About Us
Registered under the Mumbai Public Trust Act, 1950, Sujaya Foundation has been bridging the linguistic and digital divide in India, since 2002. The aim of the Foundation is to provide education and employability skills to the under privileged by leveraging technology and incorporating the best pedagogical practices at an elementary, as well as at an advanced Level. Our Trustees and Our Adviser come from diverse backgrounds and have decades of experience ranging from teaching, corporate sustainability, to strategy and business development.
Computer Program
Focused on teaching and enhancing the computer skills of school and college going youth, this is a four-month program that is run through the year.
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English Immersion Program
Designed to “immerse” the beneficiary in an English speaking atmosphere, this one-month intensive program helps build conversational English skills and therefore confidence in college students and employable youth.
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Experiential Learning Program (ELP)
Aimed at making differently abled youth employable, this program provides basic computer and data entry skills through a three-month training and a six month internship opportunity. On completion of the internship, job placement assistance is provided.
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Sujaya English Active Learning Program (SEAL)
Focused on empowering under privileged school children - digitally and linguistically, SEAL is a digital learning platform for English. The curriculum based content is delivered by trained teachers in under resourced schools.
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Health Program
Designed in collaboration with Dr. Zarir Udwadia, this program provides free medication and counseling to MDR-TB patients. Multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB that does not respond to two of the most powerful anti-TB drugs. More than half of the patients enrolled under this program have been fully cured of the disease.
Our Programs
Our Trustees
Neelambari Rao
A teacher and trainer for the past 25 years, Neelambari has a Masters degree in French and English from Jawaharlal Nehru University, a Masters in Education from the University of Sorbonne, Paris, a Masters in French Literature from the University of London, and a diploma holder in business administration from University of California UCLA. After being a teacher of French and Language Teacher Trainer for many years in India, France and the US, she founded Sujaya Foundation along with her husband Mr Jaithirth Rao.
She is also interested in promoting enterprises focused on training and women’s empowerment and is on the boards of Laqsh and Forshe. She has worked with the Ministry of HRD and has helped promote the Graduate ++ program which provides enrichment courses for young graduates. She continues to conduct language and communication workshops for schools and corporates as well as other NGOs operating in the education space.
Huzan Mistry
Huzan Mistry is a Chartered Accountant and has worked with JPMorgan Chase as an Executive Director, heading the Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange Trading. She currently works as a Consultant with the National Stock Exchange leading the Currency and Debt, Business Development team. At Sujaya Foundation she is in charge of Finance & Strategy decisions.
Mr. Rajesh Pant
He was Head of Media Operations at Lintas, Marketing Director at Citibank NRIB and COO of Sony Entertainment before founding Kandor Solutions. He is a visiting Faculty at Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communications, Pune and on the Advisory Council of ISB&M, Pune.
Our Adviser
Mr. Jaithirth Rao
Jerry Rao is the founder and former CEO of the software company MphasiS. He held several positions in Citibank prior to founding MphasiS in 1998. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Value and Budget Housing Corporation (VBHC), which he founded in 2010. He is also the Founder and Director, Homefirst Finance Corporation. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at India Foundation for the Arts and a Trustee at NASSCOM Foundation, Sri Balaji HRD Trust Mathematical sciences Foundation and University of Chicago India Trust.
Mr. Jaithirth Rao
Jerry Rao is the founder and former CEO of the software company MphasiS. He held several positions in Citibank prior to founding MphasiS in 1998. He is currently the Executive Chairman of Value and Budget Housing Corporation (VBHC), which he founded in 2010. He is also the Founder and Director, Homefirst Finance Corporation. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at India Foundation for the Arts and a Trustee at NASSCOM Foundation, Sri Balaji HRD Trust Mathematical sciences Foundation and University of Chicago India Trust.
Ms. Madhavi Soman
Madhavi has over 20 years of experience in the banking and technology sectors. She has held leadership positions in some of India’s leading financial sector and technology companies. She has been responsible for key strategic initiatives and building high growth new businesses. Her forte is conceptualization of these initiatives/businesses and implementing them in record times.
· Senior General Manager at ICICI Bank
· Global Head - Business Analysis Practice at MphasiS BFL Ltd
· Chief Strategic Initiatives, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
· Credit Card Head at ICICI Ltd
In parallel, Madhavi has also worked with organizations with social goals. These include the Social Change practice at Monitor Consulting, Ujjivan in the microfinance field and Women Weave in the area of textile revival.
Mr. Pankaj Baliga
He has been with the Tata Group for over 30 years, with the last 14 at TCS where he was the Global Head of Corporate Sustainability, and prior to that was the Global Head Sales and Marketing Taj Hotels, Resorts, and Palaces. Pankaj is a SPURS Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology- USA. MBA, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and B.E.,National Institute of Technology, Durgapur. At Sujaya Foundation, he is the Senior Adviser for the Empower Youth program.
Work With Us
Most of India’s under privileged children and youth do not get an opportunity to pick up basic digital and linguistic skills required to succeed in today's world. And we are trying to change that. If you feel you would like to be a part of this change and work towards reducing this disparity, do come and work with us.
SEAL Program Empower YouthPartner With Us
We do not actively seek financial support, but if you like any of our programs and would like to be a partner and not just a donor, then do reach out to us. We would be delighted to hear from you
Partnership Experience
“I am extremely delighted to see this journey of the project I Learn- I Earn which is a joint initiative of L&T Infotech and Sujaya Foundation. I am glad that as an outcome of this project we are achieving our goal of empowering youth with special abilities. We have reached a stage where we are giving them opportunities of internships and placements to spread their wings and grow in their careers. I appreciate the efforts taken by our partner NGO Sujaya Foundation and volunteers of L&T Infotech by devoting their time and making a difference. I wish all the very best to the students who have joined the internships and placements.”
Mr. Anand Mahajani
Head Corporate Sustainability, L&T Infotech
Employer Shares...
“Masina Hospital considers it a privilege to have amongst its work force persons who are differently abled. However, the difficulty lies in practically implementing this in a complex hospital environment. Sujaya Foundation has given a solution to this through their structured program. Having clearly identified the role of the employees and going through a process, whatever difficulties we anticipated were overcome quickly and in a smooth manner. Today, after over 6 months of the program, we believe that the persons with disabilities from Sujaya Foundation have met all our expectations and exceeded them. We see this as a stepping stone in further enhancing the number and the scope of engagement. I feel that employers seeking to engage differently abled persons must learn from our experience and not hesitate to do the same.”
Dr. Vispi Jokhi
MS (Ortho), EPGDHA (TISS) Medical Director, Masina Hospital
The LTI (Larsen and Toubro Infotech) - Sujaya Foundation partnership begins in 2013. At the time the partnership involves employee volunteers coming to teach and mentor students at the Sujaya Foundation Centres.
In 2015-2016, the partnership extends to CSR funding of the 'I learn I earn' project in Vashi:Objectives are
- Training differently-abled youth in Digital Literacy
- Paid internship in real-time projects
- Placement of beneficiaries in corporate organisations.
LTI is a very supporting partner. Apart from funding, their employees have also partnered with us to take skill-building to the next level. The LTI-CSR division executives are involved from planning, budgeting right through to execution.
Thank you LTI for endorsing our work and extending support - financial and otherwise, every year, thereby helping us reach more and more beneficiaries.Sujaya Shetty
Program Director, Empower Youth
Sujaya Foundation and the Global Fund for Children share common values when it comes to strengthening India’s social sector and empowering children to be active, educated and informed citizens of the world. The Global Fund for Children finds and supports small, locally led organizations that transform the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children, and Sujaya Foundation has been an invaluable grassroots partner for us since 2008. Sujaya Foundation’s approach to social change – bridging the digital and linguistic divide through education and employment for children and youth – creates lasting impact by cultivating a new generation of leaders from socio-economically disadvantaged communities. We are proud to partner with Sujaya Foundation in its vital mission.
Kulsoom Khan
Global Fund for Children
Sujaya Foundation has been an esteemed NGO partner of Deutsche Bank for more than a decade. Volunteers from Deutsche Bank regularly tutor their children and youth beneficiaries. We also support the Sujaya Experiential Learning Program by outsourcing some operations. The team has displayed passion, professionalism and transparency in each of the events/projects that we have been a part of.
Sanika Shidhaye
AVP, Deutsche Bank
Experiential Learning Program
Yuvraj Narsappa Pujari, a differently abled youth (deaf and mute), comes from a family of 8. His father is a cab driver and his mother is a sweeper in a differently abled school. 4 of his siblings are also differently abled. However, this did not deter Yuvraj’s father from wanting his kids to be educated and independent.
After completing his basic education, Yuvraj underwent training in catering and got a job thereafter at a leading hotel with a starting salary of INR 3500 per month.
In order to improve his work profile and standard of living, he started exploring other options. This led him to join our Experiential Learning Program. After 6 months of training and internship, he was placed in the National Stock Exchange (vendor side) at a salary of INR 10,000 per month. It has been more than a year now and his managers at NSE are happy with the hard work and zeal that Yuvraj works with. Equipped with a good grasping power, he is considered a committed, punctual and reliable employee and an asset to the company.
English Immersion
Lack of conversational English skills is a major hurdle to being accepted in mainstream society and being employable in a corporate environment. Heera Rathod’s story is one of overcoming such hurdles. He moved to Mumbai from a village as a child and grew up with the desire to break out of the shackles of unequal opportunities.
Through the English Immersion Program and regular interaction with the Foundation he picked up basic communication, presentation and computer skills which gave him the confidence to apply for jobs and internships in corporate organizations after college. Today he works for a major IT services company as a Senior Systems Engineer along with pursuing a degree in Law.
Sujaya English Active Learning
Shridhar Dhurat, of grade 8 joined the SEAL program at Level 1 and finished the year at Level 7. A growth of 6 levels in a year was possible due to his hard work, willingness to learn and the SEAL program's 1: 1 learning model. The holistic learning model of the SEAL program led to his overall development. He became more confident and his ability to talk in English improved. Passionate about cricket, he wishes to pursue the Science stream.
In his own words
“I looked forward to attending the SEAL program as it gave me an opportunity to use computers and learn English at the same time. I also liked the program because the method of learning English was very different, especially the Structured Exercises for speaking and listening “
Health Program
When Saba Khan came to us in 2012, she had been suffering from MDR-Tuberculosis for 4 years.
She tried to seek help from various medical outlets; from government hospitals, private ones to other free treatment facilities, but either the medicines did not work for her, or they were too costly. She finally went to Hinduja Hospital’s free OPD where Dr. Udwadia told her about our Health Program.
In her own words
“There is a common saying that "Health is Wealth". So whatever the wealth today I have gained is only because of Sujaya Foundation. The Foundation not only gave me free medical help, but also invaluable health related advice. Today I am completely cured of the disease and fit and working as Assistant Professor in a junior college and plan to pursue M.A in Economics“
Abilities Unlocked!
Chinmay Naik, 25 years, is an opportunist and an optimistic person. He has physical disability but that has never deterred his positive attitude. He resides in Vasai. He has completed his graduation in Commerce along with Masters in Accountancy. His hobbies are reading and helping others. Chinmay has a rich work experience of 3 years in the field of Accounts. He was working for a firm when lockdown affected his job. Chinmay enrolled for LTI’s empowerment project I Learn- I Earn to secure a job. His English communication was his strength that served as a dual advantage in learning Computers and Data Entry. His active participation in soft skill sessions and volunteering sessions boosted his confidence even more. We came across a job opening in a reputed firm which was ready to hire people with special abilities. After two rounds of interview Chinmay was selected as an Analyst with the firm in December 2020. I Learn- I Earn led him to a path of being financially independent again where he could support his family.
Chinmay says, “I am grateful to I Learn- I Earn team for helping me find a job amidst this crisis situation. I am very happy that I can again be financially independent and work in a reputed company”.
Look at my ABILITY and not my limitations!
Shivam Verma, 26 years, is more than a Commerce graduate. He is a human encyclopedia. His knowledge about current affairs and accounting astonishes everyone. Shivam, born with Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a type of intellectual disability which puts limitations on a person’s ability to interact with others and sensory perceptions.
However, Shivam believes in living life to the fullest! Through LTI’s empowerment-based program for the specially-abled, I Learn- I Earn, he learned data entry and computer applications. He has the highest typing speed (60 wpm) among his friends.
With continuous counselling sessions and training by the staff, interaction with LTI volunteers, Shivam has been able to overcome behavioural issues and now makes an effort to communicate effectively. He is quite focused while working and completes his data accurately.
Shivam’s participation in soft skill workshops at the centre majorly influenced his behaviour as he understood the implications it would have in his professional career. He also appeared for NIIT examinations and has added another feather in his list of academic achievements. He is one of the beneficiaries who would type the highest number of entries on a monthly basis. After completion of his internship, Shivam started appearing for interviews through this project. There were times when Shivam would feel frustrated as his only wish was to secure a good job. But with encouragement from I Learn – I Earn team, LTI volunteers and his mother’s initiative, he secured a job at an International Corporate firm from 19th February, 2018 as a ‘Business Analyst’.
His parents are elated and are thankful to LTI and Sujaya Foundation which they consider a massive transition in Shivam! They say, “Coming to I Learn – I Earn was like a blessing to our child. There he really learned the importance of eating on time, not speaking loudly, developing eye contact, time management, etc. As parents of a child with Autism, he learnt social skills. Thanks would be too less to convey what we are feeling!”
Our Success Stories
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Awards and Recognition
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17Nov
Sports day for specially-abled youth
Sujaya Foundation organized a Sports day for specially-abled youth on November 17, 2019 at St. Mary’s School, Mazgaon. More than 100 specially-abled youth participated in the event from different centres of Sujaya Foundation. It began with Fr. Jude, the Principal of St. Mary’s, speaking a few words of appreciation and lighting the torch. The event involved various sports like relay race, tug of war, cricket, sack race, running, etc followed by the prize distribution. The students were thrilled and in high spirits. They thoroughly enjoyed the event.
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07Dec
Quizabled 2019
Sujaya Foundation hosted ‘Quizabled’ – a special quiz competition exclusively for children with disabilities on Saturday, 7th December, 2019 at St. Andrews, Bandra West. This was the first ever quiz conducted in Mumbai for children with disabilities making it one of a kind. The event was implemented by Seva in Action (SiA), a Bangalore based organisation and was powered by LTI (Larsen and Toubro Infotech). Ms. Varsha Bhagat Director, NMMC's etc was the Chief Guest of the event. Various important delegates like Mr. Manjit Bali Head-Global Corporate Services and Shipra Sharma Head- Corporate Social Responsibility from LTI, Jheel Mehta, TV actress, Ruma Banerjee, Chairperson, Seva In Action and Ms. Neelambari Rao, founder, Sujaya Foundation attended the event.
The quizzing was done for four categories of disabilities: Intellectually Challenged/MR, Autism/CP, Hearing Impaired and Visually impaired. 148 specially abled children from 49 schools (special and regular) and 11 NGOs participated in the event. A footfall of about 142 people, including the participants, teachers and parents, about 48 volunteers from LTI, 34 volunteers and 15 staff from Sujaya Foundation and 31 other invitees attended the event. A total of 418 people participated in the event and made the quiz competition, ‘QUIZABLED 2019ʼ a grand
success in Mumbai.
The winners from each category were given a cash prize of Rs. 8,000/- and runners received Rs. 5,000/- -
26Sep
Regional Winner in Disability Sector - Spirit of Humanity Award
Sujaya Foundation had applied for the Spirit of Humanity Award hosted by Americares Foundation (India). The process had started in July. After shortlisting 300+ NGOs, Sujaya Foundation made it to the top 24 Finalists. We are the Regional Winner in the Disability Sector. The award ceremony was held on 26th Sept, 2019 at J.W. Marriot, Juhu.
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03Oct
Collaboration with Oberoi International School
Our Mumbai SEAL teachers, as a part of their professional development visited Oberoi International School to observe classes of the teachers there. The teachers at OIS kindly agreed to share their expertise with us.
Quizabled 2019
Sujaya Foundation hosted ‘Quizabled’ – a special quiz competition exclusively for children with special abilities on Saturday, 7th December, 2019 at St. Andrews, Bandra West. This was the first ever quiz conducted in Mumbai for children with special abilities making it one of a kind. The event was implemented by Seva in Action (SiA), a Bangalore based organisation and was powered by LTI (Larsen and Toubro Infotech). Dr. Varsha Bhagat, Director, NMMC's 'etc' was the Chief Guest of the event. Various important delegates like Mr. Manjit Bali, Head-Global Corporate Services and Shipra Sharma, Head- Corporate Social Responsibility from LTI, Jheel Mehta, a television actress, Ruma Banerjee, Chairperson, Seva In Action and Ms. Neelambari Rao, Founder, Sujaya Foundation attended the event. The quizzing was done for four categories of disabilities: Intellectually Challenged/MR, Autism/CP, Hearing Impaired and Visually impaired. 148 specially abled children from 49 schools (special and regular) and 11 NGOs participated in the event. A footfall of about 142 people, including the participants, teachers and parents, about 48 volunteers from LTI, 34 volunteers and 15 staff from Sujaya Foundation and 31 other invitees attended the event. A total of 418 people participated in the event and made the quiz competition, ‘QUIZABLED 2019ʼ a grand success in Mumbai. The winners from each category were given a cash prize of Rs. 8,000/- and runners received Rs. 5,000/-
For more details visit on https://quizabled.com/
