Growing together

Aligned with the UN SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals), SPJIMR’s Abhyudaya is a community-based organisation that provides mentoring and holistic after-school education to bright, underprivileged children (Sitaras = Stars), from low-income neighbourhoods in Mumbai’s K-West ward (Andheri and surrounding areas), with the aim of helping them become independent and improving the schools and community around them.

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To date, Abhyudaya has impacted:

Abhyudaya provides mentoring, enrichment activities and financial support to Sitaras, their families and schools.

Mentoring
Mentoring with Abhyudaya is mandatory for the first-year participants of the PGDM programme at SPJIMR. Each first-year PGDM participant is assigned a Sitara to mentor for the entire year. Abhyudaya, meaning ‘growing together’, provides a space for mentors and mentees to thrive. This is a transformative, experiential learning course whose objective is to develop an understanding of urban poverty and build social sensitivity in our future business leaders.

Each PGDM participant learns how to be a mentor and role model, building a strong bond with their mentee through home visits, creating and implementing mentoring plans, group reflection, and writing individual reflection diaries. A ‘community impact project’ sensitises participants to larger systemic issues that impact low-income urban communities.

Since 2008, 3,688 PGDM participants have experienced this transformative journey.

We had a meaningful time, and I hope he performs well in his maths exam. As I descended the ladder outside his house, I could not help but reflect on my privilege. While coming back I looked at people and realised that no matter what challenges come their way, this bustling city never stops.

Mohit Shukla, PGDM Participant, 2023-2025
#AbhyudayaKatha
Explore the heartfelt stories of mentor-mentee bonding as SPJIMR PGDM participant share tales of their mutual growth, learning, and connections.

Prigyansha Choubey

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Rythm Ahuja

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Pranjal Maheshwari

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Yash Pandit

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Enrichment
To bring out the best in the Sitaras, Abhyudaya provides a range of experiences that go well beyond mentoring. In addition to academic classes, the Sitaras receive career guidance and support for college admissions. To ensure continuity in learning, Abhyudaya conducts summer and winter camps during school holidays. It also partners with vocational and skilling organisations so that Sitaras get trained for jobs and find employment.

To date:

52 alumni Sitaras (from Batches 1-7) have gone on to study post grade 12.

45 of these Sitaras have gone on to study post-graduation.

Currently, 327 Sitaras are pursuing professional courses, with the highest number, 186, in the Commerce stream.

166 have moved away and are no longer in the Abhyudaya programme.

Events

Alumni Sitaras are employed at:

Alumni Sitaras employed with brands like:

Sitara alumni speak

Abhyudaya initiatives

Physical and emotional well-being
Offering space for sports and yoga exposes the Sitaras to opportunities they may not otherwise experience. Both girls and boys receive equal opportunities to participate in sports such as football, cricket, handball, throwball, track and field and skipping. Additionally, Abhyudaya provides support services for the emotional well-being of Sitaras and their families.
Nutrition
Many of our Sitaras do not consistently receive good nutrition at home and school. To address this gap, we strive to provide nutritious meals to our Sitaras when they visit the SPJIMR campus.
Innovation
Abhyudaya collaborated with SPJIMR’s PGPM participants to utilise their design thinking skills and foster creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork with the Sitaras. In the pilot programme conducted in November-December 2023, 12 PGPM participants worked with 50 Sitaras for two weeks to teach Design Thinking and identify a community problem, building a prototype for the solution.

As a PGPM student, the Abhyudaya programme has not only broadened my perspectives but has also ignited a passion for social impact. It has underscored the importance of bridging the gap between privilege and deprivation, using education and innovation as catalysts for positive change.

Nidhi Lodha, PGPM Participant, 2023
Community engagement
Abhyudaya organises quarterly events, informative meetings and discussions with Sitara families. These sessions, conducted by experts, aim to increase community awareness of health and gender issues, career choices, etc.

Abhyudaya also engages with the teachers and administration of the 60 partner schools in the K-West ward, providing opportunities to learn new educational techniques that can be incorporated in their own schools and classrooms. In 2023, Abhyudaya conducted a 10-session Design Thinking workshop for 30 students from A.H. Wadia High School, Andheri West. This will be expanded to more schools in the community in the upcoming year.

Catalyst: The Abhyudaya newsletter

Partnerships

Schools
Abhyudaya partners with 60 schools in Mumbai’s K-West ward, from where the Sitaras are selected. Additionally, several Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB) institutions such as Sardar Patel Institute of Technology (SPIT), A.H. Wadia High School, Bhavan’s College, Bhavan’s Yoga Bharti and Bhavan’s Nature and Adventure Centre (BNAC) support the Abhyudaya initiative by providing teaching facilities, staff and student volunteers.
Organisations
Abhyudaya has built long-term relationships with NGOs, corporates, SPJIMR alumni, donors and educational and cultural institutions. Our partners provide financial support, laptops for Sitaras, medical camps, personal safety courses, counselling programmes, life skills programmes and scholarship assistance.
International collaboration
International schools and colleges visit Abhyudaya to learn from our model. These include Think Global School, New York, USA; Rijnland Lyceum, The Netherlands; HEC Montreal, Canada; IT Bandung, Indonesia; St Thomas University, Minnesota, USA; Havergal College, Canada and HWZ, Switzerland; and Saratoga High School – India Club.
Community volunteering
Abhyudaya is fortunate to have active volunteers for various aspects of the programme.

SPJIMR staff and faculty: They conduct spoken English sessions and provide special sessions during summer camp. Additionally, 36 faculty facilitators run six small group sessions with the PGDM participants over the course of the academic year.

GMP students: This year, 11 GMP students volunteered for a total 158.6 hours to teach spoken English to our pre-Sitaras, Accounts to Class 12 students, Maths to Classes 6, 7, and 8, and handle event registration. One GMP student spent 45 hours with us on Sundays.

SPIT students: To fulfil their 2-credit ‘Abhyudaya’ elective, SPIT students have engaged in data entry, one-on-one tutoring, library book sorting and laptop inventory.

Alumni Sitaras: They assist us during events, Sunday classes and camps. For summer camp 2024, they assisted Abhyudaya team to manage groups and execute activities. They continue to serve as mentors, teachers and support to younger Sitarars.