Purkal Youth Development Society

Over 22 years, the scene in the community of Purkal Gaon and adjoining villages of Dehradun was discouraging and dark. As a social intervention, we had to discover a resourceful solution to the humongous problem of the youth who were having little or no education, with the challenge of longevity and a rapidly changing world facing them.

The biggest challenge was to make the community understand the need of quality education and several others like:

•   The community believed that degrees were purchased and of use only to children of privileged class
•   Without deep-pockets, an institution delivering quality education with an integrated approach was needed
• ·The existing school infrastructure produced youth with the lack of employable skills
• ·Several young, particularly, girls missed out on quality education because of no roads or public transport
• The young saw no future worth striving for
• Status of the women in the community was limited to homemakers, early marriages and no schooling
• With no knowledge of banking and credits, exploitation of the poor through usurious loans and unfair credit terms were deceptively offered by traders
• The community lacked awareness on critical parameters such as Nutrition, Medical care, Sanitation, Hygiene, Physical Fitness and Environment 

We believe that education is one of the most powerful weapon in fighting poverty and other social prejudices.

At Purkal Youth Development Society (PYDS), we provide holistic education to 553 students through a full-fledged CBSE affiliated school. Our beneficiaries are from economically disadvantaged homes.

In addition to academics, we give equal importance to sports, yoga, performing arts and visual arts. Through STEM education we are encouraging innovative mindset, thus increasing their chances of employability.     

Quality education cannot be imparted without adequate nourishment. In pursuance of this objective, we provide all our children with three wholesome meals a day besides a glass of milk.

The strength of a class is capped at 25, of which 2/3rd must necessarily be girls. After 14 years of schooling in our care, we ensure all alumni (232) pursue higher education and opt for meaningful professions by our On to Life program.

In absence of crippled or no public transport, we provide transportation facilities to pick and drop students and provide pastoral care to those in need to ensure zero absenteeism. 

The Impact alone drove us over the past 22 years. Our effort has brought hope to communities, salvaged potential anti-social and created possible change-makers. This project has helped not only our students but also have transformed their families and village communities who could only aspire to satisfying vocations of menial labour.

Starting from a small group in the vicinity of PYDS, we wish to further strengthen these impacts to a larger community by providing holistic education to children from upper regions and other areas of Uttarakhand.

• All first generation learners and their families are receptive to our efforts 
• No school dropouts; producing educated and skilful youth as the future change agents
• With focus on girls, helping them with school and higher education. Thus, enabling self-dependency and delaying marriages.
• All young men and women now pursuing education in the vicinity are able to access better-paying employment opportunities.
• Cementing of the status of women as structural and functional units of the community
• The ripple effect of this intervention is evolving thoughts and undergoing a change in mind-sets