Founder's Story

Hi! I’m Yajurvendra Mahajan, the founder of DeepStambh foundation. Social good has always been a part of me and when I saw the huge divide in the quality of education between the rich and the poor, I just knew that I had to change it. There are so many talented people in India, but many of them don’t get to reach their potential because they don’t have the money for a good education, or a support system to help them. I started DeepStambh foundation with the dream to provide good quality education to rural, tribal, and economically weak students.

Why did I choose to work with the differently-abled?
I didn’t plan to work with the differently-abled. Initially, I wanted to work with the tribals and the financially weak. The inspiration to work with the differently-abled came from a girl who told me that she feels like a burden on her family. When she said that she wanted to be self- sufficient, her drive moved me. I couldn’t let such determination go to waste. I knew that I had to help her achieve her dream of self-sufficiency. ‘Manobal’ is a place for people like her, where we help differently-abled students achieve their dreams. ‘Manobal’ is more than a school, it is a family. Many of our students have lost hope and stopped dreaming. At Manobal, we teach our students to hope, to believe in themselves, and most importantly, to dream big.

What inspires me to keep going?
Working with these students is very gratifying. Every day, when I see the students develop when I see their determination to learn and to be successful, it inspires me to work harder. When some of my students come back to the foundation, seeing their success fills me with the drive to work harder. With every passing student, my determination to help more increases. I feel blessed to be around such powerful people. 

How do I promote education in Rural India?
I have held over 2500 lectures and programs across India to spread awareness about the importance of education. I believe that we need to go to the grassroots and connect with people to show them the importance of education. When I go to a village for a lecture, I get to see the environment of the people and see their problems firsthand. Visiting these places allow also allows me to communicate that we are working for them and they are not alone.

What is the future of DeepStambh Foundation?
In the coming years, we aim to open branches of the foundation all across India. We have students from different states, and now, we aim to expand our network to provide good quality education near their homes. Our dream is to reach out to every differently-abled or socially backward student and communicate that we are here to help them and that if they have the will to do something, we will provide them with our wholehearted support.

How can You help?
It is very important that you know that you can make a difference. As a part of society, what YOU do matters. Stop thinking of people as disabled and start thinking of them as differently-abled. If you know a student that is not able to get a good education because of
financial problems or because they are differently abled, connect them to us. Vow that you will never divide people on the basis of their caste and financial status.

Talk to your family and spread the message. If society stops treating persons with disabilities as second-class citizens, more of them will have the determination to chase their dreams.