Ravi Dahiya joins Smile Foundation's efforts to transform the Lives of Children, Youth, and Women

By: WE Staff | Friday, 19 August 2022

Mr. Ravi Kumar Dahiya, a gold medalist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, has teamed up with the Smile Foundation to support kids' education through the latter's "Shiksha Na Ruke" nationwide campaign.

For underprivileged children to have any chance of a better future, access to school, comprehension, and uninterrupted learning are essential. The "Shiksha Na Ruke" programme of the Smile Foundation, which seeks to ensure education for all, intends to enable uninterrupted learning by providing access to the materials required for their education, in addition to helping dropout children return to school. In India's 240 Mission Education centres run by the Smile Foundation, the project has improved the lives of 150,000 poor kids in just the past year.

“We are glad to receive the support of a much-loved sportsperson like Mr. Dahiya, who is making the nation proud on global platforms. His support encourages us to work with and assist children in rural and semi-urban India to learn and grow. As we celebrate 75 years of Independence, we look forward to enabling change and transforming the lives of children, youth and women across the country,” said Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation.

Talking about his association with Smile Foundation, Mr. Ravi Kumar Dahiya said, “I am overjoyed to team up with an organization like Smile Foundation that is reaching out to children and women across rural India and helping them grow. The work done through initiatives like Shiksha Na Ruke has enabled many underprivileged children to dream of a bright future through the power of education. As a sportsperson, I motivate children to dream big and have faith in the power of education.”

Mr. Ravi Kumar Dahiya has won Olympic medals in addition to being the Asian and world champion wrestler. At the just concluded Commonwealth Games 2022, he took home the gold medal in the Men's Freestyle 57 kg division.

Over 400 welfare programmes on education, healthcare, livelihood, and women's empowerment are carried out by the Indian development group Smile Foundation each year, directly impacting over 1.5 million children and families across 2,000 villages and urban slums in 26 states.