Achieving Our Goals in 2023

BE Change is pleased to announce that we have reached our fundraising goals for 2023!

*Students gather outside Bhavishya Me in March 2023.*

Over 170 students at our partner schools are finally back in class after three years of intermittent school closures due to COVID-19. With your help, we are helping them get back on track in 2023.

According to the World Bank, pandemic-related school closures risk learning loss that can follow students into adulthood, particularly in developing countries. This is a real concern in Bihar, where schools were closed for much of the pandemic.

Thankfully, some of the solutions the World Bank has identified for overcoming this challenge are simple – keeping schools open and increasing instructional time. Your donations are helping two schools in India do just that and more.

*All photos in this update were taken by our co-founder, Alex Burdulia, during a recent visit to our partner schools Bihar.

Bhavishya Me

At Bhavishya Me, you’re helping fund increased salaries for the four teachers who serve over 100 students, ensuring that they have access to the learning opportunities needed to make up for pandemic-related losses. You’re also helping to fund school supplies, so they have the tools to succeed, and the costs of special holiday festivals so they can celebrate together as a community.

*Basant teaches Hindi in the open-air classroom at Bhavishya Me in March 2023.*

Last year, many of you helped BE Change fund the construction of a kitchen for Bhavishya Me’s new lunch program. This year, your donations are funding the costs of running the lunch program for the entire year, including salaries for the school’s two cooks – women from the nearby village who are using their new income to help support their families. This program ensures that students at Bhavishya Me do not have to return home for lunch, so they can stay at school longer each school day and have more time to learn.

Prema Metta

At Prema Metta, you’re continuing to fund the lunch program that our co-founder, Michelle Bos-Lun, started in 2015. This program feeds the school’s 75 students a nutritious lunch every school day for the entire year in 2023. You’re also funding the salary of the school’s cook, a local woman who is proud to help support the children in her community.

As always, BE Change thanks our donors for helping us improve childhood education in rural Bihar.

Michelle, Alex and Elaine
Directors