bhavishriyo

[bhavishriyo]

Varun Hiremath - Founder & CEO, Hiremath Family Foundation

Varun Hiremath is a highly ambitious social entrepreneur and business leader focused on bringing sustainable and permanent transformation in rural India. Varun Hiremath is the Founder and CEO of the Hiremath Family Foundation, where he has developed an innovative model of serving the needs of underserved populations with the help of grassroots programs focusing on dignity, opportunity, and multi-generational change.

Besides his philanthropic activity, Varun Hiremath is also the CEO of Fair Deal Advisors, the place where he combines business knowledge with extraordinary attention to human needs. This two-pronged approach has enabled him to use his experience in the corporate world to develop socially beneficial projects based on community participation and local ownership.

The development that Varun Hiremath envisions is integrated. He realizes that education, healthcare, livelihood and the environment are very closely related. He believes that lasting transformation occurs when communities become active participants in the solutions rather than mere beneficiaries of aid. The Foundation, under his leadership, has also implemented effective programs that include rural e-learning centers, vocational training programs, and health camps, which are scalable and sustainable.

Varun Hiremath is a firm believer in dignity and his leadership ideology lies in co-creating change with the communities he serves as opposed to mere charity. The way he does it is not merely a problem-solving technique but a way of giving hope back and providing people with instruments that will enable them to live independently and with pride.

Other than what his Foundation does, Varun Hiremath is extremely keen and engrossed in mobilizing local partners, stakeholders and volunteers to make his vision of equitable and empowered rural India come true at the ground level.

Work of Varun Hiremath - Empowering Rural India

The transformative efforts of Varun Hiremath and the Hiremath Family Foundation have turned into a ray of hope to the underserved rural populations in India. His dedication to addressing key concerns in education, health, gender equality and environmental conservation has ignited positive transformation, restoring dignity and hope to those who lack it the most.

Health and Hygiene Mission

The community hygiene program of the Foundation is a very personal initiative of Varun Hiremath, and it is based on the pressing necessity to raise the health and hygiene standards in the villages. The program will alleviate preventable illnesses by distributing sanitary kits and conducting health workshops to ensure that people, especially children, stay healthy. Education starts with health as explained by Varun Hiremath. “Well-hygienised children are able to succeed in their academic, social and emotional lives.”

Women Empowerment & Livelihood

Varun Hiremath is of the opinion that rural women should be empowered as a way of ending the chain of poverty. It is during his time that the Foundation opened a vocational training center where it provides training on tailoring, digital skills, and small business management. Such programs do not only empower women with great skills, but also give them confidence to earn money and be in control of their destinies. Varun Hiremath adds, “When we empower women, we empower families and by that, we change communities.”

Youth Engagement & Waste Management

Varun Hiremath is also a supporter of the youth-initiated environmental movements and has started the program called “Green Change” where school students are educated on waste management. This program motivates students to establish compost pits and recycling systems at their villages, making them take their villages towards a zero-waste future. Varun Hiremath highlights, “The youth can build the future they want to dwell in as young minds have power.”

Digital Literacy Education

Among the most effective initiatives undertaken by Varun Hiremath is the program called Digital Dreams that is focused on providing 1,000 rural students with computer literacy skills. The program aims at closing the digital divide by making technology accessible in places where it was originally inaccessible. In the words of Varun Hiremath, “We need to make children digitally ready, today, to make them ready for the future.”

Children Emotional Well-being

Varun Hiremath understands that happiness is equally crucial as good performance in school. His Mind Matters program liaises with child psychologists to offer self-esteem, emotional fortitude and psychological strength workshops. Varun Hiremath says, “Mentally tough children can take on the world. It is vital to support the mental health of the rural students.”

First-Generation Learner Scholarships

Varun Hiremath has a scholarship program called “Udaan” which aims at identifying the best performing students, who happen to be the first in their families to attend school. The scheme provides financial assistance to higher education so that students, such as the daughter of a farmer in an interior village, can achieve their ambitions of becoming doctors. This is why Varun Hiremath says, “We do not want our dreams to be halted due to money. Udaan is our commitment to all those children who have the ambition to fly high.”

Rural Mothers Digital Sakhi

However, realizing the power of digital literacy in changing the lives of whole households, Varun Hiremath started the initiative of imparting basic technology skills to the mothers, named Digital Sakhi. The program empowers women by giving them the means to take control of their families by educating them on how to manage their children, health as well as household finances to achieve a better future. Varun Hiremath explains, “The digitally empowered mother is a benefit to the entire family.”

Purposeful Giving

Varun Hiremath is determined to leave a long-term impact, which does not limit itself to financial donations. His birthday is now an yearly occasion, the Celebrate with Varun, during which he gives out school kits, food packets and cultural programs to the rural children. Varun Hiremath is convinced that, “There is no better gift I can accept other than seeing these kids smiling, learning and celebrating with dignity.”

The piece of work by Varun Hiremath is an illustration of the strength of empathy coupled with action. Not only is he providing short term relief but also long term sustainable transformation to allow the vulnerable communities in rural India the dignity and the opportunity they need to prosper.