Since childhood, I saw my father struggling to make agriculture profitable. I was very sure that I could do better. That with my hard work and skill, I’d earn more. But somehow, it never happened …

“In West Bengal, Mandals are known to be cultivators. So despite earning my trade as an electrician at ITI, I turned to the 30-acre family farm to work hard and build a business.

“When I joined as principal of Zilla Parishad School in Pimpalgaon in 2013, children from the community were mostly going to faraway schools for education. Teachers were even waiting to get their transfer orders and shift to other schools.

“When I joined as principal of Zilla Parishad School in Pimpalgaon in 2013, children from the community were mostly going to faraway schools for education. Teachers were even waiting to get their transfer orders and shift to other schools.

P.K.Laheri is one of Ambuja Foundation’s longest standing Board Members, and has had one of those careers where the mind simply boggles at all that was seen, heard and been a part of. He served as the Chief Secretary of Gujarat for 3 years and was the Chairman and Managing Director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited, Gandhinagar – responsible for the development of one of the largest water infrastructure projects Gujarat has ever seen. Oh to have been a fly on the wall …

Across Ambuja Foundation locations, a cadre of ‘Water Volunteers’ is the quiet, driving force behind access to water in communities – for both drinking water and livelihood purposes. Playing diverse roles, from monitoring water quality, to operating irrigation pumps, these water champions work long hard hours – for free – to ensure water is available when people need it. Who are they? And what drives these selfless heroes?

Through a recent study conducted on Solar Irrigation Pumps provided by Ambuja Foundation, Nabarun Sen Gupta, a rural development professional, shares insights and key features of the importance of such pumps inspite of the given challenges.

Ambuja Foundation Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh recently won the award for Best CSR in the Health Category at the Impactful CSR Award of Metropolis Healthcare Heroes of India Awards 2022.

Ambuja Foundation’s SEDI team recently launched an Alumni Chapter in order to provide support to SEDI students - even after placement. This initiative was conceptualized to provide additional support to SEDI alumni who are placed outside their own geographies, by creating a community of alumni’s in the area.

“I used live an ordinary life – catching a few fish from the shores of my village. But one day I came across a relative of mine, who was returning from a big fishing expedition. He was a contractor for a boat owner and told me stories of catching hauls in a single trip worth 1lakh.

“I was one of 7 children and growing up, there were many days where my parents couldn’t provide even one meal for us all. So at the age of 10, my father sent me to Baishnabnagar to work as a child labourer on a dairy farm.

"My heart used to weep seeing my husband struggling to earn a decent income from his crop. And it wasn’t just him. The local moneylenders and middlemen were making farmers’ lives in our village miserable. I wanted to help, but how? I had never even stepped out of the house ever before!