Saajha

About

Saajha is a non-profit organization established in 2014 with the mission to strengthen parental engagement and leadership in India’s government school system. The organization was founded on a simple yet powerful belief that every parent, regardless of their background, can contribute to their child’s learning journey. Saajha works to build the capacity, confidence, and community connections necessary for parents, especially mothers, to become active partners in their children’s education.

Over the past decade, Saajha has emerged as a key actor in India’s education reform movement by demonstrating how collective parent and community participation can drive measurable improvements in learning outcomes and school accountability. Its approach blends empathy-driven human engagement with scalable technology, ensuring that parents from low-income communities are informed, equipped, and supported to help their children learn at home and at school.

Mission and Vision

Saajha’s vision is to enable parents to play an active and informed role in their child’s education, particularly in the foundational years of education. The organization envisions a future where every parent feels confident, capable, and connected to their child’s learning, leading to a generation of children who can read, count, and think with understanding.

Saajha's mission is to improve the learning outcomes of 1 million children from government primary schools by 2030.

Organizational History

Saajha began its journey in 2014 by working with School Management Committees in Delhi, a government-mandated body of parents and teachers responsible for school governance. Through training and facilitation, Saajha empowered parents and community members to take active ownership of school development plans, improve school functioning, and advocate for better learning conditions.

As the organization grew, it recognized that while school-level governance was crucial, the deeper challenge lay in learning at home, particularly in the foundational literacy and numeracy of children in the early grades. Many children in India complete primary school without being able to read simple sentences or solve basic arithmetic problems. Saajha responded by shifting its focus toward strengthening parental support for foundational learning through home-based and community-led interventions.

Our Approach

Our approach focuses on equipping parents from low-income communities to engage more confidently and consistently in their children’s learning at home. We work with parents whose children are studying in Grades I to V in government schools across Hindi-speaking regions, helping them take an active role in improving their children’s learning outcomes.

Through our work, we help parents better understand the learning levels of their children and take informed actions to support their progress. We provide regular information on their child’s learning status, along with simple, practical guidance on learning tools and strategies they can use at home. The content we share is tailored to match each child’s current learning level, following the Teaching at the Right Level approach. This method has been shown to have a significant impact on foundational learning.

This journey involves two stages: identification and support.

Identification

We begin by identifying parents who may benefit from our program during Parent Teacher Meetings held periodically in government schools. At these meetings, a Saajha team member or a Saajhedar, a trained community member who often shares similar lived experiences, introduces the program and shares how it can support families. This ensures that parents who are looking for support know how to access it.

After expressing interest, parents complete a simple opt-in process through our WhatsApp chatbot. They are then guided through an introductory conversation that provides an overview of the program. Once this step is completed, the parent becomes part of our network and begins receiving regular support.

Support

Our support program is structured around a series of monthly learning cycles. Each cycle begins with an assessment of the child’s reading and math abilities, conducted through a phone call by a trained parent from the community. These assessments use standard tools developed by ASER to evaluate the child’s ability to read in Hindi and solve basic arithmetic problems.

Based on the results, we share curated learning content with the parent via WhatsApp that aligns with the child’s current learning level, following the Teaching at the Right Level approach. To keep parents engaged, we send reminder messages every two weeks and conduct a follow up assessment after six weeks to track the child’s progress. This cycle ensures that support remains timely, relevant, and responsive to each child’s needs.

Organizational Goals and Future Plans by 2030

A) Conducting an external impact evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the Saajha model by partnering with IIM Ahmedabad.

B) Extend partnerships with state governments to replicate Saajha’s model in new geographies.

C) Reach one million children by 2030 through a combination of government collaboration, technology, and community leadership.

Organisational Strengths:

A) Experienced Leadership: Saajha is led by alumni from BITS Pilani, IIM Ahmedabad, and Delhi University, bringing together expertise in education, management, and social innovation.

B) Strong Mentorship Network: Guided by senior advisors and mentors from institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad, Social Venture Partners, IndiaMart, JP Morgan, and Positron Advisors.

C) Robust Governance: Saajha follows transparent financial practices and is audited annually by registered chartered accountants.

D) Data and Evidence: The organization invests in monitoring and evaluation frameworks to measure progress, assess impact, and guide program design.

E) Community Trust: Deep relationships with parents and school stakeholders ensure high engagement and sustainability.