Literacy Lantern is a non-profit organization based in North Carolina, USA that aims to assist low-income students in Tamil Nadu, India financially. We host fundraising events that spread awareness of our organization and help us take more steps toward reaching our goals.
As the great South Indian Poet Bharathi said, "The greatest deed you can offer is educating the poor" ("ஆங்கோர் ஏழைக்கு எழுத்தறிவித்தல்").
Our mission is to financially assist as many students as possible, empower them with education, and break the poverty cycle. In many parts of India, quality education requires money, which is something a large percentage of families cannot afford without being able to sustain their families. According to GOV.UK, 12.67% of young children and 7.95% of older children live below the absolute poverty line, which is Rs. 1622 per month in rural areas and Rs. 1929 per month in urban areas (Forbes India). These alarming numbers show the need for change, hence the driving factor of our mission.
The graph on the left demonstrates how the poverty cycle continues. This cycle is most effectively broken at the education stage because the ability to receive quality education leads to better jobs and opportunities and an overall better quality of life. Education is also the easiest stage of the cycle to break since it requires nothing more than some money, a good educational institution, and a curious mind.