in order to improve enrollment and provide employability skills, thereby increasing the rate of graduation.

GKF contributions to AIF