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SHAKTII

Educate. Empower. Edify.

Project SHAKTII is an after school program to empower girl students from underprivileged backgrounds. We at Shaktii believe in a hands-on learning experience that focuses on delivering a wholesome education to these bright young girls.
SHAKTII was conceived in the year 2015 to create a model for meaningful engagement of students in arena of learning and self-development. SHAKTII is presently making its impact in New City International school and Satish Haware Junior college, Kharghar. We have moved to a new location for academic year 2019-20.

We are proud and happy to announce that Shaktii has completed 7 years!

Why Shaktii?

India has an impressive enrolment rate in primary school but the rate drastically reduces especially for girls as they proceed into secondary school.

It is estimated that for every 100 girls that enroll in school in rural India, forty reach grade four, seven reach grade 8, nine reach grade 9, and only one reaches grade 12(source: Infochangeindia.com). Therefore, only 35% of girls reach the upper secondary level of education in India.

These stark statistics show that girls need support to complete their school education.

Our Vision

We at Shaktii, will educate, empower and edify girls from the underprivileged sections of the society of India through a quality holistic after-school programme.

Mission Statements

EDUCATE

Educate holistically through academic support and enrich their social skills, soft skills, life skills and sports.

EMPOWER

Empower girl students from underprivileged society by:
Providing vocational training for those who cannot pursue their studies beyond Std X or XII,
Providing financial support to bright girl students to pursue higher education.

EDIFY

Edify by motivating and guiding girl students to pursue their dreams, and providing a safe and healthy environment for them.




Objectives of Shaktii

01.

Innovation

Create academic programme and implement using innovative teaching techniques, inviting experts, and field visits throughout the academic year.

02.

Mentoring

Provide mentoring for non-academic programmes to develop social skills, soft skills, leadership skills and life skills throughout the academic year.

03.

Vocational Training

Identify girls who are unable to pursue studies beyond Std X or XII and provide and vocational training.

04.

Financial Support

Identify bright girl students and provide financial support to enable them to pursue higher education.

05.

Complete Safety

Ensure emotional and physical safety of each Shaktii student in the classroom and on field trips.

06.

Learning Environment

Provide a healthy learning environment.

07.

Role Models

Mentors to become role models to establish values like integrity, teamwork, punctuality and commitment.

Meet the Founder

The Force Behind Shaktii

Mrs. Vimala Nandakumar - Chairperson & Mentor

2022 The year continues
The journey of Shaktii started in 2015.
The experience has been extremely satisfying.
Every year has been different in terms of the number of girls and curriculum. The number of girls enrolled in our programme keeps increasing every year. The curriculum was enhanced by adding more features to make learning enriching, vibrant and enjoyable. More and more people have been volunteering to mentor the girls. Experts from various fieldswidened the girls’ the knowledge and understanding of the world outside the class room.

Our "Never Give Up" attitude helped us immensely during the pandemic. Online classes gave us plenty of opportunities to explore new ways to keep the girls' interest alive, innovate and engage the girls in activities that excited them. Girls from Kamothe, Panveland even Kolhapur joined the classes this academic year (2021-22). Mentors volunteered from UK and USA.
Donations by generous Samaritans help us tide over the financial crisis . The girls' enthusiasm and ever smiling faces help us get over the Covid fatigue. We look forward to going back to offline, that is face to face, classes soon.

Our Beginning

Where It All Started

Mrs. Ujjwala Satish Haware - Chairperson of Haware Builders

It is impossible not to talk about the person who sowed the seed of Shaktii Girl's Education Trust, six and a half years ago. Ujjwala Satish Haware has seen many mighty trees grow as the Chairperson of Haware builders and Engineers.
Shaktii has grown since 2015 under her special blessings . She is a multi-talented personality. It is my fortune to have our friendship grow over the years. She, apart from being generous, is gracious and much loved and adored person by all.
She is the Shakti behind Shaktii. It gives me immense pleasure to see her make a mark in the real estate field- winning awards and accolades frequently. So many people gain from her entrepreneurship- including the girls of Shaktii. I wish Ms Ujjwala Haware more and more success, awards and accolades.

Current Mentors

Ms. Kalyani Basu

"The best thermometer to the progress of a nation is its treatment of its women."
"Educate your women first and leave them to themselves; then they will tell you what reforms are necessary for them."
Shaktii believes in these two quotes of Swami Vivekananda to the T.
In Last four years at Shaktii I have experienced this and seen the changes that happen to a shy girl who lacks confidence to a smart ,confident girl who develops the attitude that she can do anything and become anything that she wants. Shaktii has also given me the invaluable opportunity to meet so many beautiful human beings who are selflessly involved with helping the needy. I feel blessed to be in such company.
I am Kalyani Basu and I have been having the pleasure of mentoring bunch of beautiful smart girls since December 2016.


Ms. Shubhangi Hinge

My journey as a mentor at SHAKTII has been exciting and satisfying. Mentoring at SHAKTII has helped me to communicate effectively.
Discussing what worked, what didn’t work so well etc. at the mentors meet has brought in plenty of new perspectives and helped me improve technical skills. Equipped with all these new knowledge, and trying it out at work was most crucial to my growth in this mentorship.


Ms. Lakshmi Ravindran

I got introduced to Vimala Aunty and Shaktii in 2015
I was on a career break and was looking to do something in the social sector but remotely.
The passionate way in which Vimala Aunty explained to me about Shaktii convinced me that I need to help. Fund raising to build a corpus, Creation of website and social media management are areas I am involved in. Happy and proud to see Shaktii grown every year. I am now a executive committee member and looking to identify newer ways in which I can help the girls at Shaktii.


Ms. Manisha Jhamb

नारी तू नारायणी
Mrs VimalaNandakumar and her team are an institution for learning empowerment with humanity. I have had the opportunity of association with Shakti foundation for past couple of years and witnessing the less privileged girls blooming into responsible adults. Life skills taught in an interesting and unique way is instrumental to success stories of Shaktii foundation.
Mindbuddies has been contributing its bit of mentoring the less privileged students. We provide interactive sessions on mental health. The experience has been interesting with extraordinary results.
I wish Mrs VimalaNandakumar and her team achieve more and more success in future.


Ms. Priti Singh Roy

I have been with SHAKTII SINCE 2015, the year of its inception. I am a Mentor who helps the girls with subjects like Chemistry, Geography etc and also try to get funds from various sources as and when possible. At SHAKTII we believe in empowering the girls with speaking, reading and many other life skills important for them in their life journey promoting their sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others.
I have personally witnessed the journey of the girls at SHAKTII being a shy, scared, no confidence to face the world to transforming into tigresses (SHAKTII) with the confidence to stand in front of people, talk in English, participate in various competitions, sing and dance freely and last but not the least, speak to foreign students and teachers with high level of confidence. This metamorphosis of girls from tiny caterpillars to lovely beautiful butterflies, ready to face the world, makes me feel proud, satisfied and super confident.
Being associated with SHAKTII, it’s Mentors and the girls is like a therapy to me.


Ms. Vandana Gupta

My experience as an mentor has been really humbling. Working at grassroot level with these girls makes me believe in brighter future of our country. Every session with them gives me new insights that I would otherwise miss sitting in the confines of my comfort zone.
I am really thankful to my friend Lakshmi to introduce me to Shaktii. The passion and drive of Vimalamam is contagious and compels you to do your bit. Dedication of fellow mentors, their sincerity and commitment shows that each and every action of goodness sows the seeds of better society. Eternally grateful!


Calkin Garg

I just completed my first year of teaching at SHAKTII. Any apprehensions that I had before the first class quickly dissolved under the warm presence and guidance of Ms. Vimala and Ms. Kalyani. By the end of the year, the girls regularly engaged in animated discussions, leveraged each other's skills, and were able to solve many complex problems.
I was also pleasantly surprised to see just how well I was able to connect with the students throughout the sessions. This made me realize that regardless of where we live, or the differences in our environments, we have much in common. I loved seeing the girls gain in confidence in both their ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in a group setting. Throughout this process, I have been humbled by the selfless dedication of the mentors at SHAKTII, the girls' determination in wanting to learn and push themselves, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of this amazing experience.
Under the guidance of mentors at SHAKTII, I know the girls will do well, and wish them the very best.

Ms. Rupali Patole

My experience at Shakti foundation has been more emotional than professional. Through the years I have worked with the girls, I believe I have not only seen hope but also the future of successful talented women at the foundation.
Every time I interact with the girls , I can connect myself to them emotionally and the fact that they are so dedicated towards growing and grooming themselves encourages me to guide them even more throughout their journey with me. When I saw the urge to learn in their eyes is when I decided that I would do everything in my best possible ways in moulding them into women with a strong will power and mental strength.
Every interaction of mine has been based on the reality of life and how survival by keeping our dignity and self respect is the only solution to sustain in the outer world.


Ms. Aparna Saxena

In 11th grade, I got involved in Maths Club in my school and that’s when I met Vimala Ma’am. She was the teacher who was heading the club. Over the years, I have stayed in touch with her; we have shared a vision to disrupt education so that it was less unidirectional pedagogy, and more self-driven. We have discussed several models for schools and educations institutions to accomplish this. Despite challenges, Vimala ma’am never gave up and. In 2015, she was able to start “Shaktii - an afterschool of underserved girls in Navi Mumbai” where we wanted to focus on developing the confidence of girls in Grade 8 and Grade 9 which are essentially formative years for kids.
I have stayed as a supporter and a mentor for the girls despite being based out of India for a few years now. I enjoy taking sessions on India, environmental awareness for the girls. Without much publicity, Shakti has quietly trudged on to change the lives of over 100 girls in the past 6 years in whichever small way possible.
I know the challenges these girls face within and outside their homes in finding themselves and their voice. This keeps me committed to them. I share what I have learnt in my life, make them aware of why we need to be part of change for creating a better planet, and I also try to help them discover aspects of our country India that they are not aware of. Vimala ma’am has lined up excellent mentors from across the world to support these girls. Now our plan is to take this to the next level. We will be finally actualizing our dream of setting up an academy for self-learning. We are in the scoping phase, and are now lining up champions and core team members. Even if it is a drop in the ocean, we want to change the face of education for young minds and we will persevere on the path. After-all, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step and we have already covered some ground.


Ms. Prerna Goel

This year I had the opportunity to join Shaktii as a mentor and give girls of grades VIII and IX spoken English lessons. I joined pretty late in the term, so I only got to take a few classes, but we managed to cover a lot. We did show and tell, reviewed a Sir David Attenborough movie, debated veganism, and closed out the term with a presentation on a favourite Indian woman idol. We saw significant confidence in the girls and a definite improvement in their overall spoken English in a short period.
It's still early, but the girls have completely changed my perspective on life in a short period. Here are some of my takeaways
- Their hunger for learning is infectious --> Money doesn't buy curiosity.
- Their talent is mind-blowing -->There is so much untapped potential in the world.
- They want to be heard --> Every kid needs someone to believe in them, and once they do, there is no stopping them.
- They have a long hard road ahead of them --> we need more Shaktiis to help them navigate all the obstacles that will stop them from continuing education.
- They emulate what they see --> We need more role models and people to engage with these kids if we want to help them succeed—giving Money isn't enough.
- And finally, all they need is 1 hour of my time every week in the coming year --> it doesn't take a lot of your time to make a difference in someone's life. I wish I had started earlier!
Thank you, Shaktii, for giving me this opportunity and to the girls who have changed my life!

Ms. Priya Jaishankar

Ms Priya Jayasankar (Ms.Vimala nandakumar’s niece from Houston USA ) has always been keen to help us with the curriculum-framing at Shaktii. She and her daughter Shruti had a faceto-face session on “Bullet Journal” when they visited Mumbai in 2018. Shruti from her first salary sponsored special awards for the Shaktii girls two years ago. This year Priya introduced the Shaktii girls to the idea of setting goals and developing a strong mind through affirmations to achieve the goals. The girls had a session on “who is the boss”, on line. In the next session of Priya’s “The Secret“ revealed to the girls how with affirmations and focus they can realize their dreams.
She did a few zoom meets, got to know more about the girls through questionnaires and trained them to write affirmations which will lead them to their dream realization. She had two one-one sessions with four selected girls, viz., Sushmita, Ashura, Prachiti and Shreya on realizing goals. Such is her commitment and thoroughness. Let us hear what she has to say about herself and her involvement with Shaktii.
“I have about 20 years of experience in various aspects of marketing management. Currently, since several years now, I have been running a successful marketing & sales company, in partnership. As an entrepreneur I coach, train and lead a team to build sales skills, business acumen and leadership. In addition, I am also a full time faculty at the University of Houston- Downtown, Houston, Texas, USA for the past 5 years. Passionate about teaching business courses related to Marketing to the undergraduate business students. As a volunteer, I teach children about spiritual leadership based on Hindu scriptures at Chinmaya Mission, Houston, Texas. I believe that “Success is an Inside job”. I am grateful to have an opportunity to add value to Shaktii students and be a part of their journey towards success.

Making them smarter

ACTIVITIES FOR 2021-22

Orientation Week
Day 1
- Mr Satyendra Singh was the first speaker of the orientation week. He spoke on the topic of POWER OF MIND.
- He spoke about the conscious and the sub conscious mind, how they work and the role played by them in the human thinking process.
- He gave day to day examples and scenarios of Positive Thinking.
- He spoke about Twenty-Five things mentally strong people do. Things such as taking responsibility, acknowledging your weakness, being kind etc. He stressed upon the girls that if one follows all these 25 points, one will become mentally strong and successful
Orientation Week
Day 2
- Raashi, a Law student, started her session with a quiz on Legal Trivia
- She designed a power point slide deck along with polling options to ensure the session was interactive.
Orientation Week
Day 3
- Kaavya Jayaram, a 10th standard student held a live quiz in an extremely professional manner, on the lines of KBC.
- There were almost 30 girls in the ZOOM meet who joined and tried answering the questions.
- An incredible amount of knowledge was exchanged and it was a great learning experience for the girls as well as the mentors.
Orientation Week
Day 4
- Arti Mehra Patt, Drama Teacher and Founder of Creative Expressions, asked the girls and the mentors to give her various different phrases and she acted it out with expressions, voice modulation and emotions.
- It made the girls open up and come up with some interesting phrases and we could see their love for acting and drama.
- Some girls came up to say that they love acting and would want to take up acting as a full time career.
Orientation Week
Day 5
- Sajimol, a storyteller, started her session with a lovely slide that said “SEEING IS BELIEVING or IS IT??”.
- she emphasized on the concept of “Mind of the Eye” and “Focus on Positive”.
- She asked the girls to focus on the details and told them the importance of positive thinking.
- She gave the girls the three mantras to follow to achieve their dream: Intend, Manifest and Attract.
Orientation Week
Day 6
- Aradhita Basu, a Marketing Professional, explained in great details all about short form plays.
- Aradhita made the session interactive and more interesting by asking the girls which skills like acting, direction, stage management, creatives etc could they relate with and if given a chance what responsibility would they like to take up.
- The girls enthusiastically participated in the discussion.
Book Release Note from the Founder of SHAKTII – Ms. Vimala Nandakumar
I had always wondered how many people and places in our county have been left out of the pages of history. I wanted to bring out a book on this topic for the edification of the SHAKTII girls, to begin with. I worked on some of the great women who have sacrificed their lives for our land. Ms Kalyani Basu who is a mentor of SHAKTII worked on some places in India about which little is known to most of us. We compiled our articles with illustrations into a book entitled, “The forgotten Treasures of Indian History”. We wanted the book in its present form to be released by the most appropriate person. That appropriate person is Mrs Yashomati Chandrakant Thakur the Minister for Women and Child Development, Maharashtra. Ms. Yashomati Chandrakant Thakur is the guardian minister of Amravati. We read in the newspapers and social media about the kind of work she does for people at grass root level. Mrs Ujjwala Haware who has been closely associated with SHAKTII since its inception came forward to help us in introducing SHAKTII to the Minister.
On 24th June came a phone call from Ms. Haware that we would be meeting the Minister for Women and Child Development, Maharashtra – Ms Yashomati Chandrakant Thakur, the same evening. At that time I was preparing for SHAKTII’s Founders Day event. I dropped everything and got ready to meet the Minister. This is the first time I was going to meet a minister at her residence. Mrs. Haware picked me up at my residence and took me to the residence of the Minister near Mantralay. As we entered the hall, we saw that the Minister was in the middle of some presentation about women- their health and hygiene. In a few minutes time the Minister joined us, with a big smile on her face, shook hands with us and welcomed us with a warm hug. I was floored by her simplicity and humbleness. Mrs. Haware introduced me and then the work that is being done at SHAKTII. I told the Minister that we at SHAKTII feel very strongly about providing top-class facilities to the girls and not deny them anything because their parents happen to belong to a poor background. This appealed to her.
I had taken two copies of the book that I had co- authored with Kalyani Basu “The forgotten Treasures of Indian History” with me for the Minister and Mrs. Haware to release the book. They both graciously agreed to do it. They agreed to read the book and send their feedback. I thanked both of them profusely for giving me time and for their best wishes.
I invited the Minister and Mrs Haware to be present for the Founder’s Day on 1st July. (True to their word, the Minister and Mrs Haware graced the occasion on the Founder’s Day with their presence and spoke to the SHAKTII girls.). I thanked Mrs Haware profusely and returned happy and satisfied that the meeting was fruitful. I was delighted to have met a minister who is passionate about her work, totally dedicated to women and children of Maharashtra!
Founder's Day
July 1, 2021
- This year we celebrated the 7th year of SHAKTII virtually.
- A presentation was made by Aparna Muralidharan, a mentor at SHAKTII, where she introduced all the other mentors
- We were honoured by the virtual presence of Ms Yashomati Thakur – Honourable Minister for Women and Child Development, Maharashtra
- Mrs Geeta Castalino, a psychologist and trainer, mentioned that she was super impressed with team SHAKTII and would also like to take a few sessions for the girls.
- Mrs Ujjwala Haware who spoke about SHAKTII, its inception and how SHAKTII has blossomed into a beautiful flower
- A Trivia Quiz was conducted by Mrs Vimala Nandakumar. She came up with some really interesting questions and concepts. All the girls, past and present students of SHAKTII participated
- Our guest mentors, Calkin Garg and Naveen sent video recordings of their message for the SHAKTII girls all the way from USA.
- The program was concluded by a vote of thanks proposed by Mrs Kalyani Basu.
- A very beautifully perceived and presented program by the senior girls and ex-students of SHAKTII
Rath Yatra
- We celebrated the Rath Yatra – the Chariot Journey of Lord Jagannath
- We invited Ms Ajita Priyadarshini De, from Pennsylvania State - to be our Guest Lecturer
- Ajita started her presentation by her own Odissi dance performance which was thoroughly enjoyed by the girls as well as the mentors of SHAKTII
- Ajita asked the girls to do some assignments for which the prizes would be announced very soon
- The whole presentation with story-telling was pretty enchanting and informative not only for the girls but also for the mentors.
Eid Ul Adha
July 23rd, 2021
- Our ninth grader SHAKTII-ite Ashura enlightened us all about the festival Bakri Eid or as in Arabic it is called Eid-Ul-Adha.
- We are citizens of a secular country and we believe in peaceful co-existence with the people of all religious beliefs.
75th Independence Day
August 15th, 2021
- Ms. Manisha Jhamb (founder of Mindbuddies and Zameeni s) from Kharghar and Ms. Manasvi Asthana, a Criminology and a Criminal Justice Administration scholar from Lucknow, had a wonderful session with the SHAKTII girls.
- Manisha and Manasvi very skillfully helped the girls appreciate the difference between real heroes and reel heroes.
- They also brought out the fact that freedom struggle was by people of all religious faiths.
- The message was that we are divided now, but it is time for us to reunite.
- Here are some quotes from the girls:
“Ma’am I loved today's session because there were many things I learnt about our India. I loved the quiz. I feel proud of my country .I will follow rules and I start to do good things for our country. I won't wait for someone to start good things” - Prachiti
“Learned something more about India like we can protest or stop if we see that someone is cutting trees or people are fighting etc. according to law” - Ashura
“I seriously enjoyed today's session. I got some more information about our country and our freedom fighters who protected us and risked their lives”- Heena
“I liked today's session because of Manisha Ma’am and Manasvi Ma’am i got know lots of things about our country” - Sneha
“Ma'am today you told us so many things about India that we didn't even know. And to told us who our real heroes are. You told us so many things about India Thank you so much” - Simran
“Ma’am, I got to learn the names of real heroes and also learned that we should be proud to be an Indian” - Shreya
“In today session was amazing! I didn't know about Muslim freedom fighters. But in this session I got to know about them” - Shradda
Rakshabandhan
August 20th, 2021
- Our artist mentor, Ms. Rupali Patole, taught our girls how to make beautiful Rakhis out the simple things found in your own house.
- A beautiful competition was conducted online. Ms. Sudha Bashikar , another well-known artist , and Ms.Rupali were our judges
- The points were given on five criteria , (1) Neatness, (2) Background, (3) Creativity,(4) Time management and lastly (5) Overall presentation.
- The prize winners were :
1st Prize : Prachiti
2nd Prize : Joint winners, Ashura and Simran
3rd Prize : Joint winners, Urvashi and Anushka
Consolation Prize : Anisha's rakhis were so beautiful that the judges could not ignore it and gave her the consolation prize.
Teacher's Day
September 5th, 2021
- This year at SHAKTII we changed the trend of Teacher's Day and celebrated the achievements of our SHAKTII Girls.
- We invited the girls along with their parents to SHAKTII Centre.
- All the Mentors were meeting this new batch of 2021 SHAKTII girls physically for the first time post pandemic.
- The girls were given their Student-of-the-month badges. Their prizes for the drawing coopetition, rakhi making competition, and the essay competition were handed over to the girls.
- Also, an amount of Rs. 1000/- was handed over to the parents to get Data Packs for the girls for uninterrupted online classes

International Literacy Day
- Dr. Reni Francis of MES’s Pilai college of education research conducted an expert talk on the occasion of International Litercy Day and invited Ms. Nandakumar to speak on the subject.
- The program was conducted virtually and the format was a question – answer session with Dr. Francis asking questions, and Ms. Nandakumar responding.
- a video from another student’s parent was played. She shared how proud she is of her daughter’s progress.

Daan Utsav week
Early October, 2021
- The Shaktii girls participated in an essay competition and a collage-making competition during the week.
- Innerwheel club of Vashi had organized a collage making competition on Swatchha Bharath or Daan Utsav. The girls had to submit a video of them making the collage. The results were:
1st prize – Simran
2nd prize - Siddi
3rd prize - Ashura
- The essay competition was organized by SHAKTII. It was about about Daan Utsav or Joy of giving. The following were winners of the essay writing competition:
1st prize – Ashura
2nd prize – Prachiti
3rd prize – Shrusti
- Ms. Sudha Kamath was kind enough to be the judge for it. She started her social work by joining the Lioness club of Nerul and served in various posts. She is also connected with various social programs and organizations around Vashi and is presently serving WE Club as Regional Coordinator.
- The girls were invited along with their parents to the SHAKTII centre. The girls showed up in their best traditional dresses, and brightened up the center with their beauty. SHAKTII mentors gave away gifts, cheques for some and prizes. The student of the month badges were given to Shruti and Riddi from std 8. Prachiti got her second badge for showing great interest in learning and progress. Since it was Daan Utsav celebration from 2nd to 8th Oct we decided to pay the fees dues that some girls. We are grateful to Siddharth Swarup for his huge donation for helping the parents who faced financial crisis due to COVID.
Children's Day Celebration
November 2021
- SHAKTII resumed online classes after Diwali 2021.
- Tanvi Sualy of Happy People and Co. readily agreed to organize the event for us. She decided that she will teach “coffee painting art” to the girls on the day.
- SHAKTII alumni, Pooja Lohar and Raveena Lohar decorated the hall for the function
- The children left the venue happy and satisfied having enjoyed every moment of 14th Nov 2021.

Story Writing Session
5th December, 2021
- The girls were asked to write two-line stories based on a few prompts
- Some stories that were impressively written by the girls:
A) "Why is your paper blank? You did not write what your dream is " asked the Tearcher "my dream is Big. Can’t fit it into a small blank paper" said Navya- Riddi
B) One night Tushar had gone to the shop and while returning he saw two eyes coming towards him. He screamed only to realize that they were the head lights of a car.- Shruti
C) Shaan was terrified to see a white ghost in the field. He heard a loud voice to make things worse. "what the hell are you doing here Shaan? come home for dinner"- it was his mother in a white saree!!! - Priya
D) Mom told her son " what if you don't have two legs. Be happy that you have two hands!!" Her son John realised that his glass was half-full. He said "I don't care that my glass is half empty "- Prachiti
E) She was crying with a smile when she held her for the first time. And even now she is crying but with tears because her daughter is leaving her- Ashura
F) Kiran would never help anyone. But she felt bad for a lame boy who was struggling to get up. She rushed to help him stand up. That moment changed her permanently - Nandini
G) Mother told her son to go to the market and buy some capsicum. But the son did not know what was capsicum. He was scared of asking his mom. He bought brinjal instead and said "look mummy , see these very fresh capsicums and nice blue colour."- Anushka
H) Sad and happy story! One boy was happy though he got second hand clothes as gift. The other one was sad though he received new clothes - he hated his mother's choice .- Shrusti
Be great with People course
December, 2021
- Aparna Saxena, one of the long-time mentors at SHAKTII, introduced the mentors of SHAKTII to Doyobi.com recently - an online virtual learning portal where the focus is on teaching STEM subjects through experiences and active learning.
- To get a taste for the teaching, mentors Vimala and Kalyani signed up for a course to learn Scratch, which is a coding program to create interactive experiences. They found the experience to be interesting and informative. This gave them a deeper understanding of how this could benefit the girls.
- Shreya and Shruti were identified to be sponsored for courses on personality development through better communication. The course was called “Be great with People”
- They showed their enterprising natures by working out a plan with their neighbor for a reliable wifi connection, and SHAKTII supported them with the equipment necessary.
- Here is a testimony on the course from them:
Because of SHAKTII, we got an opportunity to interact with other classes. We got confidence to talk in English with any person of any part of country. Because of listening sessions by Vandana Gupta ma'am of Shaktii, I was able to understand the speaking of foreigner's English accent . Thank you so much SAHKTII to give me the opportunity to attend the Singapore communication-" Be great with people " course. A big Thank you to Aparna Saxena for sponsoring us. It was very helpful for me. It taught me about how to speak confidentally with a person, what are the important points while communicating with others. - Shreya and Shruti
- This course was sponsored by Aparna Saxena
Poetry Competition
11th December, 2021
- The girls of SHAKTII participated in a poetry competition conducted by Mr Saurabh Anand, Ph.D. Student, Language and Literacy Education, TWLE, University of Georgia, US.
- He offered a $100 prize for the girl who wins the contest to motivate them.
- The girls were given 10-15 words in English and Hindi and instructed to design poems to describe their Naani-mas
- Anushka was the winner of the poetry competition
- Shreya received a special prize because she was the only girl to write a poem in English.
National Girl Child Day
24th January, 2022
- Fun activities were organized instead of serious work to celebrate National Girl Child Day
- The session began with asking the girls what G, I, R, L stood for according in their imagination. A few girls were quick, but Tanisha, who is normally quiet, came up with a fabulous one “Goddess In Real Life”. On a lighter note Anushka wrote “Ghost In Real Life”.
- The following is a list of the fun games that they played, along with the names of the girls that did well:
Memory test – Shreya
Simon Says – Anish Urvashi
Dumb Charade – Priya, Riddhi, Armaish, Sneha and Simran
Writing on the wall - Riddhi & Vaishnavi
Hunt for things – Vaishnavi and Srushti
Name Place Animal Thing – Shraddha, Prachiti and Shreya
- Mentor Shubhangi gave a much needed support to conduct the event.
Addition to SHAKTII’s book library
- In January, Aparna Nagda, who runs Book It Up, requested book lovers to donate books for SHAKTII. As a result, the book library grew by many newly acquired treasures. A big Thank You to the donors!
Vasanth Panchami
5th February, 2022
- We at SHAKTII, celebrated this festival by arranging a doodle art competition and dance workshop
- Ms Pinky Takker, Ms Daksha Varma and Ms Nirma Bhandari- the three adorable sisters of Adore Charities sponsored the event
- Ms Arti Patt and her daughter Nandini conducted a workshop on dance.
- The winners of Doodle art competition were:
I prize Richa
II prize Prachiti
III prize Roshni
- Shreya gave a brief speech on the festival of Vasanth Panchami. A pleasant surprise was a visit by former Shaktii-ite Samriti.
Gender Equality
February, 2022
- SHAKTII conducted a session on gender equality with the girls
- Ms. Sathya, who is a former student of Ms. Vimala, spoke to the girls from her own lived experience and work in the gender equity and feminism space, and invoked the examples of the pioneers of girls' education, Savitribai, Jotiba and Fatima Sheikh
- The girls got the chance to share their input and opinions on gender equality. Each of them was asked to identify one area of challenge, and talk about it.
- Ms. Manisha encouraged the girls to think critically and use their voice.
Guest Teachers
February, 2022
- SHAKTII had guest teachers join the group of mentors to work with the girls. These were MBA students from NMIMS that were volunteering their time as part of their “We Care” program.
- They engaged the girls in teaching Maths, English and Science. In addition, they worked on arts and crafts, had jam sessions and quizzes for the girls. These volunteers also integrated technology beautifully into the lessons. Finally, they helped in enhancing the presence of SHAKTII on social media by doing research, creating posts and vidoes of the work. Their teaching styles were effective in encouraging the girls to participate and improve themselves.
- The girls made progress academically as well as in learning new tools and gaining additional confidence to speak and participate in different types of events.
Connectfor
February, 2022
- Connectfor is an organisation which connects volunteers to NGOs
- Shaktii girls participated in this fun learning session of doing some science experiments with simple things available at home - Music maker (with water in glasses and a spoon), Tornado in a bottle (with a plastic bottle of water and soap or glimmer) and lastly Paper & Eraser drop.
- Mr Sydney Lobo conducted a session for Shaktii girls on the topic of Environment and Diversity of our Ecosystem.
- Ms Kavya Jayaraman conducted yoga classes for Shaktii girls
Last day of classes
February, 2022
- Two students from Georgia University, Erin Rachel Mundy and Hannah Rose O'Connell interacted with the SHAKTII girls over zoom.
- They made the girls feel at ease with some ice breaker games
- The class ended on a happy note with a lively discussion of different cultures and festivals of three different countries, USA, Columbia and India.
- Learning never ends at Shaktii.
Farewell to IX std girls
27th February, 2022
- A loving farewell from SHAKTII was organized by Ms. Tanvii Sualy of Happy People and Co.
- A few quotes from the girls:
“Ma’am, today it was the best day for me. It was very enjoyable farewell. The cake was tasty. Thanks to Tanvi and Shreya mam. They have done a marvelous job. It was so memorable. I will write this day in my dairy. Thank you for everything in this whole year” - Shreya

“Thank you so much for everything finally we had a grand farewell... Today was the best day of the year finally we were in the center and had a great fun enjoy the farewell we'll miss you all ma'am I will definitely visit the center to meet you” - Ashura

“Ma’am thank you for the wonderful farewell party. I never had so much fun” - Nandini

“Thank you everyone- Vimala ma’am, Kalyani Ma’am and all the 8th girls .You made today memorable. We all enjoyed a lot; the games were too good and cake was delicious. I'LL NEVER FORGET THIS THIS DAY” - Prachiti

“Today’s farewell will be the best memory of SHAKTII I will carry with me.. I can't describe in words how much Vimala, Kalyani ,Tanvi and Shreya ma’am took efforts to give us this beautiful /grand farewell. I enjoyed a lot today. It was the best day for class 9th” - Heena
7th Anniversary Celebration
- The 7th anniversary marked as copper anniversary was celebrated in presence of Chief guest Mrs. Ujjawala Haware and guest of hounour Ms. Geeta Castelino along with all students, mentors and a few alumni
- Students Ashura, Shreya and Sushmita spoke about the woman that inspires them the most from the book Forgotten Treasures of Indian History written by Ms. Vimala and Ms. Kalyani
- The prestigious year end awards were announced with Ashura as the student of the year and tie between much deserved candidates Shreya and Prachiti as runners-up
- All the students were handed over the Scholarship envelopes
- Ms. Vimala Nandkumar, the founder praised SHAKTII students for their learnings with enthusiastic participation in the program. She thanked Ms. Haware for her unwavering support of the program and how she has been instrumental in realization of the SHAKTII dream. She also thanked all the mentors in India as well as abroad for their valuable efforts towards fulfilling SHAKTII objective. Special mention was Ms. Lakshmi Ravindran for her behind the scene support and encouragement of the program. Ms. Rupali handed over the token of appreciation to the esteemed guests and the founder. She also thanked the pillar of foundation Mr. Nandakumar for all the unseen, quite contributions to ensure the success of the SHAKTII Education Trust.
- The program concluded with hope of promising future for these girls while enjoying delicious snack box.
Awards
- Ms. Vimala Nandakumar, Chairperson of SHAKTII was felicitated by Ms. Divya Gaikward- ex Corporator of the 64th Ward of Vashi. Ms. Gaikward is highly respected for her excellent work and commitment to the citizens of her ward in Vashi.
- Ms. Nandakumar dedicated the award to the entire team at SHAKTII.
16th March
- On 16th March we received 12 laptops and a printer from IDBI Intech under the CSR .
- We thank Manish Khot and Anushka of IDBI InTech

SHAKTII Alumni gallery

What our students have to say

Pooja Lohar (2015-16 alum)

Recently featured on the cover page of the magazine of the Fashion School in Vashi.
  • Hi everyone, this is Pooja Lohar former shaktii-ite from back in 2015, when I was in 8th std at that time. I was a dumb girl who didn't even know the meaning of was or is and when SHAKTII came to our school it has changed my life inside out. SHAKTII has brought out the power within us. It has always supported us and our goals in every way. Today in 2021 December , I am still part of SHAKTII even now Vimala ma'am supports me and always keeps motivating me and I know one day I'm going to make Vimala ma'am and my family proud.

Pranchal Sharma (2016-17 alum)

Studying to complete MBBS
  • She credits SHAKTII and Vimla ma’am for giving her the confidence to pursue her dreams. Her message to the current students is to believe in themselves. She asks them not to worry about societal pressure and judgement. “All the best, and believe in yourself. Your hard work will always pay off”, she said in a video message to them.

Vimla Choudhary (2017-2018 alum)

Wants to become a doctor
  • Vimla wants to become the best doctor in the city. She wants to do this to help people, and not for the money. She mentioned that she was not clear about her dreams when she started with SHAKTII. After her two years with SHAKTII, she developed her personality and the dream to become a doctor. She is grateful to SHAKTII and all the mentors for their support.

Sneha Pankaj Pandya (2017-2018 alum)

74.2% in X Board Results
  • Sneha believes that her score is because of all that SHAKTII has taught her. She did not have any additional support, and achieved this score based on her school work and the training at SHAKTII. Her favorite part is that she has made her parents proud. She wants to be an air-hostess and will work hard towards meeting her goals.


Video Gallery

To see what is happening every day at Shaktii pls visit our Facebook page:
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Plans Ahead

Shaktii as an institution is in its transition phase now as we embark upon a bigger vision in the near future. We desire to evolve organically to a full fledged academy for these under-served girls

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING (2021-2022)

  • Training in Debating Skills by students of Monmouth University , USA
  • Film making by Film bug, Mumbai
  • Workshops on improving Mental Health-its importance in personality development

FUND RAISING

  • tie-up with NGOs and Organizations to train X & XII std pass girls for employable skills.
  • Build a corpus for Shaktii and to also secure institutional funds for the next 3 years.
  • Pay honorarium to committed teachers.
  • Obtaining funding support from big corporates for the girls wanting to study beyond std X and XII.

BUDGET FOR 2019-2020

  • Shaktii has worked out a budget of Rupees 12 lakhs for improving infrastructure facilities at the centre and is looking forward to receiving donations to make a crucial impact in the lives of these underprivileged girls.

IMPACT STORIES...

  • Hello Ma'am, it's me Pranchal from New City Internaltional School.
    I just got admission in MBBS in Himachal. I want to thank you for supporting me.
    Thanks for believing in me. You are the best mentor!

    — Pranchal Sharma

  • Thank you Shaktii for not taking fees from us, infact giving us scholarships plus certificates. Thank you Shaktii for teaching Art, vocabulary, quiz games, technical maths, knowledgeable activities etc. and for taking us to visit many places Manibhavan, Byculla zoo, kidzania.
    Thank you Vimala Ma'am and all Shaktii mentors for staring Shaktii classes for girls. I am glad to be a part of it.

    — Aarati Chavan

  • Shaktii helped us in Std. X by increasing our English vocabulary and help us by solving our doubts.
    Mentors have taught us how to treat people even in bad times.
    They helped us in Std XI too by solving our Maths doubts.
    They made sure all girls were treated equally.

    — Adwita Kotian

  • Shaktii helped me in improving my English. Shaktii also helped me in studies, singing, arts etc. We also have leart Geography of the world.
    At Shaktii, all the mentors are very friendly and they helped me in may activities.
    I will always be grateful to Shaktii as it has improved by personality. "Shaktii is best!"

    — Raveena Lohar

  • Pranchal
  • Aarati
  • Adwita
  • Raveena


Speakers/ Mentors

What our speakers/ mentors have to say

Guest Speaker
Mr. Satyendra Singh

  • I feel blessed to have trained around 30 girls at Shaktii on the said date. The girls are very ambitious, highly motivated and go getters. I found, they were very brilliant, hard-working, full of life and very enthusiastic to pursue their well-defined ambitious goals.

Guest Speaker
Ms. Saytashree

  • It is a joy to present ideas to the girls at Shaktii, to witness their eagerness to absorb new information and to share their thoughts. The students of Shaktii are intelligent, sensitive and bright and under Ms. Nandakumar`s dedicated guidance and care plus the support of mentors including Ms. Basu, they are undoubtedly on their way to realising their latent potential.

Help us make a difference

We are entering the eighth year with gratitude for the support we get. We hope to provide better infrastructure in the coming years, with more goals to achieve we move ahead to help the girls realize their dreams. We know you are with us in this incredible journey!

Donations for the following are welcome:
1) Scholarship - Rs 10,000 per girl
2) Field Trip(s) - Rs 20,000 per trip
3) Stationery - Rs 500 per girl
4) Transportation - Rs 20,000 per month
5) Birthday Celebrations - Rs 500 per girl
6) Prizes for Competitions - Rs 500
7) Art Class - Rs 2,500 per year
8) Corpus Fund - Min Rs.10000
9) Student of the Year - Rs. 5000
10) Laptop - Rs. 28000
11) Sponsoring of former students' education

Donations to Shaktii Girl's Education Trust are exempt from Income Tax U/S 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961 vide Certificate No.CIT(E)/80G/1695 (2015-16)/(2016-17) dated 21st December 2016.
Write to us at following email addresses for further information:
shaktiigirls@gmail.com, vimalanandakumar4@gmail.com, lakshmiravindran@gmail.com

Shaktii Girl's Education Trust does not have any other branch