The Reham Foundation is a philanthropic,not for profit, non-religious organization that focuses its efforts to bringing quality formative education to the underprivileged. Based in Lucknow, India, the Reham Foundation aims to champion dignity and choice for the less fortunate by direct intervention.
While the foundation was officially established in 2015, the vision for unrestricted access to quality education was first conceptualized in early 80s by Mr. Maqbul Elahi. In 1985, he founded the Sir Syed School at Manglaur, Haridwar; funding it entirely out of his own pocket. Since then, every descendant of the Elahi family has made it his/her personal responsibility that Sir Syed School continues to be the beacon of dignity, hope and opportunity for the hundreds of children that pass through its corridors every academic year.
Reham Foundation endeavors to provide sustainable funding for the primary, secondary and technical education of youth that face societal obstacles and have limited or no access to basic education. Since its inception, Reham Foundation has been striving to deliver basic education to the less fortunate through strategic thinking. The Foundation currently supports the operation of a junior high school located in rural Manglaur town, District Haridwar in the state of Uttarakhand. By operating a cost-conscious school and eliminating other barriers to basic education, the Foundation has developed a program that allows it to bring meaningful change to the lives of underprivileged children. The Foundation aims to make a difference in the lives its students, which is a key to future social and economic advancements. The school has a current enrollment of 400 students and 14 full time staff members.
In the early 80s, the patriarch of the Elahi family, Mr. Maqbul Elahi was very concerned with the rampant illiteracy plaguing the country. Being heavily influenced by the progressive thoughts of pre-independence legendary Indian reformist Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Mr. Elahi decided take matters in his own hands.
In 1985, he founded the Sir Syed School at Manglour in Haridwar district with the objective to provide basic education to the financially underprivileged. The initial operations commenced in the family mansion which was selflessly dedicated to the cause. For 29 years, till 2014, the Sir Syed School continued to impart education from the same building. The school which was funded entirely by Mr. Elahi from his own pocket had 1,200 students enrolled at one point in time. In 2014, keeping in view the ageing building structure and taking into account the health and safety of the staff and students, not to mention the tremendous expense of its upkeep which continued to be privately funded by the Elahi family, a decision was taken to move the school to a new but modest building in the vicinity. This movement led to a significant drop in students as the new school building could not accommodate more than 400 at a given point in time.
This prompted the trustees who until 2014, had managed the upkeep of the school premises of the Sir Syed School with personal funds to consider formal registration of the Foundation. In 2015, the Reham Foundation formally came into existence.Motivated by cause and fueled with the clarity to provide the best for their students, both in scale and quality, the trustees are now working tirelessly to bring in fresh partners and collaborators.
Reham Foundation was founded with the firm resolve to take action against societal inequalities that limit and, in some instances, prevents access to primary and formative education. Since inception, the school has helped over 2,000 children with basic education up to the Junior High levels (Grade 8).
