White Lotus Trust

Our Programs and Approaches

White Lotus Programs span and are clustered around three major themes; Education, Training and Care. Our programs often run for more than 10 years recognising that normative social change with respect to issues such as gender only change over long periods and do so from the ground up. Further, we work with all levels of community and governance, from grass roots to government in order to effect sustained, structural change.

EDUCATION

Keeping poor, rural girls from traditional village based communities in school till year 12 and on the College has a huge impact in and of itself. Girls gain status by staying in school and the capabilities and earning power that come with that.

Access to education through provision of transport whether on a bus or a bicycle is a huge change agent in the lives of girls that would simply not have any option other than to become homemakers after finishing school at primary or elementary level. WLT has led the way in providing access to education for girls at Mewat, one of the worst gender-equality wise districts in India. Blossom Bus program has kept almost 100% of more than 1200 riders in school till year 12 and now has 40 young women College. Most of these girls are 1st generation learners and therefore first to enter high school, graduate 12 and 1st to attend College from their villages!

TRAINING

Similarly, village girls and those living in urban poverty enabled by training to become bread winners for their family after graduating from a tailoring courses become more independent and gain respect from their families and communities.

CARE

Programs clustered under CARE include our Village based health programs and provision of nutrition of school children. Lack of health services and knowledge of basic hygiene leads to many social ills and impacts on education and livelihood outcomes.

Blossom Bus

Since 2010 WLT has led the way in providing access to education for girls at Mewat, one of the worst gender-equality wise districts in India. Blossom Bus program has kept almost 100% of its 600+ riders in school till year 12 and now has 40 young women College. Most of these girls are 1st generation learners and therefore first to enter high school, graduate 12 and 1st to attend College from their villages!

EQU+ Program

Recognising India's deep social inequalities, White Lotus also provides after school tuition to children of migrant labor, illiterate farmers and low-income families enabling them to keep up with studies that would otherwise require costly tutors such families cannot afford.

Lotus Pedals

This program was developed to provide bicycles to children living remotely from their schools in order to ensure they can get to school and to ensure regular attendance.

Nutrition for Education

Poor farmers that get up very early morning and work all day don’t have time to prepare meals for even their small children. This program provides school meals to ensure children of poor villagers have sufficient nutrition to keep them alert and healthy during their school hours.

ASHA – Village based primary health care program

This program works with local communities and government health services to improve delivery of the ICDS and other primary health care schemes. Community awareness raising and mobilisation on hygiene and reduction of open defecation is a key component along with provision of training for ASHA and Anganwadi workers.

Buddha Smiles

The program provides evening classes for more than 500 children of tribal areas as well as quarry and weaving labour in rural villages in Tamil Nadu. These classes open up new vistas these children, quite brutalized and otherwise living without any cultural programs.

Skills Training for Employment – STEP

The Skills Training 4 Employment STEP program provides young women and girls with six-month courses in tailoring by master tailors. We have been successfully running STEP programs in rural Haryana since 2013-14.

Trainees benefit during the training from increased mobility and the excitement of meeting with peers outside the home and which is not otherwise possible. Once graduates establish an income they gain respect from their families while becoming role models for their female siblings and young women of their communities.