Prerna Girls School

Lucknow, India

Study Hall Educational Foundation (SHEF) supports an impressive portfolio of initiatives aimed at educating and empowering underprivileged girls in urban and rural India. Since it began in 1994, SHEF has reached over 2,500,000 students through direct and indirect initiatives in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Prerna Girls School, is one of SHEF's initiatives. Founded in 2003, this school provides K-12 education to girls from low-income and historically marginalized communities, many of whom would otherwise not have the opportunity to study.

Initially, the school’s primary goal was simple and straightforward - enroll girls in school and improve their access to education. However, it soon became clear that simply enrolling in and attending school would not be enough to change the circumstances of these girls’ lives. Thus began the process of developing an empowerment-based approach to education. The system used today teaches the students to see themselves as equal and autonomous individuals deserving of respect, to understand the oppression they face, and to develop the skills to overcome it.