Leading the way, supporting girls education

National Indian Association is Ahmedabad city’s one of the oldest organisation, dedicated to the upliftment of women. It has been my honor to serve as a trustee of NIA. NIA’s holistic approach towards women’s upliftment, reinforces my belief towards creating a more equitable world. I am deeply inspired by the resilience, strength and collective effort of our team. Together, we are building a future where every woman can have an opportunity to thrive and I am honored to be part of this journey.

It is my privilege and pride to serve as one of the trustees of NIA- one of the oldest (more than 140 years) NGOs of Ahmedabad City. We strive for upliftment of underprivileged girls and women coming from diverse socio -economic backgrounds. Our supplementary education programs help young children learn to read and write. It encourages young girls to pursue higher education and achieve their goals. Our skill development programs aim to make young girls and women self reliant and self efficient by learning various skills like mehendi, tailoring, makeup artistry, etc. Our utmost efforts are to take forward the legacy of the likes of Smt Vinodiniben Nilkanth who dedicated their lives for the upliftment of women.

Vision: The National Indian Association will become an organisation that will be known for education and skill development for the underprivileged and marginalised communities in the years to come. Mission: To create an educated society for the betterment of our country. To create skill development for people who are facing difficulty in traditional education. Both the above would create financial independence and confidence in living a better life.

NIA was established in the closing years of the 19th century when society was conservative & male dominated. Women were expected to stay indoors, outdoor games were also the male domain, and they had to keep their heads covered if venturing out. Hence, an institution with tennis & badminton courts & other indoor games facilities specially for women only was truly path breaking over a hundred years back. Society has come a long way since then, but NIA continues to remain focused on women empowerment. NIA is convinced that proper formal education is the basis of self confidence and respect/dignity/standing in social circles. We also endeavour to provide livelihood skills of various types to enable them to earn during their idle time. NIA has no large corpus & has solely depended on donations from friends & well wishes for carrying out its objectives.