Students for Last-Mile Learning

When I started Students for Last-Mile Learning in May 2025, it came from a clear realisation.

Access to education wasn't the real issue. Learning was. In many underserved communities, students were in classrooms but still falling behind, because foundational gaps were never addressed. I wanted to work at that exact point — the last mile, where students are present but not progressing.

Building the funding pipeline

We partnered with the Ekal Abhiyan Foundation and focused on both access and quality. As Finance Head, I led outreach to companies with unallocated CSR funds, building a pipeline that could directly support rural single-teacher schools. It meant constant calls, negotiations, and refining strategy in real time — but it translated into tangible impact.

We raised $185,000, supporting 550 schools and over 16,500 students. The effort earned a Noble World Record for the largest fundraiser by high-school students for tribal education.

But not only fundraising

I didn't want the work to stop at money. We worked directly with students through awareness campaigns in government schools, focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy. I also helped lead SolvED, a student hackathon designed to generate practical solutions for rural education, and Rooted in Culture, which highlighted the importance of preserving local identity alongside development.

Our flagship event brought together justices, MLAs and ministers, creating a space where student-led ideas were taken seriously at the highest levels.

Educational inequality doesn't fix itself. It requires deliberate, consistent intervention.

Students for Last-Mile Learning wasn't just about service. It was about responsibility. And for me, it proved that when you work with clarity and intent, even something as complex as the last mile can be made reachable.

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