Vardhishnu

Founding Philosophy:
Guided by the UNCRC, Vardhishnu Social Research & Development Society envisions a world where every child enjoys their fundamental rights to survival, protection, participation, and development. Our mission is to create safe, nurturing spaces for vulnerable children, especially those involved in labor, ensuring no child is left behind in their right to a happy and secure childhood.

      About the Founder Adwait Dandwate:

• Wipro Foundation, Acumen India Fellow
• Emergent Ventures grantee
• 25+ Awards including `UnSung Heroes` by Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda & `Tarun Tejankit` by Daily Lokstatta of The Indian Express Group.

Vardhishnu`s vision is to have “Every Child will have a safe, secure & happy childhood”.

Vardhishnu was started by a young couple Adwait & Pranali along with their friends in 2013. Adwait and Pranali, driven by a desire to address pressing societal issues, conducted a socio-economic analysis of waste pickers in Jalgaon City, engaging with over 400 individuals. This experience led to the creation of Anandghar, a community-driven initiative that supports street children, particularly waste pickers, by providing education, life skills, and health support. The program helps children transition to mainstream education, promoting dignity and well-being, while the Anandghar Fellowship empowers young graduates to create lasting change in marginalized communities. Vardhishnu operates three key programs to fulfil its mission of empowering vulnerable children.

• The Anandghar program creates community learning centers that offer both formal and informal education, life skills, and engage parents, helping street children transition to mainstream schools.
• The Community Collectives program identifies and nurtures grassroots leaders through a 1-year support initiative, providing capacity-building workshops and field support to work with marginalized communities.
• The Anandghar Fellowship is a year-long opportunity for individuals passionate about improving education for underprivileged children. These initiatives, supported 24 organizations, and trained grassroots leaders, focusing on education, emotional well-being, and community development.

Reach & impacted So Far:
Children - 10,700
Space created for Learning - 45
Organization Incubated - 24
Entrepreneurs Trained - 32

Geographic Focus:
Jalgaon Based

Annual Operating Budget:
Operating spend of approx. INR 72 Lakhs per annum.

Partners:
Azim Premji Foundation, Wipro, UnLtd India, A TFIX (Teach for India Program), Vega Chemicals Pvt Ltd, Acumen, Nirman Youth for Purposeful Life, Global Action on Poverty.

Mr. Nikunj Jhaveri, the co-founder of `Helm Initiative`, has been supporting Vardhishnu since April 2018 as a member of the Advisory Board and has also contributed as a donor.