Pragya wins Star Foundation's Impact Award

GURGAON: The dream was envisaged 15 years ago while on a ride to Leh on a bike in search of medicinal plants by two people. The travellers noticed the neglected hamlets spread sparsely in the Himalayas.
Thus was born Pragya, which works in the field of renewable energy, primary education and curriculum development. The Gurgaon-based NGO bagged the Impact Award of Star Foundation for its value addition in the realms of providing primary education in five Himalayan states.
While speaking at the award ceremony in London, Gargi Banerji, the founder and head of Pragya, said: Such awards are a recognition of our work on an international forum. With Indias galloping growth, the impression is India has arrived. However, there is an India within India which lives 8,000 feet and above somewhere in the unconquerable terrains.
Gargi explained that these small and dispersed villages, some with even six households, take a lot of time to reach.
Other than accessibility, poor quality of education and lack of continuity were the main reasons volunteers from Pragya found for the poor literacy rates in states like J&K (Leh), Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh (primarily in the Himalayas).
Volunteers have to be dedicated and highly motivated because it is physically taxing to even reach these remote corners. One has to enjoy and not endure the Himalayas, explained Banerji.
Banerji maintained that there was still a long way before Pragya achieves 100 per cent results. The next step is to enhance our reach through our own efforts and in collaboration with the respective governments. These regions have certain similarities when we talk of characteristics, culture and their geography, even if not politically connected. This makes replication of projects easier, asserted Banerji.