About
What is Shanti Bhavan?
Shanti Bhavan is a nonprofit boarding school in southern India that educates children from the country’s lowest socioeconomic class. The school provides 17 years of high-quality education as well as continued support throughout college and into their careers. Since opening in 1997, the school has helped hundreds of students graduate from college and build successful careers in fields like tech, finance, medicine, and education. The Netflix documentary Daughters of Destiny follows five Shanti Bhavan students over seven years and shows the impact of the school’s mission to break the cycle of systemic generational poverty. After over 27 years the school has achieved immense success with 98% of graduates completing college. Additionally, 97% earn more in five years than their parents did in a lifetime and nearly all give back a significant portion of their income to their families and communities.
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Learn more about Shanti Bhavan from the website!
My Story
I was first introduced to Shanti Bhavan in eighth grade after watching the Daughters of Destiny documentary on Netflix. I was deeply moved by how one school could transform so many lives and inspired by its approach to tackling educational inequality - an issue I believe is among the most critical systemic injustices. Since I was too young to volunteer in person at the time, I waited for the opportunity and stayed connected to the program in other ways. One of which was through my tutoring business where I donated the proceeds to Shanti Bhavan. Now, at 19, I was finally able to volunteer and so I decided to apply to teach at the school for the summer. I am here for six weeks and more excited than ever for what's to come. ​​​​​
