Adjusting to life in a city I wasn’t familiar with, without any friends or relatives around, and raising young children in this new environment was anything but easy. To keep my daughter engaged and, more importantly, help her make new friends, I decided to enroll her in various after-school activities. There were plenty of options like sports, music, arts, and science classes, but I was looking for something more. I wanted a class or platform that would teach my kids essential life skills, values, and character-building lessons, all while introducing them to Indian culture in a fun, modern, and kid-friendly way. 

As a child, I had the benefit of attending such classes, and I learned so much from them. We all know that no one is born with a set of values or life skills—we acquire them from our parents, caregivers, and society, who shape us during our formative years. I felt this kind of class would give a solid foundation for my kids’ character and future success.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a class that met my expectations.

After giving it much thought, I decided to start one such class by myself. sometimes what appears to be the end may really be a new beginning… 

My mother had been running such life skills  classes for more than 27 years and having been both a student and an instructor in those  classes before marriage, I felt confident that I could do it too. So, I put together a plan, continuing my mom’s legacy I launched it as a non-profit, for children. I wanted to leverage that experience to serve our community by incorporating modern techniques and style, keeping the original meaning intact.I believe children are the future, and the success of any nation depends on how we nurture the next generation. That’s why I believe life skills, values, and character-building education should be available to every child.

As Plato said, “The beginning is the most important part of any work, especially in the case of a young and tender thing, for that is the time at which the character is being formed and the desired impression is more readily made…” 

The response from parents was overwhelming. Twenty-two students signed up right away, and the support was incredibly encouraging. Engaging in this new venture not only helped me adjust to my new life but also made me more social, active, and happy. Within a couple of months, I realized that teaching kids and listening to their curious questions brought me immense joy. I was finally feeling fulfilled—being home with my kids during their formative years while subtly making a positive impact on other children’s lives.

Until one day, my domestic helper  asked me about the classes. After I explained everything in detail, she innocently said, “This is so important for children, Didi (elder sister) . I wish my kids could learn this too, but there’s no one to teach them at the government school.”

Her words became a turning point. If I couldn’t find such a class for my own kids, what about other children—especially those less privileged? What about those who may never be exposed to such valuable lessons? 

After much thought and consideration, discussing it  with my husband and my parents- who have been working in the social sector for more than five decades , I felt  that this was an opportunity to make a real difference and decided  to extend these life skills classes to underprivileged children as well.

Within a few months, I was connected with various NGOs and government schools, where I started conducting workshops for students and teachers in life skills, character building,  and soft skills.  I also began supporting NGOs in other ways, like raising funds, organizing book drives, and volunteering to teach various subjects.

While teaching life skills and values workshops in government schools for underprivileged children, I realized that many of their mothers—who were often the primary caregivers—struggled to help their children. Many of these women had never attended school or had dropped out very early, and they faced challenges like filling out school/bank forms, seeking medical help, or even reading and writing simple texts. Some of them had big dreams but were stuck in low-paying jobs because they lacked the skills and knowledge to change/improve their circumstances.

My domestic helper played an important role in initiating adult literacy classes. She had dropped out of school in fourth grade in Odia medium, and could hardly read or write in English. I would often help her fill out forms, read text messages but I regularly encouraged her to learn reading and writing, infact I offered to help her and  finally one day she decided to take classes.

That’s how in 2011, I started a Basic English Reading-Writing class for my domestic helper  and five similar women from the low income communities. That was the beginning of the adult literacy classes. Simultaneously I started educating them about financial literacy, Banking, building confidence, communication, nutrition, health , different available opportunities etc 

While conducting Children’s and Women’s classes I truly believed in this- 

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything but still I can do something. Because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do “ – Helen Keller

Slowly, friends who were passionate about women, children empowerment started believing in this initiative and showed interest in joining me. With their help and support we finished a number of teaching projects for different NGOs, conducted summer camps, workshops, started new batches for children and Adult literacy programs for English and Computers..

After working in this field for seven years, support and encouragement from family, my experience with children and women, helping hands from trusted friends and passion towards this cause drove me to work towards the vision like Tejomay. 

In May 2015, Tejomay was born with a mission to equip the children with Life Skills & values needed to deal with everyday challenges and to empower women, adults  & children from the low income communities by providing them knowledge, skills & resources to lead a dignified life.

“Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible” 

‘Aparna Shendurnikar-Dixit’
Founder & Managing Trustee
Tejomay Charitable Trust