There are many unseen Anithas among us who are struggling to build their career, and it’s always either the education system or the caste system, along with financial constraints, that acts as an obstacle, preventing them from achieving their goals. Edudharma, a Coimbatore-based volunteer team, which initially joined together for 'No Food Waste', a social enterprise to resolve hunger needs, later stepped into the education sector to help deserving students with the required financial support through a crowdfunding platform.
According to Balaji Narayanaswamy, Co-founder of Edudharma, "We always wanted to start an enterprise to solve social problems. After we stabilised with our ‘no food waste’ project, we started to focus on the education sector. Our first aim was to reduce the dropout rate and support students in sports and innovative ideas. Not only do we draw from our own experiences, but many students who volunteered for the NFW project also faced the same problem. So, we decided to create a 100% transparent system to support deserving students."
Once the team identifies a deserving candidate, they create an online account on their crowdfunding website and donors are privy to the details of the student. Also, the student can track the donation they receive in their name and once the target is achieved, the team takes the necessary steps to deposit the money into the respective account.
Being India's first education crowdfunding platform, one unique feature is that EduDharma gives the donors access to the students' achievements along with their records, so that there is 100% transparency on both sides.
After successfully reaching its goals of feeding 3 lakh people through NWF, EduDharma too has also been doing well with its mission. This two-year-old organisation has already benefitted more than 350 students financially and has also partnered with 110 colleges across the nation with a 76.8% success rate. Their Android and iOS mobile application were recently launched by Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, Government of India.
Coimbatore-based athlete, Abbas Sugil, India's No 1 Para Badminton player and world No 27, is one such deserving candidate who has sought help through Edudharma to participate in the Paralympics. When we spoke to him, he said, "I got to know about Edudharma one year ago.
They have been helping me financially and that has allowed me to participate in international tournaments. They create an account for us on their crowdfunding platform and those who recognise our talents, contribute money to our betterment. The money that is collected is directly deposited into our bank account."
He also adds, "According to the Paralympics rules and regulations, a player should hold a consistent rank for which the player should have participated in international tournaments every year. That is how players gain a rank. This year, my rank came down from 21 to 27 because I couldn't participate in the international matches because I didn't have enough money to travel.”
Sugil has won about 35 medals in different tournaments and he is required to participate in 14 international tournaments to qualify for the Paralympics this year. EduDharma has raised a sports campaign worth `18 lakh for him and the target has still not been met.
The organisation has been looking for more donors for Sugil including global investors. There is also a health campaign for Sugil for his electric elbow prosthesis.
