Every child deserves an education, but for underprivileged families in rural villages, schooling can be seen as a high-priced luxury. Often children have to earn for the family or look after younger siblings, keeping them at home when they should be learning.

"My name is Jothi, and my husband Pandi and I used to earn income from a textile factory. After he died, I found it very difficult to care for our three children at the same time as earning. My friend told me about Reaching the Unreached’s Home Support programme and since then they have been supporting my children’s education. I feel supported and am now able to earn an income in the fields." Jothi

Reaching the Unreached’s Home Support programme provides small payments to the most disadvantaged families in South India so they can afford to send their children to school regularly. By helping these families, we ensure it’s not just those in our Children’s Villages who benefit from the generosity of our supporters.

Enabling children to attend school

We support more than 100 children (including 52 affected by HIV/AIDS) from around 89 families in 51 villages. Many of these families are living in conditions of extreme poverty, with parents working all hours of the day to provide the very basics.

Our programme staff visit every family before they join – often after they have been referred by schools attended by other children on the programme. We provide sufficient funds to purchase school uniforms, pens and notebooks, and our staff regularly meet the families and schools to discuss the children’s progress. And we run motivation sessions at our main campus for those children sitting their Government exams. We also have the JK Scholarship Fund so that those who pass their 12th standard exams at the age of 18 can go on to higher education.

Extra help

In addition to our Home Support programme, we run a number of study centres in rural villages in the area to help raise educational attainment. These provide children from families without electricity a place to study and receive extra tuition in the evening, supported by part-time teachers from local schools.

Meanwhile, our mobile science laboratories visit poor Government schools where children would otherwise not have access to such facilities and so fail to do well in science subjects. In 2022/23, our science teachers delivered science lessons to 6,861 children in Dindigul and Theni Districts.

Without a basic education, children from the poorest families in South India struggle to escape rural poverty. Together, we can provide a better future for those who struggle most.

Help us give children an education

Help reach out to more children