A Ray of Hope is living up to its name. Supported by 10 Rotary clubs across Ontario, Canada, the project continues to transform a community in India by educating mothers.
Led by Dr. Ruth Mathieson on behalf of the Rotary Club of Belleville, and funded through a $25,000 District 7070 Grant, this initiative builds directly on the success of Mothers Teach Others, a 2024 project involving many of the same Rotary clubs. That earlier effort, led by Shashi Bedi of the Rotary Club of Whitby and supported by a $12,000 District Grant, has blossomed in West Bengal, India, where mothers now run micro-schools for some of the region’s poorest children.
Through Mothers Teach Others, these women have learned to read, write, and create their own teaching materials. Each mother now teaches a group of five children – 125 in total – many of whom were previously at high risk of dropping out due to a lack of support at home. As their skills have grown, so has their confidence. Mothers now read aloud at home, encourage one another, and celebrate their children’s achievements, reshaping their neighbourhoods in the process.
A Ray of Hope extends this work in the same community of Raiganj, West Bengal. Both projects draw inspiration from the Amarok Society, founded 27 years ago by Canadian Christian missionaries Gem and Tanyss Munro. Their model began in the slums of Bangladesh, where 25 mothers were taught to read and write over five years. Each woman then taught five children at home. Many of those children have gone on to secondary school, breaking cycles of generational poverty.
With the support of this new District Grant, the Mothers Teach Others program will continue, and a second Amarok school will open in the same region, complementing the long-running school in Bangladesh. The impact of these efforts reaches far beyond literacy. Educated mothers in Bangladesh have already advocated successfully for sewing machines, a bridge, and fresh-water access, all tangible improvements born from confidence and leadership sparked by education.