Founder and Trustee of Pratham, an NGO established in 1994 in the slums of Mumbai – Farida Lambay is a crusader for education and has been instrumental in policy changes both in education and issues pertaining to child labour.
Pratham reaches out to millions of school children who are poor and marginalised. Pratham’s flagship program, Read India, has changed the way we teach and what we teach. It helps children between the age group of 6 and 14 years improve reading, writing and basic arithmetic skills. With the help of 4.5 lakh volunteers, it has been able to engage with a staggering over 7.7 million children and youth across 21 states and Union Territories, which is nearly half of India’s villages. It is also responsible for rescuing 45 thousand children from child labour.
Farida Lambay has 25 years of experience as an educationist and social activist. She co-founded Pratham in 1994 with Dr Madhav Chavan and is responsible for the direct programs in Mumbai and Gujarat, as well as the Pratham Council for Vulnerable Children across India.
As a former Vice Principal of College of Social Work – Nirmala Niketan, which is one of the premier college of social work in India, she reached out to different vulnerable groups and started initiatives which are now established organisations. To name a few, Prerna: A project started for commercial workers and their children and working for the rights of sex workers in Kamathipura, Mumbai; Yuva: A project for youth; Social Service cell: Counselling and social service training in schools.
She also served as a committee Member for Sachar committee and studied the Status of Muslims, especially in Education.
She has also contributed to the Pre-school education for ICDS programme and has carried out training for ICDS workers and community volunteers.
Farida Lambay’s Achievements
2013: Recipient of the Sahyadri Navratna Award for her outstanding contribution to the field of social work and education of the underprivileged children
2015: Recipient of HT award as a Change Maker for Mumbai
