FOUNDING MEMBERS

When late Mrs. Vimla Kaul and her husband late Mr. Hari Mohan Kaul moved to Sarita Vihar in Delhi after their retirement in 1993, they were keen to do something for the underprivileged community next door. During a Rotary Club drive in the nearby Madanpur Khadar village, a woman in the village praised their efforts but remarked that “instead of giving food to children, they should teach them how to earn their livelihood.” That moment of clarity “teach them how to earn their livelihood” sparked a legacy of dignity, empowerment, and education.
Born in Shimla, Mrs. Vimla Kaul did her post-graduation from Miranda House in Delhi University and worked as a teacher in Dhanbad before they moved to Delhi. An engineering graduate from BITS Pilani, Mr. Hari Mohan Kaul had retired as chief engineer in the Central Ground Water Board. After thinking over the villager’s comment, the couple decided to start a school. The idea gave a new lease of life to the childless couple, who always wanted to do something for society in general and children in particular.

Guldasta’s Journey: From Banyan Tree to Beacon of Hope

The project was named Guldasta because they wanted it to be a bouquet of underprivileged children’s hopes, dreams and aspirations of a brighter future and better life ahead. They started Guldasta under a banyan tree at the village Chaupal in Madanpur Khadar in 1995.

The first batch of the school had only five students and a teacher. The couple soon shifted Guldasta to their housing colony in Sarita Vihar where around 150 students enrolled.
But the initial years were fraught with trouble for the Kauls. Their neighbours forced the school out of the colony; undaunted, they tried to start the school in the local community centre but were denied permission. They moved Guldasta to a park inside the housing complex but were asked to vacate the area.

The couple finally moved the school to the municipal park and ran it from there until an NGO, Mahamana Malaviya Mission, adopted it in October 2011. The financial aid helped Mrs. Kaul rent a three-room building for the school. After her husband’s death in 2009, she continued running the project single-handedly till she passed away at the age of 89.

The school that held classes in a municipal park for 16 years has grades from kindergarten to four. Guldasta also conducted tailoring classes, a basic computer course, a beautician’s course, a henna application course and dance classes. The main beneficiaries of these vocational courses are women and girls from the village who got an opportunity to learn new skills and improve their earnings.

Late Mrs. Vimla Kaul had authored five books and received numerous awards including CNN IBN Real Heroes Award 2010 and the Jijabai Women Achievers’ Award 2014.