Empowering Children of Tea Estate Workers Through Digital Learning

Vahdam Teas, a premium tea and superfoods brand from India, recently partnered with BYJU’S – an online learning program for students from four to 18 years of age – to empower children of tea estate workers through digital learning across various tea estates in India.

The Vahdam and BYJU'S partnership started in September across 10 tea estates in Darjeeling, benefiting 1,000+ children through Vahdam’s social initiative, TEAch Me.

“With our TEAch ME social initiative at Vahdam Teas, we consistently try to find gaps and opportunities to better enhance education for the less privileged children folks in the tea industry,” said Bala Sarda, founder and CEO of Vahdam Teas. “One of the key gaps was access to high quality digital education due to high costs and limited school infrastructure. With this partnership, we aim to accelerate democratization of digital education in the tea-estates on a long-term and sustainable basis. I am confident that with BYJU’S, we will be able to make a meaningful impact in bridging the educational gap and the digital divide.”

By the end of the academic year, the new partnership should benefit 20 tea estates and more than 2,000 children. By 2025, Vahdam and BYJU'S aim to support 50,000 children across all tea-growing regions in India.

“Schools at the tea-estates have been shut since 23rd March, as part of the government lock-down,” noted Sarda. “This disruption has led to a discontinuation of classes/education. Unlike in major cities and towns, where education moved from schools to screens, children at tea estates do not have easy or affordable access to digital learning/education. Their education and learning suffered.”

Through the alliance, Vahdam will focus on providing smart devices and connectivity wherever needed, to help the children of tea estate workers get access to quality education. Vahdam also plans to use its relationships within the tea-industry to ensure that the digital education for the children reaches its maximum capacity with the TEAch Me initiative.

“With VAHDAM+BYJU Partnership, we are trying to bring the same high-quality digital education to the children of tea estates totally free,” explained Sarda. “Further, our on-ground NGO partners will help children at tea-estates navigate and use the digital learning modules. In the long run, this will help bridge the digital divide as well as ensure the quality of education available to them is at par with the best in the country.”

Vahdam Teas is a five-year-old start-up, which has raised more than US$17 million in funding from top investors in India. It’s now India’s largest home-grown premium brand, according to the company. Vahdam’s TEAch Me social initiative launched in 2018, where it earmarked a minimum of one percent of its revenues for the education of tea-estate workers’ children.

To learn more, visit VahdamTeas.com.

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