About Vimukti Sanstha
From Where It All Started...
“Girls do not drink milk. Milk is only for sons who go to school”, stunned by the words of a domestic help’s 14-year-old daughter Sangeeta, Ms. Lavalina Sogani, a mother of two, embarked on a journey to carve out a path of growth, inclusion and independence for girls like Sangeeta. Education was a prerequisite, a foundational stone.
The urban slums suffer from unimaginable socio-economic problems, low levels of living standards, health and sanitation. Discrimination against girls is embedded in the culture and further reinforced by poverty. Vimukti Sanstha started in 2004. ‘Vimukti’ , which literally means redemption, was a perfect name for an initiative to provide quality education for girls from the urban slums of Jaipur to alleviate them from poverty and backwardness. The main barrier that Vimukti Sanstha had to face was the attitude of poverty-stricken parents who kept girls at home watching over siblings and doing household chores as their mothers worked as domestic help. Ms. Lavalina Sogani and her team of 3 teachers convinced the community to send their daughters to school and started the center with just 20 girls. The girls were not just taught, but made to brush their teeth, teachers would cut their nails, bathe them at times and comb their hair. The aim was not just to impart education but to help their overall development.
In the initial years, Vimukti was looked upon merely as a place where girls got free meals. However, gradually the girls learnt to read and write, helped their parents with simple mathematical calculations and reading newspapers and letters and the parents started to realize the importance of girl education. With proper support, girls began to perform well in academics and discovered their talents in different fields- sports, arts, dramatics, dancing. Vimukti grew along with its first batch of students, hand-held them as they appeared for the board exams for the very first time and guided and supported them in making career choices.
Vimukti Sanstha has always been committed to providing equitable education to vulnerable girls with a nurturing and inclusive learning environment where girls are educated and empowered to become financially independent professionals.
