News updates

Friday, August 1, 2025. East Meets West – Children’s Education Fund (EMW-CEF) is pleased to announce that it has awarded scholarships to five gifted young students living in impoverished communities in Rishikesh, India. 

Naraindra Prashad, Founder and Board President, says the awards are a milestone for EMW-CEF. “The scholarships are our first major gift to students living in poverty since we received formal charity status from the Canada Revenue Agency earlier this year.”  

With scholarship support from EMW-CEF, the students, all aged 11, are now able to continue their education in grade six. The scholarship – $600 per student or approximately 37,883 Indian rupees – will by administered by an international intermediary, Khushi Charitable Society (Khushi CS), also located in Rishikesh. The scholarship will cover the cost of tuition, school supplies, uniforms, shoes, and other school essentials.  

Founded in 2002, Khushi CS is a registered non-government organization, funded by donations and sponsorships. Its goal is to provide children living in poverty with education, supplemental nutrition, medical assistance, and vocational training. Today, it supports more than 450 children. 

Kapil Dev Bist, Khushi CS’ Project Manager, says the five students are among the brightest of the cohort. With scholarship support provided by EMW-CEF, they will enroll in a private school, Vidya Bharati Sansthan, offering high-quality education.   

 Goal is self-sufficiency and gainful employment 

“At Khushi CS, we want to help students become more self-sufficient and ready for gainful employment. We have graduates who are now credentialed as pharmacists and teachers. Many are now able to support their families.” says Dev Bist. 

He adds that government-operated schools offer free education from grades one through to grade eight. Students whose families have the financial resources are able to continue in private schools while others drop out. Khushi CS helps to fill the gap with sponsorships.   

Parental support key to success 

The scholarship recipients have been regular attendees of an after-school program also operated by Khushi CS. The program provides supplemental academic classes, a healthy meal, medical care, yoga classes and other extracurricular activities. It operates from 3:30 to 7:00 pm, filling another gap; government-operated schools end classes early (1:30 PM in summer and 3:30 pm in winter), leaving some students wandering the streets until their parents return home from work.

The five scholarship recipients were selected based on academic performance, career aspirations, attendance in the after-school program and community involvement. The support of their parents was also an important factor in the decision. Dev Bist says: “We had meetings with parents to explain the significance of the scholarship and the importance of education. Many did not realize how gifted their children were.” 

Once we start, we will always keep supporting them. 

The EMW-CEF scholarships are for one academic year (grade six). But both Prashad and Dev Bist are planning well into the future. 

Prashad says: “Khushi CS will provide us with regular reports on the students’ academic performance. If they continue to excel, our goal is to continue working with Khushi CS to support the five throughout high school and into university or technical school – that’s another six years of annual support.”  

Dev Bist agrees: “Once we start, we will always keep supporting them.” 

Prashad adds: “As a charity, we want to support as many students as possible so the support of our donors is important to our mission. We are grateful to our donors and will continue to provide them with updates on these gifted young people. “When you educate a child, you support a family and empower a community.”