At the age of 18, when she was in college, Shaheen Mistri realized that there were thousands of children who didn’t have access to quality education. She and a few of her classmates came together to address this issue by volunteering their time teaching these children. Shaheen started the first Akanksha Centre at a classroom donated at the Holy Name High School in Colaba. The Centre started with 15 students and one teacher.
In the next 16 years, Akanksha set up 60 after-school centres in under-utilized spaces, each staffed with professional teachers, volunteers, and social workers at the service of more than 3,000 underprivileged children.
Recognizing the need to work with government schools to achieve impact at greater scale, Akanksha began the School Project in 2007 in collaboration with the Municipal Corporations of Mumbai and Pune. The project aims to create a scalable school model within the government system that drives wider systemic reform in education. Today, Akanksha’s network has grown to 20 schools in Mumbai and Pune.
2016
2015
2009 / 2010
2010