Project RISHI @ UCLA
Our Projects
Project RISHI at UCLA is committed to creating lasting change through our diverse campaigns and programs. While we maintain a clear mission, we employ a broad range of strategies to address critical issues within the South Asian community, including water sanitation, healthcare, and women's and community empowerment.
Learn more about our initiatives and get involved yourself.
Education & Community Empowerment
About Our Team
The Education and Community Empowerment (ECE) committee is dedicated to helping individuals and families build greater control over their lives by expanding access to quality education, skill development, and economic opportunities.
Past Projects
The Education and Community Empowerment team at Project RISHI UCLA has led several transformative initiatives that prioritize dialogue, learning, and long-term community engagement in both Vadamanapakkam and Attrambakkam. In Vadamanapakkam, they worked alongside the WASH team to design and deliver an engaging puppet show for primary school students, using storytelling to promote proper handwashing and hygiene practices. With help from Myrtle Social Network, the show was translated into Tamil and voiced in an accessible, animated style that resonated with local students. The team’s interactive approach sparked thoughtful conversation, laughter, and curiosity among children, highlighting the effectiveness of culturally grounded education. Beyond hygiene, the team also played a central role in developing a mobile community space for 14 tribal Irula villages in Attrambakkam. While the infrastructure was handled in partnership with Myrtle Social Welfare Network, the Community Empowerment team envisioned the space as a site for skill-building workshops, youth programs, and health education, all of which reflect the team’s commitment to people-centered change. By focusing on educational storytelling and long-term capacity building, the team continues to shape community-led development in rural Tamil Nadu through culturally relevant, inclusive programming.
Ongoing Projects
The Education and Community Empowerment (ECE) team is looking ahead to a wide range of new directions that center youth leadership, collaborative intervention, and creative expression. One major focus is on intervention planning around issues like civic engagement, child marriage, school dropouts, emotional well-being, and access to higher education. These efforts will include “training the trainers,” creating modules, mentorship programs for students, and leading focus groups with self-help groups (SHGs). The team is also looking to relaunch its Photovoice Empowerment initiative (an arts-based program where students use photography to reflect on and advocate for health and growth in their community). As the original Photovoice participants begin to graduate, the team hopes to guide new cohorts using the 2023 curriculum, while exploring complementary programs like Youth Leadership. Additionally, the team aims to implement the TNF ABC Project Initiation, a program structured around an ‘ABC’ model that strives to allow students to reach grade proficiency, boost morale with soft skills training focused on time management and decision-making, and involves exposure visits for 11th and 12th-grade students to local colleges across various fields including arts, engineering, law, medicine, and polytechnic.