Kohara, a village in Kanpur, hopes that it will get an electricity grid in 2011. Barring a government school with no teachers, Kohra's one big hope for education seems to be a school project set up by Adharshila, a non-profit.
Kohara, a village in Kanpur, hopes that it will get an electricity grid in 2011. Barring a government school with no teachers, Kohra's one big hope for education seems to be a school project set up by Adharshila, a non-profit. Beside education, the school brought other tangible benefits. Two years ago, the village got its first motorable road. 
Students at a painting class in Adharshila, a non-profit school
in Kohra, a village in Uttar Pradesh
A brainchild of the late scientist Surjan Singh, a native of Kohra, Adharshila was set up by Singh's friends who contributed time and money to the cause.
"The largest impact has been on the children who attend the school -- the village kids are now smartly turned out in school uniform, and participate in a number of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
It is a delight to see these kids comfortable with computers. The level of self-confidence in them is amazing," says Nupur Hasija, founding member, Adharshila.
"The fact that almost a third of the admissions are now made up of girls shows a huge impact -- this, in an area where education of the female child was considered very low priority," she adds.
The biggest priority for next year is to find better qualified teachers, for which Adharshila has planned a volunteer programme. "We are looking for those who are keen to work in a remote region and kick off our adopt-a-teacher project," says Hasija.
There are also plans for a new classroom, a large computer room, a library and practice nets for cricket. For a school that started out five years ago with less than 30 students and which rose to a strength of over 200 students from 14 villages around Kohra, Adharshila has come a long way.
To volunteer: Log on to https://www.adharshila.net/
Adharshila
a non-profit school in Uttar Pradesh, kicks off an adopt-a-teacher programme where you can sponsor a teacher's training or volunteer to be one
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