WHAT IS KRIYā?

We’re a group of students and teachers brought together through our school, Mahindra United World College of India, a member of the renowned UWC movement whose mission statement is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”. Through our college we’ve had the opportunity, support and funding to start a student led initiative named Kriyā, to support marginalized women in communities on the perimeter of our home.

Women in India don’t have the same opportunities that men has and although multiple efforts have gone into leveling the playing field in terms of monetary freedom, job opportunities and educational rights, women still lose the right to exercise and physical expression when they reach marital age (18 years old by law, but there’s a significant issue of child marriage in the local communities). Therefore Kriyā invites local women and children to come to our campus once or twice a week to learn about physical wellbeing and exercise. We do running, cycling, weight training and, most importantly, swimming, many girls never have the rights to learn swimming.​

The program culminates each year in a month-long expedition the Himalayas. In the past three years, we were able to take ten young women to a three week Himalayan expedition. These girls went from having never done physical exercise before, to being expedition ready in under a year. This trip took the girls further from home than not only they, but anyone in their family (including the men), had been before. The climb is over 6,000 meters and the girls return with renewed self- confidence and determination.