Foundation for Education and Development (Doosra Dashak)

Foundation for Education and Development (FED) is a public charitable trust established by five renowned educationists. FED works with the most deprived, excluded and vulnerable adolescents by making their lives more productive and meaningful. In order to fulfill the above mandate, FED initiated a project called Doosra Dashak (DD) in the year 2001 for holistic and integrated education of adolescents. The need for initiating DD was based on the following grounds: • Non-fulfillment of the goals of universal primary education and adult literacy in our country; • Increased nationwide realization about the critical importance of youth and adolescents of 11-20 age group; and • The vast possibilities which could be opened by a good programme of education and development for these persons. Vision of FED: The vision of FED is creation of a new social order through community participation based on the values of equality and justice; providing a second chance at integrated and holistic education to unschooled adolescents and the preparation of a cadre of committed adolescents and youth equipped with relevant skills and democratic values who can work towards building a society “Where the mind is without fear…and the head is held high.” DD is a decentralized, innovative, process oriented and participatory project that seeks to provide value based and skills oriented education to harness the leadership potential of youth and women for social transformation. DD’s major interventions are: • Community mobilization (e.g.: Social mapping and micro-planning) • Four months residential camp for foundational education • Two months residential camp for class X and XII through open schooling • Continuing education for lifelong learning (eg: Ikhvelo and VLCs) • Skills for Life and work • Building community organizations for sustainable development (e.g.: Youth group and Women Group) • Improving service delivery of public welfare schemes and development projects