Scholarships

PN Doshi College is a conglomerate of 14 educational institutions housed in three buildings, from pre-primary, through primary, secondary, high school, college, and technical school. All are known as PN Doshi College.

Although the school is tuition-free, students must pay fees for exams and need assistance with books, school supplies, uniforms, lunch, bus fare, and other expenses associated with attending school. Most of the students in PN Doshi College come from a low-income background. Many live in such abysmally poor conditions that they find even day-to-day expenses too stressful, and would have to abandon the hope of education. For these students, the college has initiated Scholarships to Needy Students.

Since 1988, the funds provided by SHAMA, Inc. have been used to reimburse admission and examination fees of such students. On average, 200-250 students use this fund each year, with about $20 (Rs.900) being the average amount received. Over time, SHAMA, Inc. has provided this help to approximately 4,000 students!

Click here for success stories of the scholarship recipients.

Younger children are sponsored through the ShamaKids program.

Scholarships for Higher Education

In India, as in other parts of the world, a mere secondary education does not necessarily land jobs. SHAMA, Inc. and SPRJ Kanyashala Trust share the vision of empowering women through education to help them become self-reliant. Therefore, together they offer further support to students pursuing higher education after completing the studies in PN Doshi College. Twenty-five students were offered this assistance in 2003-2004; the average amount was $35 (Rs.1500).

See here for successes of the scholarship program

Machine Shop and Technical Training.

Very few students take technical training courses, as they are quite expensive. One of our students, Tejal, was admitted into an engineering college, and we reimbursed the fees. She is brilliant, but would not have been able to take admission without aid. Tejal is so grateful that she now gives free tuitions to needy kids of our school of Maths and Science.

During her visit to India in 2005, Jyoti Chander's expressed an interest in having SHAMA, Inc. work toward developing a mechanics school for women. A reporter from the Times of India, Sampat Shetty, was in Mhaskal when she was there, and he wrote an article that raised the interest of in starting the school. This project has come to fruition in W.O.W., or Women On Wheels.