NEW DELHI: To provide education and skill training to underprivileged youth, the Delhi Skill and Entrepreurship University (DESU) entered into an agreement with Pune based non-profit Lighthouse Communities Foundation to set up Lighthouses near slum clusters of the national capital. The first four Lighthouses in Delhi will be set up in Kalkaji, Malkaganj, Matia Mahal and Patparganj.
The 'Lighthouse: Centre for Skilling and Livelihood' is a sustainable livelihood program for urban disadvantaged youth. It has successfully placed/ facilitated self-employment for 5500 youth from Pune's disadvantaged communities, since the inception of the very first Lighthouse in June 2016.
The Lighthouse fosters agency, workplace competencies and skills in youth, thus enabling social and economic transformation for themselves and in their communities. Professor Neharika Vohra, Vice Chancellor, DSEU said, "While education and skilling are expected to lead to individual and community transformation historically it has led to mainly individual transformation."
"We wish that at DSEU we are able to also make education a means for community growth and change. The vision of DSEU is to intertwine the transformation of the individual and the community. We feel we can take the University closer to the communities through the Lighthouse project," he added.
"The team at Lighthouse Communities is truly excited about this partnership. It has the potential to redefine development of fully productive communities in all Indian cities and is a significant step in our mission to transform a million lives," said Dr Ganesh Natarajan, chairman of the Lighthouse Communities Foundation.