The Vriddhi Foundation empowers young woman in India to access higher education, overcome gender-based barriers, increase her socioeconomic status, contribute to the workforce, and benefit her communities.
वृद्धि - vriddhi - growth
The Vriddhi Foundation was officially established in 2022 by Breathe Ojai founder, Francesca Gold, in the Salarpur village outside of Varanasi, India.
The Vriddhi Foundation (originally named the Girls Education Fund) is an attempt to help young girls of the community access Higher Education. It is their growth and learning that is often held back due to various familial and societal issues. The deterring circumstances may range from a lack of funds in the family, to priority being given to their male counterparts. The Vriddhi Foundation aims to empower the next generations of girls to grow into their full potentials by way of formal education.
The Vriddhi Foundation is an initiative by the founder of Breathe Ojai in California, Francesca Gold. She has spent a year total in India, has visited various centers of J. Krishnamurti, and other pilgrimage sites during her extended trips in 2017, 2018, and again in 2023. It was in the city of Varanasi that she found a community she is dedicated to give back to and supporting. This fund encourages and supports the girls of low income communities to gain access to quality education as they are the ones who are often left behind.
2023 celebration of Holi with some the girls in the Salarpur village in a local home.
The Project is supported by Chetna Kalwani, who is currently working in Delhi. She holds her Masters Degree in Education and is a social worker. She will act as a consultant who has navigated through the Higher Education system herself and will help the girls map a path and support them through the process of preparation as well as admissions.
Francesca Gold has lived in India off & on between 2017 and 2019, and visited again in 2023. During her time there, she made many genuine and heartfelt connections with individuals, families, and communities. Because she was there alone as a Western woman, she was actually kept quite safe, looked after, and welcomed into many spaces she may never have normally seen otherwise. She had no agenda and was simply there as a fellow human. When Covid-19 hit, she found herself immediately worried about her friends in India and started personally giving financially to some of the families in rural communities she had met. She continues to maintain contact via WhatsApp message and video chat with her friends there and visits them each time she is in India.
Ways to contribute to the VRIDDHI FOUNDATION
Buy ‘Ojai Yoga Wear’ Clothing
Organic, eco-friendly, sizes x-small to x-large, these clothes are comfy. Great for lounging or wearing in the studio.
Attend a Fundraiser Class
We hold these pop-up classes around the holidays and from time to time throughout the year. 100% of proceeds go to our foundation .
Direct Donation
You may directly donate to our foundation at any time. Cash, venmo, check, or zelle accepted.
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The Vriddhi Foundation helps young girls access Higher Education as they are the ones who are often held back due to various familial and societal issues.
Village Ambassador
Karma Sahini
Karma and I also met in 2017. He lived in a neighboring village and took me to meet Pragati and her family one day. He’s the real reason this fund exists: he took a chance to help out a foreigner (Francesca) and all of our friendships has bloomed over the years. Karma is an actor; he plans to go to graduate school for Drama. During the day, he provides for his extended family through offering boat rides to tourists in the Ganges River.
The Vriddhi Foundation supports the following –
1. Preparation
2. Admission
3. Tuition Fee and Study Material
The girls will be guided to prepare for the Entrance Exams of various Government Funded Institutions in Varanasi . There are 3 universities in Varanasi that charge very low tuition fee and allow access to all study material required for the students in their libraries and have benefits such a subsidized meal rates and healthcare as well. Chetna will support and guide the girls through the process as well as help them while they are pursuing the program.
Brand Ambassador
Pragati Srivastava
This is my sister friend Pragati: she and I met in 2017 and have been in touch ever since. She’s a clothing designer, entrepreneur, painter, and more. She designed both of the outfits we are wearing and drew the mural (our logo) in the back. She gathered the girls in her village for our pilot year (2023) to take the entrance exams to see if they can apply for university. She helped name the foundation.
The Fund will be directed towards these areas in the following ways –
Preparation
The fund will set up a library with books that will help the girls prepare and study for the Entrance tests that they need to qualify in order to get admission into the selected Universities. They will have to qualify the exams in order to access the fund which will take care of their tuition fee and all the study material that they will need as they pursue their Higher Education.
This library will be set up with all the books that the girls will need in order to prepare for the entrance tests and will be accessible to all those aspiring to appear for the entrance exams.
Admission
The Admission Process starts after the candidate qualifies for the Program they choose to pursue. The candidate goes for the Counseling process to the University to confirm their seat for their Admission.
This requires an Admission Fee that will be provided to the girls through the Fund.
Tuition
Followed by their Admission to the Program, the girls will be able to access the Fund for their Tuition fee and they will be given an allowance per semester so they can buy all the study material they need. They will be provided for and their Higher Education will be sponsored completely by the GEF. For special cases, we will also be providing allowance to the qualified candidates for their travel expenses to and fro. This will be decided on the basis of budget allocation and the candidate’s needs.
Fund Allocation –
The GEF will raise approx. USD 1000 which converts to ~INR 80,000.
The Funds will be allocated once we know how many candidates have qualified and the program they have qualified for.
On average, the Banaras Hindu University’s students can pursue a program within INR 10,000 a year. The GEF can direct money to sponsor Education for 8 Girls from the community.
The Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, has an average cost of INR 20,000 for a year. For the girls who qualify this University, GEF can sponsor Education for 4 girls from the community.
Breathe Ojai student Shelley modeling our capri pants with studio dog Zoey. Proceeds from the sale of our clothing line support the fund.
