GMV's Incredible Story
GMV stands for Gramyanchal Mahila Vidyapeeth. In Hindi, that means "Rural Women's School." It's not a fancy name, but it says worlds.
In the rural area north of Varanasi, most families farm. They live in tiny villages with houses made of adobe or concrete.
27 years ago, there were no high schools for girls in this area.
Today, nearly 3,000 girls from kindergarten to Masters level attend GMV.
Because families can't afford high tuition, the GMV keeps its tuition much lower than other schools--much lower than the actual costs of the education.
Students who can't afford even that are given scholarships.
These students pass government school exams at the rate of 90 percent -- and often over 95%!
(The average passing rate in Uttar Pradesh is only 55-60%.)
Left: a family living in a village near the school. Below: a family harvesting mustard in the fields by the school.
A brief history of the school
Read the entire incredible story of the school's founding and development here.
The school started in 1990 with 110 girls from 6th through 11th grades. They were all from poor farming families who could not afford to send their daughters to school. So school supporters helped pay the tuition.
Students enjoyed excellent teachers, including many female teachers, adequate toilets (!) and desks -- none of which were very common at the time!
In 28 years the school grew from one building to six buildings, and to a student body ranging from kindergarten to graduate level, with science labs, computer labs, and lecture halls.
None of this would have been possible without donations of money, plus tremendous sacrifices of time and energy by visionary people who believe girls deserve an education.
We invite you to join this group of visionaries! The school needs your help to continue its mission. Please donate what you can.
The school's new computer lab is in great demand.
Give a girl a better life.
This school has always been about ordinary people helping ordinary young women. With GMV, even small donations make a huge difference. You can change a life. Please join us!