When Pooja Singh first began working in Kotra, a remote tribal region in Rajasthan, she encountered schools that were frequently closed, villages with limited access to healthcare and infrastructure, and students who saw little meaning or joy in education. Rather than viewing these challenges as barriers, she saw them as a call to rethink what quality education should look like. Today, as the co-founder of Kshamtalaya Foundation and Director of Hausla Circle, Pooja is working to strengthen education systems by placing well-being, self-awareness, and local leadership at the centre of learning.
Finding Purpose Beyond Conventional Expectations
Born in 1991, Pooja credits her grandmother for shaping her early interest in social impact. Growing up, she often heard stories about the importance of serving people and contributing to society. Like many students, she faced expectations to pursue conventional professional careers such as medicine or engineering. At the same time, she struggled with mathematics and found herself searching for a path better aligned with her interests.
She eventually chose to study Mass Communication and Video Production at Karim City College in Jamshedpur. While this decision differed from traditional expectations, it opened the door to experiences that would later define her career.
Her journey into the development sector began in 2013 when she was selected for the Gandhi Fellowship through campus placements at Jamia Millia Islamia. The fellowship exposed her to the realities of India’s education system and sparked deeper questions about what schools were truly preparing children for.
Reflecting on those early experiences, Pooja realised that education often focused heavily on academic outcomes while overlooking self-awareness and the discovery of one’s creative potential.
Pooja’s approach to education has also been shaped by her participation in the Dalai Lama Fellowship (DLF), a one-year global leadership programme jointly stewarded by the University of Virginia’s Contemplative Sciences Centerand the University of Colorado Boulder’s Renée Crown Wellness Institute. The fellowship supports emerging changemakers in developing leadership practices rooted in awareness, compassion, and integrity through contemplative learning, coaching, and community engagement.
For Pooja, this experience further strengthened her belief that self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and meaningful human connection are essential to creating lasting change in education and community systems.
Discovering the Importance of Well-Being
While working in Gujarat during the Gandhi Fellowship, Pooja began exploring ways to make learning more meaningful. A workshop at TISS introduced her to Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), a field that connected emotional expression, movement, and learning.
The experience had a lasting impact on her. She later completed a certificate course with the Creative Movement Therapy Association of India and began integrating ideas of emotional well-being and self-awareness into her understanding of education.
For Pooja, education was not only about acquiring knowledge but also about supporting children understand themselves, build confidence, and develop meaningful relationships with others.
Choosing Kotra Over Comfort
Before starting Kshamtalaya, Pooja worked at the Riverside School in Ahmedabad, an institution known for its emphasis on design thinking and innovation. While she appreciated the work, she increasingly felt a disconnect between her personal aspirations and the environment she was serving.
She found herself drawn towards communities with fewer resources and fewer opportunities.
That search eventually brought her to Kotra in Rajasthan, where she met Vivek, a former Gandhi Fellow who had returned from Africa. Together, they founded Kshamtalaya in 2016.
The decision was intentional. They chose to work in geographies with limited accessibility remote areas where the accountability and visibility of basic functioning was low.
The realities they encountered reinforced the need for a different approach. Schools were often non-functional, infrastructure gaps were widespread, and many students struggled to see the relevance of education in their daily lives.
Building Change Through Local Leadership
One of the key lessons Pooja learned was that lasting change cannot depend solely on external organisations.
In conversation with The Logical Indian, she emphasised that interventions led by outsiders are temporary unless local communities themselves become custodians of educational quality.
This belief led Kshamtalaya to launch the “I Discover” Fellowship, a programme focused on identifying and training local youth from regions such as Kotra, Gogunda in Rajasthan and Samastipur in Bihar.
The fellowship provides intensive exposure to pedagogy and education theory while preparing participants to become leaders within their own communities. Many fellows have gone on to secure positions as government teachers, creating a sustainable model of local ownership and educational leadership.
For Pooja, empowering community members is essential to ensuring that improvements continue long after a programme concludes.
Understanding the Challenges Within the System
Over the years, Pooja has gained a close understanding of the structural barriers that affect educational outcomes.
One challenge is the frequent transfer of teachers. Capacity-building efforts often focus on strengthening classroom practices, but repeated transfers can disrupt continuity and reduce long-term impact.
She also points to what she calls a transition gap. While many organisations focus on early grades, there is often insufficient support throughout a child’s educational journey. As a result, students may receive assistance at one stage but lack guidance and mentorship needed to navigate higher education and career opportunities later on.
However, the concern that stands out most for her is the growing absence of meaningful human connection in education.
While speaking to The Logical Indian, Pooja noted that a lack of genuine connection contributes to both teacher burnout and student distress. She believes that relationships, empathy, and emotional well-being are not peripheral concerns but central elements of effective education.
Working With Government Systems
Alongside community-based programmes, Kshamtalaya has increasingly focused on influencing education systems at scale.
The organisation has partnered with government institutions, including SCERT Rajasthan, on initiatives such as “Housla Circle,” a mental well-being programme designed for teachers.
The foundation has also contributed to the development of the State Curriculum Framework under the National Education Policy 2020. Through this engagement, the team advocated for greater emphasis on mental health, well-being, and guidance within the curriculum.
These collaborations reflect Pooja’s belief that meaningful change requires both grassroots action and systemic reform.
Navigating Leadership as a Woman Entrepreneur
Pooja also reflects openly on the realities of being a woman in leadership.
She describes society as often being “pseudo-supportive,” where encouragement exists on the surface but biases continue to shape perceptions and opportunities.
Throughout her journey, she has encountered situations where government officials assessed her credibility based on her age, appearance, or the language she spoke rather than her expertise or experience.
Her career choices have also been questioned by relatives who struggled to understand why she chose a comparatively low-paying role in the social sector instead of pursuing more financially rewarding options.
While there are spaces where you judged on the your age, experience or appearances, there also spaces like Dalai Lama fellowship that nurtures you, a space where you learn the skills and practices to keep doing the difficult work, a space where you learn to bring contemplative practices in your leadership. All social entrepreneurs whether women or not must immerse themselves in self work and purification while doing the important external work as founders or directors.
This is very important both for burnout side of keep doing the good work and from the judgement and ego side that saves you from Messiah syndrome
She remains deeply motivated by the human impact of her work. Moments when a teacher or a child says they finally feel seen, heard, or understood continue to reinforce her commitment to the sector.
Looking Ahead
Pooja’s vision for the coming years is rooted in scale and sustainability. She hopes to demonstrate that high-quality programmes focused on well-being and education can be successfully implemented across government systems in Rajasthan.
At the heart of that vision is a simple but ambitious goal: ensuring that teachers and children have access to practical tools that help them understand and manage their emotional well-being.
For Pooja Singh, improving education is not only about classrooms, curricula, or academic performance. It is about creating environments where people feel connected, valued, and capable of realising their potential. Through Kshamtalaya Foundation, she continues to work towards an education system that recognises both learning and well-being as essential parts of human development.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Pooja Singh’s journey highlights that improving education outcomes requires looking beyond infrastructure, enrolment, and academic performance alone. Her work through Kshamtalaya Foundation draws attention to often-overlooked aspects of learning, including emotional well-being, self-awareness, meaningful teacher-student relationships, and community ownership.
By training local youth to become educators and leaders within their own regions, Kshamtalaya has sought to build solutions that are rooted in the realities of the communities they serve rather than relying solely on external interventions.
Her experience also sheds light on systemic challenges such as teacher transfers, gaps in long-term educational support, and rising concerns around teacher burnout and student distress. Through initiatives like Housla circle and collaborations with government institutions, she advocates for integrating mental well-being into mainstream education systems.
As conversations around education reform continue in India, could strengthening human connection, emotional well-being, and local leadership be just as important as improving access and academic outcomes in creating meaningful learning environments for every child?
If you’d like us to feature your story, please write to us at csr@5w1h.media
