CFTI Distributes Bicycles to Underprivileged Female Students with Support of Soi Foundation

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 7 June 2022

CFTI, a grassroot-based organization, has launched a campaign to distribute nearly 1,00,000 bicycles to underprivileged girl students in Maharashtra's villages. They hope to continue increasing the number of bicycles distributed and reach as many girls as possible. The goal of the campaign is to make long-distance travel easier for them, as they often have to trek many miles in difficult weather.

The Soi Foundation, led by Taruna and Abhay Soi, has stepped in to assist them, going above and above to contribute to the cause and make it a great success.

Many of the village girls are the daughters of fisherman, construction workers, restaurant waitresses, and other low-income families. Students are unable to pay for transportation services due to financial restrictions and are forced to drop out. Furthermore, going significant distances in these areas comes with its own set of issues, and girls are forced to put their safety at risk on a daily basis. Animal assaults, bad weather conditions, and navigating rough terrain are all potential hazards.

Recognizing their hardship, the Soi Foundation is enthusiastically propelling this campaign forward by becoming ambassadors for the cause and gifting a large number of bicycles.

Abhay and Taruna Soi said, “A cause like this is close to our hearts, and to see so many girls struggling to receive proper education makes us feel disheartened. Something like this will go a long way in ensuring that every young girl, regardless of her socioeconomic background, can continue their education and not be forced to drop out due to uncontrollable circumstances. We are happy to do our part!”

Chitralekha Patil, Chairperson of the CFTI Trust, remarked on the campaign, “Working for the empowerment of girls, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, is a strong driving force in my life. This initiative is important because I believe education is every girl child’s right, and any help we can provide to keep their dreams alive is paramount and feeds into our larger purpose of contributing to social upliftment at a grassroots level. I am also overjoyed that the Soi Foundation is playing a huge role in this and helping us reach our goal.”

CTFI is a grassroots non-governmental organisation that strives to deliver growth possibilities to rural India through education, healthcare, women empowerment, poverty alleviation, and other sustainable development goals. It was created in 2009.

CTFI has undertaken various initiatives for the upliftment of villages in Maharashtra, with a strong network of 700+ grassroots-level volunteers connected to the soil working towards improving rural India by developing opportunities and sources for people to have a better life.