We believe everyone should have access to education, regardless of early circumstances that may have disrupted or precluded schooling. iSaahasi Academy is a resource for Mumbai women to have another chance at education–in a world of lifelong learners, it’s always an auspicious time to return to school.

We also believe that education endows students with the capacity to grapple with perspectives outside of their own experiences. Through enriching our notions of the world, we enable collaboration, strengthen communities, become efficacious and compassionate leaders, and enhance our own lives.

Many studies evidence education as a primary shield against poverty, gender-based violence, human trafficking, and disenfranchisement. Schooling gives us access to health information, legal advocacy, communication skills, and literacy. Based on a steadfast belief in education as a vehicle for change, we spent years researching the resources for women attempting to return to school in Mumbai; compiling best practices from the field; developing curricula, facilities, staff, and assessment tools; and just recently, launching the Academy.

Through a varied curriculum of math, science, social studies, computers, English, Hindi, writing, health, and financial planning classes, our students engage with multi-leveled primary education courses with supplementary training in basic life skills. In this process, they develop their academic interests, confidence in their personal strengths, and professional skills applicable to future jobs.

In 2013, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan declared “Education is the key to eliminating gender inequality, to reducing poverty, to creating a sustainable planet, to preventing needless deaths and illness, and to fostering peace.” We’re pushing for a more peaceful and equal-access future, one returning learner at a time.