Lotus Petal Charitable Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 2011 to create equal opportunities for underprivileged children in India. The Foundation makes high-impact education, nutrition, and Livelihood interventions for the children and their community.
Kushal Raj Chakravorty is the Founder and Managing Trustee of Lotus Petal Foundation. His remarkable corporate career began with an engineering degree from BIT Mesra, Ranchi, and was further enhanced by an MBA from IIM Lucknow. He spent over a decade at IKEA, holding various global positions in the furniture, textile, and carpet divisions, travelling extensively across different continents.
During his professional tenure, Kushal witnessed the striking disparity between his own life and what he was seeing burdened him through the years. Therefore 2011, Kushal founded the Lotus Petal Foundation using his savings. His vision was to provide individuals and non-profit organizations with the means to promote their work, actively contributing financially and offering his insightful problem-solving skills. In addition, he realized his desire to develop educational models that would integrate children of different age groups into a formal skill-based education system. This led to the establishment of two schools that provided education, nutrition, healthcare, and skill development opportunities.
Graduates from Lotus Petal have gone on to work in the formal sector and pursue higher professional education. Today, Lotus Petal is a well-established educational institution with nearly 2000 children and a staff of over 200 changemakers.
Kushal Chakravorty has received several prestigious awards for his contributions to education and social impact. These include the Vishwakarma National Skill Excellence Award 2021 (National Silver) for Innovative Teaching Pedagogy in Higher Education in the Institution/Industry category. He was also honoured with the Mahatma Award 2021 under the Social Impact category for the judicious use of resources, expertise, and the significant impact of his organization's work. In addition, he received the Mahatma Gandhi Award at the NGO Expo during the United Nations General Assembly week in New York in 2018 and the 'Gurugrammers Achievers Award' in the same year. Kushal also serves on the Board of Directors of IIM Amritsar.
In 2016, Kushal left the corporate sector behind and fully dedicated himself to leading and managing Lotus Petal Foundation, embracing his life's calling and mission. By focusing on three aspects of Education, Nutrition & Livelihood, Lotus Petal Foundation's programs are designed to provide a holistic approach to education, emphasizing not just academics but the all-round development of the children's health & personality by giving early access to co-curricular activities like sports, theatre, dance and art, STEM labs & computer labs.
The Vidyananda School, Pratishthan Learning Center, and Lotus Petal Sr. Secondary School support the children with quality education. Additionally, the Vidya Sahyog program provides live, 2-way, interactive, E-learning classes and infrastructural support to partner schools in India.
Nutrition and health of the students are taken care of by providing wholesome & nutrient-rich meals twice a day in the schools. In contrast, under Livelihood, students are supported with skilling opportunities under the Jeevika Skill Development Program. When they graduate, these programs will enable students to become career-ready individuals who will be part of an active & skilled workforce.
For more information visit: https://www.lotuspetalfoundation.org/
