The start of Edu Connected

Equality is like giving all ballerinas the same size shoes while Equity is giving each Ballerina a shoe that fits. The main difference between equality and equity is that equity recognizes privilege.

Edu Connected isn't just an organisation anymore. It's a community, a family and a shared dream to strive for bigger and better things. This realization came to me in the summer of 2021 in my Junior year of Highschool. I was talking to 2 girls from a village in Maharashtra who had scored exceptionally well in their 10th grade of school. Naturally I assumed that they would go to a college in one of the big cosmopolitan cities based on their academic merit. Instead what I heard was that they weren't even considering applying because “noone from their village ever crossed the interview rounds.” Our conversation was cut short and I didn't say much at the moment. My next three days were spent replaying the conversation in my head. This brief 5-10 minute conversation had given me mixed feelings of gratitude and an unusual sort of uneasiness .

Soon afterwards I realized that solutions for these specific problems did not exist. Sure there were NGOs teaching English and maths but no one was teaching these children how to fit into these drastically new environments. I decided I wasn't going to wait for someone else to come up with solutions and instead do something about it on my own.

This organization has given me much more than a chance to make a difference. It has given me skillsets people only get once they start heading teams in the corporate world. It has given me a sense of gratitude and confidence that I can accomplish things bigger than I can imagine, Most importantly it has given me a family and a community.

- Oshna Dhanorkar ( Founder and CEO)