About Us: Background
Indian American Education Foundation was created (May 2000) out of our belief that education, along with economic power, is the most viable means to promote a world of peace, prosperity, and harmony.
While many organizations are supporting education of children from underprivileged families in India, a large section of the disadvantaged remains neglected: children with disabilities. Although the government of India provides free basic education to all children, an estimated 90 percent of India's children aged 4 - 16 years with physical and mental disabilities (approximately 35 million; there are an additional 5 million mentally challenged children) are out of school. Many become parasites or beggars – not by choice but because callous school managements and over-anxious parents of able-bodied children discourage them from entering the nation's state-run schools.
Most charitable institutions for the disabled often lack educational resources and teachers trained to address their special needs. Poverty – children with disabilities generally come from destitute families – keeps most parents unable to access these institutions. To help alleviate the staggering national burden resulting from depriving millions of disabled children of their basic right of education, IAEF partners with non-profit organizations in India and abroad to meet these challenges.
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