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A child is seen as a spare pair of hands to earn some more on an immediate basis versus the luxury of being sent for education (a costly affair also) to change the course of life.
Some of them are involved in other jobs that require minimal skills. The average annual income may not exceed US$120 per family.
The root cause of the poverty for these people is illiteracy amongst the tribal people - caught in a hopeless situation of having to fend for themselves on a daily basis with no hope for doing anything to make themselves part of a different future.

An average tribal never gets three square meals a day. Scarcity of resources - whether it is in form of food, clothing or shelter is something they live with every day. A child is seen as a spare pair of hands to earn some more on an immediate basis versus the luxury of being sent for education (a costly affair also) to change the course of life.

Due to the hard work and efforts of some volunteers of Vivekananda Kendra, Gwalior a barren hilly rock has been transformed with green vegetation and the environment made lively with chirping birds and flowing streams. It is reminiscent of the atmosphere that must have prevailed in ancient ashrams or gurukuls (places where the sages taught their disciples). With this background "utkarsha" (means awakening) was established on October 28, 1992 as a free hostel (boarding place) for tribal children based on the age old gurukul system of education.

During the course of their work efforts workers from Vivekananda Kendra realized that in order to make a difference to the future of the tribal folks it was extremely important to start working with the next generation. The Kendra workers took it upon themselves to work with the tribal folks to convince them of the value of education for their children. The going was not easy, as they tried to convince the tribal folks on the importance of education, versus having an extra pair of hands. It started as a small project and since then has matured into a full-fledged initiative, with tribal folks having children on the waiting list.

Utkarsha's principle
Utkarsha's principle is very simple - one child per family is allowed to stay at the campus. He or she is admitted to a local school in the city and lives amongst other students under the supervision and guidance of the warden. The children are provided a holistic experience in life - education supported by craft skills, prayers, yoga, and community work. After a decade the experience with the children has been wonderful, the children have undergone multidimensional personality development in the following levels – 1) Physical level - Yoga, games, exercise. 2) Mental level - Stories, songs, variouscompetitions. 3) Intellectual level - outing and excursions, various games. 4) Psychological level - song, meditation, 5) Spiritual level - Gita Path, prayers,recitations etc. Throughout these many years the children have developed group dynamics, a rhythm, and a lifestyle that they never expected as below: 1) Daily schedule "early to rise and early to bed". 2) Washing own utensils, clothes and keeping the premises clean. 3) Healthy & hygienic lifestyle, something that is next to impossible for them in their villages. 4) Prayers twice a day in prayer hall and before every meal. 5) Exercise and yoga practices everyday. 6) Communication skills and participatory life style. Sharing with equal proportion.

• Comprehensive Full Funding:
• Teacher(s) Support :US $1,000
• Full coverage of a child’s educational needs : US $200
• Partial Expenses Funding :
• Uniforms(3 sets), books, school bag, stationery, shoes etc. : US $100
• School bag, shoes and socks : US $25
• Stationery items per year : US $25
• Center Based Funding:
• A full meal for about 100 children of the Centre on a festive occasion : US $150
• Snacks and sweets for the children in the Centre for one occasion : US $50