As the old Chinese saying goes, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.", the value of education cannot be stressed enough. Nothing comes even remotely close to the ways teaching can aid a child in earning her/him a secured life. Unfortunately, there remain hundreds of millions who are deprived of the simple yet wonderful gift of education and remain so for their whole life. Consequently, their life becomes a continuous fight for mere survival and a similar struggle is then passed on to their children.

Birth of a child in an impoverished family is something that we humans cannot change. But transforming a troubled childhood into a life of assurance & fulfillment can definitely be achieved through collective efforts of society. UPAY through its Footpathshalas centers helps the society in accomplishing this goal of elevating the underprivileged sections through education. Generally located near pockets of a high number of migratory and/or unsheltered families, these centers identify the vulnerable children nearby and strive to bring them under the umbrella of literacy. The centers depend on the teachers and volunteers for teaching as well as spreading awareness by encouraging & interacting with the families of the kids. What makes the Footpathshalas unique and powerful is their mobile nature. Since these centers are not permanently situated in any location, they can traverse to ensure that education reaches wherever a need is felt, and lack of means is not an obstacle.

Through this project, UPAY aims to make education accessible to every child. We at UPAY strongly believe that the endeavors of Footpathshalas are fully successful only when children attain a certain level of literacy and get enrolled in a regular school for proper education. As each child gets educated, a tree of generations to follow rises above the grounds of uncertainties and insecurities.

To achieve our ambitious vision of a strong and sustainable tomorrow, we seek support from all stakeholders of the society in every possible way. Even a small effort counts in making a huge difference.