Atma Jyoti School

Mission

The mission of the Atma Jyoti Vikas Samiti Organization & School is to care for and to educate blind girls, enabling them to be independent and to lead lives of dignity.

The Blind in India

Poverty and social stigma frequently stand in the way of the blind in India from getting proper nutrition, health care, and education. Often families neglect their blind children or do not care for them in the way they do for their sighted children. Some of these girls would have neither a supporting environment nor an opportunity for a promising future without the School.

The School and its Infrastructure

The Atma Jyoti School is located in Gwalior, MP, just 350 kilometers south of Delhi, and is led by the local charity organization called Atma Jyoti Vikas Samiti, which means “Soul, Light, Progress Group.” In 2002, the group shouldered the administration of the School to give blind girls an opportunity to have a successful and dignified life through proper education. It is in the care and support of Atma Jyoti that each girl nurtures her dream of a successful future. The School relies on local support, private donations, and an international support effort.

Presently 40 girls, from 5 to 20 years of age, reside and study at the School, and that number is growing. The rising popularity and reputation of the School annually draws more and more students. Atma Jyoti Vikas Samiti estimates that the student population will grow to over 100 girls in the next three years. Keeping up with this growth has become a major challenge. The School must maintain its commitment to the current students but must also search for new ways to accept more girls, largely by encouraging greater local and international support. These blind girls simply cannot be turned away.

A greater number of students demands greater residential and learning space. Currently, the School is made up of one building where all the girls live and where the youngest must have their classes and study. The oldest girls go to the local school with sighted children. Fortunately, two new bathrooms and the first indoor dining room have recently been built. But this growth is barely keeping pace with the growing number of students.

The School hopes to build a dormitory to accommodate the growing number of students but it needs your help. If you are interested in helping, please see our How Can I Help page.