International 'We Serve' Foundation, Inc.

1+ billion children worldwide cannot afford digital devices or internet access during Covid-19 pandemic. Schools closure for 12+ months, widen the Digital Divide & the knowledge gap between (Poor Vs Affluent), making it impossible to compete on equal grounds for gainful employment seeking a better life. 

Modern ICT technology enables giving poor students online access to (i) quality educational contents (ii) millions of E-Books & vast digital knowledge resources (iii) opportunity to learn from & interact with reputed Educators from many countries (iii) use free Tele-Education and Tele-Tutoring by voluntary teachers, etc. Scholars, Scientists, Educators & Teachers in many countries IWSF has contacted have volunteered to share their knowledge.

IWSF launched the online 'KNOWLEDGE CONNECTIVITY' Program in 2020;  donated portable digital devices and internet service to 102 poor students in India (74 in an Orphanage; 28 tribal families). They eagerly learn the syllabus & read 100 e-Books uploaded in their smart devices; actively participate in the online programs and shall enjoy millions of e-books from their School Digital Library.

IWSF shall use US$ 500,000 to expand 'IGNITING MINDS' Mission by bridging the Digital Divide and elevate the minds & lives of 100,000+ poor students in India. 

Story: Spent 31+ years in healthcare; closed my Gastroenterology practice to focus on philanthropy. Co-founded the 'Bluegrass Indo-American Civic Society' (BIACS) in 1988; 300+ deserving Kentucky students have received scholarships (US$ 300,000+) to pursue post-secondary education.

Vision: In Apr-2011, launched the International 'We serve' Foundation, Inc. (IWSF), Public Charity with the motto 'Empowering Billions' worldwide with quality education and affordable healthcare.

Purpose: From inception, 4.8+ million poor children, youth, women & men have benefited from the Five Missions [1] Igniting Minds [2] Healthcare, Water & Sanitation [3] Disaster Relief & Recovery [4] Green Earth Promotion & [5] Empower Africa. Several Projects implemented under these Missions in India, USA, Kenya, Mexico, etc. help brighten their minds and lives.

Bridging the Gap: IWSF has donated digital devices to poor students enabling online education & arranges free, interactive, online 'Knowledge Connectivity' forums by reputed Scholars, Scientists, Educators, etc. enjoyed by poor students from many countries. 

615,704 donated books dispatched from USA set up 2,460+ public libraries in rural & urban public schools, colleges, etc. in India.

Future Goals: Enable free access to quality educational contents, empowering 500+ million poor students worldwide, via AK-EDUSAT nanosatellite.

CRITICAL Issue: Existing gap in Education Quality; pandemic & poverty widening the learning gap with long-term harm.

Problems: Per All INDIA School Education Survey (Dec-2015), 222 million students [K-12] enrolled in 1.3 million institutions. ASER annual surveys have confirmed education quality gap between [Rural-Urban], [Poor-Affluent] & [Public-Private] schools. 84% of the schools are in rural India lacking electricity (41%); science-lab (68%); computers (45%); internet (68%) & library (27%). Covid-19 pandemic forced school-closure & many offered online education. 175+ million poor students cannot afford digital devices & internet service. The pandemic has widened the existing education & learning gaps affecting the poor millions. The poor cannot compete on equal terms for gainful employment or seek a better life. Estimates indicate US$ 10 trillion loss in earnings globally due to the pandemic in the next three decades.

Solutions: IWSF has donated portable digital devices to poor students in orphanage and tribal families; launched online, interactive 'Knowledge Connectivity' programs by reputed global Scholars; volunteering Teachers provide free Tele-Education & Tele-Tutoring helping poor students catch up with learning. Additional funds shall enable IWSF benefit many more students in India and worldwide with online education & knowledge, igniting minds and empowering lives.

Bridging Knowledge Gap: IWSF conducts online Knowledge Connectivity Programs for poor students; they listen, learn from and interact with bright minds in various disciplines from many countries. The feedback from many students indicates they cherish these unique opportunities that inspire & motivate them to explore their potential.

Bridging Learning Gap: Schools have been closed for over 12 months. Millions of poor students have had no education and no learning. This widening gap in education and learning will have serious long term impact hurting them over many decades. Free Tele-Education & Tele-Tutoring by Teachers and College Faculty with the donated digital devices for online learning will ensure these students catch up with the affluent peers and bridge the learning gap.

Promoting STEAM: IWSF encourages local Non-Profits to adopt local public schools and help students set up Kalam Space Clubs promoting STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture & Math) along with emerging & disruptive Nano-Info-Bio-Eco-Space Technologies, hands-on experiments in many fields at Kalam Innovation Hubs to foster curiosity, creativity, discovery, exploration, innovation and expand their skills and talents. IWSF encourages students in multilateral collaboration to design, develop & deploy Cube Satellites, conduct Micro-gravity Experiments, etc.

Empowering 3+ billion poor requires collaboration, coordination, input, effort and involvement of generous individuals, institutions, organizations & Governments. IWSF invites collaboration from several local, regional, national & international partners in every project. Active local partners, critical for the 'last mile delivery', have helped identify suitable beneficiaries, timely implementation, ongoing monitoring & periodic feedback. The non-local partners provide much needed guidance, funding, expertise, etc. Our success has depended on giving sustainable benefit to empower the poor.

IWSF collaborates with 80,000+ volunteers, 2,000+ non-profits, educational institutions, healthcare professionals, hospitals of all sizes, etc. in India, USA, Canada, Singapore, Kenya, Turkey, Mexico, etc. Our expanding network helps undertake major projects, tailoring them to available local resources & beneficiary needs.

2,000+ Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Jaycees, Chamber of Commerce and non-profits in India helped set up 2,460+ free Public Libraries distributing 615,704 donated books  dispatched from the USA. They helped donate 3,000+ small home libraries to poor families and 3,000+ portable solar lights to poor children to study after sunset & invite thousands of poor students to the free educational programs.

IWSF cherishes the incredible collaboration from so many that results in maximum impact benefiting millions of the less fortunate.