Milaan Foundation

Milaan Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 2007 by Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Sharat Goswami, and two friends from Delhi University. Headquartered in Gurugram, India, the foundation advocates for secondary education and adolescent girls' health, with a focus on preventing child marriage and gender-based violence among low socio-economic communities. Its name derives from 'Milaan' (meaning union) and the Urdu word 'Elaan' (meaning announcement). The organization is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. Milaan's flagship initiative, the Swarna School, was started in 2007 in a remote village called Kanthan in Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh. It provides secondary education to first-generation learners, with a special focus on adolescent girls, and currently educates 500 children up to grade 12. In 2015, the foundation launched its flagship Girl Icon Program, a girl-led initiative for Indian girls aged 12 to 18 that encourages them to speak out and raise awareness on gender-based issues. Participants are called Girl Icons. By 2020, the program had implemented 953 social action projects and impacted over 10,000 adolescent girls, with 375 becoming Girl Icons. In 2021, all Girl Icons continued their secondary education and 80% pursued higher education. As a result, 95% of girls delayed early marriage, and Girl Icons prevented over 50 child marriages by 2020. The foundation's flagship program works from the bottom up by activating girl leaders as change agents in their own communities. It begins with leadership and development training, and fellows complete social action projects in their communities. Milaan Foundation has also been funded by the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, a program of the Barack Obama Foundation led by Michelle Obama.

Milaan Foundation was founded in 2007 by Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Sharat Goswami, and two friends from Delhi University. The name 'Milaan' is derived from two words: 'Milaan', meaning union, and the Urdu word 'Elaan', meaning announcement. It is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Gurugram, India. The foundation advocates for secondary education and adolescent girls' health, and focuses on preventing child marriage and gender-based violence among low socio-economic communities in India. It also works to raise awareness about menstrual health and hygiene among women in India. In 2007, Milaan started its Swarna School in a remote village called Kanthan in Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh. The school provides secondary education to first-generation learners, with a focus on adolescent girls, and currently educates 500 children up to grade 12. In 2015, the organization launched its flagship Girl Icon Program, a girl-led program for Indian girls aged 12 to 18 that encourages them to speak out and spread awareness about gender-based issues. The girls are called Girl Icons. By 2020, the program had implemented 953 social action projects and impacted over 10,000 adolescent girls, of whom 375 became Girl Icons. In 2021, all Girl Icons continued their secondary education and 80% pursued higher education. As a result, 95% of girls delayed early marriage. Girl Icons had prevented over 50 child marriages by 2020. The foundation's flagship program works from the bottom up by activating girl leaders as change agents in their own communities. The program begins with leadership and development training, and fellows complete social action projects in their communities. Milaan Foundation has also been funded by the Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund, a program of the Barack Obama Foundation led by Michelle Obama.

• 2021

  All Girl Icons continued their secondary education and 80% pursued higher education.

• 2020

  By 2020, the Girl Icon Program had implemented 953 social action projects and impacted over 10,000 adolescent girls, with 375 becoming Girl Icons.

• 2020

  Girl Icons had prevented over 50 child marriages by 2020.

• 2015

  Girl Icon Program launched as the foundation's flagship initiative.

• 2007

  Milaan Foundation founded by Dhirendra Pratap Singh, Sharat Goswami, and two friends from Delhi University.

• 2007

  Swarna School started in Kanthan village, Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh.

Nonprofit organization empowering adolescent girls in India through education, health, and leadership.

1. 1Milaan Foundation official websitemilaanfoundation.org
2. 2Milaan Foundation - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3ਮਿਲਾਨ ਸੰਸਥਾ - Wikipediapa.wikipedia.org