Indian NGO Educate Girls Wins 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award

Founded (2007): By Safeena Husain (London School of Economics graduate) upon returning from the USA. Mission: address gender inequality in education and uplift rural communities through girls’ schooling.

Core Programmes:

• Community Mobilization: The NGO employs local volunteers (called Preraks and Team Balikas) to enroll unschooled girls and mentor families. This grassroots model addresses household barriers (poverty, child care, chores) that often keep girls from school.

• Literacy & Teaching Innovations: Launched India’s first Education Development Impact Bond (DIB) in 2015, tying funding to learning outcomes. Developed “Pragati,” an open-schooling program, enabling young women (15–29) to complete education; it grew from 300 to 31,500 learners.

Achievements:

• Scale: Expanded from 50 pilot villages in Rajasthan to cover 30,000 villages across India’s most underserved regions.

• Beneficiaries: Over 2 million girls reached through enrollment drives and learning programmes.

• Retention: Maintained a >90% retention rate, keeping girls in school through secondary education.

• Educational Gains: Also provided remedial learning to 2.4 million children (girls and boys) to boost reading/math skills.

• Gender Parity Impact: By educating girls, the NGO fosters wider social benefits (delayed marriage, lower maternal mortality) and challenges rigid gender roles. It emphasizes that no girl wants early marriage or to stay home; every girl aspires to study and build a career. Founder Safeena Husain notes, “We strive to create a brighter, more equitable future – one girl at a time.

Community Motto: “One girl at a time.” This reflects a focused grassroots approach – mobilizing communities, partnering with government, and giving personalized support (like tutoring or help with school chores) so each girl can attend school.