It began with a question. It became a movement.

CherYsh creates pathways for rural girls and women to dream, learn, and lead.

What if a girl in rural Karnataka had the same chance to dream as a girl in Bangalore?
That question, asked in 2011, didn’t just spark an idea — it sparked a movement.

CherYsh is a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to empowering girls and women in rural India. These often-overlooked regions are at the heart of our mission to expand access to education, skills, and sustainable livelihoods.

We work closely with local women, educators, and community leaders to ensure every initiative reflects local needs and creates lasting impact. From digital learning labs to livelihood collectives, each program opens doors for rural girls and women to pursue their aspirations with dignity and independence.

Across 100+ villages, girls who once hesitated to dream now step forward with confidence. Women who once doubted their abilities now lead with purpose. Together, they are shaping stronger, more resilient communities — one empowered life at a time.

Vision

We imagine transforming rural children and women’s lives with modern digital learning towards achieving contemporary livelihoods

Mission

We work to nurture the holistic development of rural children and women into economic self-sufficiency through education, equipping and empowerment

Values

These inspire us — Integrity in action, Inclusivity in opportunity, and the spirit of being proudly Indian.

CherYsh: A Legacy of Learning and Leadership

From learning to livelihood. CherYsh transforms the lives of rural Indian women and girls through a seamless path to economic independence. We Educate to build knowledge, Equip for capability, and Empower for life. We aren’t just creating opportunities; we’re creating pathways to self-reliance.

At CherYsh, we believe that education is the bedrock of empowerment. Our mission is to bridge the digital and economic divide in rural India by transforming villages into hubs of innovation and self-reliance.

Our Strategic Pillars of Change

20,000 children. 100+ villages. One digital future.

CherYsh Shiksha is revolutionizing rural education by bringing holistic learning opportunities to rural children via our network of After-School Learning programs , which turn village spaces into high-tech learning centers. These centers act as safe, nurturing village spaces where children—guided by trained village women—grow academically, socially, and emotionally and have a front-row seat to the technology driven world.

Through an innovative, English Science Math program , and STEM-focused curriculum, we empower rural youth with the critical thinking skills required to navigate an advanced future.

Our top active programs:

Empowering the Architects of Change
The heart of our impact lies in our educators. We don’t just provide jobs; we cultivate leaders. We equip local women with professional grounding to serve as educators, leaders, and catalysts for change in their communities. This is done through knowledge and technical expertise over 40 intensive training sessions annually.

This creates a powerful, virtuous cycle: as these women gain the professional confidence and regular income they deserve, they become the high-impact mentors our children need. In Haliyal alone, 500+ women have transformed their lives, strengthening not only their own futures but the futures of the children and villages they serve.

Empowerment through Skilling
Building resilience. Breaking barriers. We empower rural communities by turning skills into sustainable income. Through targeted development and resource access, we provide the ultimate tool for change: self-reliance. At CherYsh, we don’t just bridge gaps; we build the platforms from which women and girls can reach their highest potential and claim their economic independence.

Empowerment through Entrepreneurship
Economic empowerment is central to our mission. We identify and nurture the unique talents of rural women, providing them with the resources, partnerships, and mentorship needed to build sustainable livelihoods. From individual entrepreneurial ventures to collective initiatives such as Project Belan, the Spoorthi Community Kitchen, and vermicompost production, we help women transform their skills into viable income-generating opportunities.

This work not only strengthens their financial independence but also uplifts their families and energizes local economies. Today, hundreds of women in Haliyal are thriving as entrepreneurs—confident leaders and valued contributors to their communities.

Our top active programs:

CherYsh Journey So Far

CherYsh is committed to expanding its proven digital education and empowerment programs across Karnataka and into neighboring states. By strengthening community-led models, leveraging technology, and deepening partnerships, we aim to bring transformative learning and economic opportunities to many more rural children and women—creating a wider, more resilient ecosystem of empowerment.

Phase 1

A Legacy of Impact: Fifteen Years of Empowering the Rural Girl Child

Since 2011, CherYsh has been on a relentless mission to dismantle the barriers facing rural girls. What began as a local initiative has evolved into a regional movement, consistently proving that when you educate a girl, you change the trajectory of an entire community.

The Shiksha Network: Scale at the Grassroots

Our footprint is a testament to our commitment. CherYsh has established 100+ Shiksha Centers across 50+ villages in Haliyal, Ponda, Channapatna, and Mangalore. More than 20,000 students have enrolled in these centers, gaining access to safe, supportive learning environments that nurture academic growth and personal confidence

STEM Labs: Coding the Future

We believe technology is the ultimate equalizer. Through STEM Labs (our evolved eShiksha initiative), we are bridging the digital divide in Haliyal by providing technology-driven learning opportunities. Children are trained in computing, coding, and problem‑solving, equipping them with essential digital skills for a rapidly evolving world.

English Shiksha: Finding a Global Voice

These centers strengthen English proficiency among children aged 5 to 14, with a strong focus on building self-confidence and effective communication skills. Through activity-based learning, students develop the language foundation needed to thrive academically and socially.

Phase 2

Beyond the Classroom: A Decade of Economic Agency

CherYsh has consistently invested in building the skills, confidence, and economic independence of rural women. Through diverse livelihood and capacity‑building initiatives, we have enabled women to step into roles as caregivers, educators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.

The Workforce of Tomorrow: Professional Skilling

We helped the rural workforce by aligning talent with market demand:

Healthcare Focus: In Ponda, Goa, we pioneered Nursing Certification programs, equipping women with specialized skills in elderly care to meet a growing social need.
The Learning Facilitator Program: We have turned the "teacher" role into a technical profession. Through our ICT training, women master English, Mathematics, and digital coding, becoming the high-tech mentors their villages need.
Vocational Scale: To date, over 1,000 women have undergone intensive training, directly elevating their household livelihoods.

Entrepreneurial Innovation: Turning Skills into Industry

We help women own the "means of production" through diverse, revenue-generating ventures:

Agricultural Tech: We have transformed traditional farming into business ventures, establishing sugarcane nurseries and large-scale vermicompost production facilities.
Community Kitchens & Retail: Through the monetization of food products and shawls and quilt making, these initiatives help convert local talent into sustainable income streams.

Financial Inclusion & Systems Change

Real power comes from financial literacy and institutional access.

The Multiplier Effect: By providing access to financial schemes and literacy training, our entrepreneurship programs have indirectly benefitted over 25,000 individuals across rural India.
A Self-Sustaining Model: Our focus is on livelihood resilience, ensuring that every woman we train has the mentorship and resources to sustain her income for a lifetime.

Phase 3

2011–2015: Regional Partnerships and Early Impact

Before scaling to our current heights, CherYsh spent five years perfecting the art of the Strategic Partnership. By collaborating with specialized local trusts and foundations, we turned regional challenges into success stories of vocational and academic excellence.

Strategic Alliances & Impact Zones

Bangalore (Yeshwanthpur) | In partnership with the Hope Foundation, we addressed the unique challenges of rural-to-urban migration. We established a vocational institute that equipped rural immigrants with high-demand skills in retail, tailoring, and computer literacy, turning job seekers into skilled professionals.
Chennapatna | Elevating Primary Education Collaborating with the Dr. Mariyappa Trust, we focused on the roots of learning. By strengthening the core competencies of English and Mathematics in primary schools, we ensured that children in the surrounding villages had the academic foundation to compete and thrive.
Mangalore & Udipi | The Entrepreneurial Hub Through our partnership with Samanvaya Trust, we ignited a movement of rural self-reliance. Our programs in professional dressmaking and embroidery didn't just teach a craft; they launched sustainable women-led micro-enterprises across the district.
Ponda, Goa | Pioneering Healthcare Excellence In a landmark collaboration with the Sanjeevan Foundation and Goa College of Home Science, we launched the CherYsh Institute of Women Empowerment (CIWE). This initiative provided rural girls with a specialized one-year elderly nursing certification, filling a critical gap in the healthcare sector.
Hubli-Haliyal | The Center of Excellence (CoE) During this era, Hubli-Haliyal emerged as our flagship innovation site. It became the "Beta Site" for every new CherYsh initiative—the laboratory where we tested, refined, and perfected the educational and livelihood models that we now scale across India.

The Road Ahead: Scaling Impact, Defining Excellence

Over the next three years, CherYsh is transitioning from a regional success to a systemic force for change across South India.

Digital-First : We aim to set the standard in rural education by embedding STEM and digital fluency into the DNA of every program, ensuring our students and entrepreneurs are future-ready.

Institutional Trust: Establishing CherYsh as the most sought-after development partner for corporates and the public sector alike, we aim to become the primary collaborator for rural development in Karnataka
The “Centers of Excellence” Model: We are moving beyond classrooms to create CoEs—specialized hubs of innovation built with global technical partners to pioneer scalable, high-impact solutions.
Territorial Expansion: Our goal is a self-sustaining ecosystem—one that possesses the robust governance and scalable models necessary to replicate our impact and Haliyal success stories to uplift every underserved region in our path.

Collaborative Partnerships

We recognize that meaningful, lasting change is driven by collective action. CherYsh India partners with visionaries across government, academia, and the private sector to bridge the gap between rural potential and global opportunity, to bring together diverse expertise, resources, and networks by leveraging our shared strengths, we maximize our impact and ensure that every initiative is built for scale, sustainability, and long-term community transformation.

Volunteer with Us to Drive Lasting Change

We are ready to scale our initiatives to create a powerful, sustainable learning ecosystem—one village at a time.

Our Partners In Transformation

We don’t work alone. Every partnership is a collaboration between belief and action.

Gautham is a management professional with experience across the corporate & development sectors, bringing a strategic & data-driven perspective to organizational growth & governance. He has expertise in strategy formulation, program effectiveness & evidence-based decision-making across Education, Natural Resource Management & Entrepreneurship.

He currently serves as Head – Strategy & Program Analysis at the Deshpande Foundation, Hubballi, strengthening program design, performance measurement & impact strategy. Earlier, he worked as a Project Lead at L&T Technology Services, Bengaluru, leading engineering initiatives for industrial product development.

He holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore & a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Karnataka.