Saheli is proud to announce that it is awarding two scholarships for their 2020 Scholarship Program to deserving South Asian girls to support their college education. The scholars selected for this year’s award showed remarkable accomplishments in the areas of academics, extra-curricular participation and community service.

The Saheli Scholarship Program reflects the organizations deeply felt commitment to help the next generation of South Asian girls to achieve their potential and to effect positive change in the world. Saheli is grateful for the generous donations by Vivek and Vandana Sharma Foundation and The Banerjee Family during Saheli’s fundraiser Nirbhaya in 2019.

This year’s scholarship winners are Dhara Patel and Yashvi Khakhar.

Dhara Patel was born and raised in Gujarat, India and moved to Massachusetts in 2015. She recently graduated from Woburn Memorial High School and will be attending University Of Massachusetts Lowell in Fall 2020 with a major of Biology/Pre-med. Dhara says, “I dreamed of becoming a doctor since I was a kid. Saheli scholarship is really special to me because it is going to help me financially in furthering my education and encourage me to follow my dream of becoming a doctor.”

Yashvi Khakhar is currently a student at UMass Lowell completing her undergraduate degree in mathematics with minors in business and finance and hopes to pursue a career in corporate law and finance. She is very passionate about women's equality and promotes an understanding of feminist topics through writing articles and social media. Yashvi is also very involved at the BAPS temple in Lowell where she guides high school girls with their education, extra-curricular, and college application. “The scholarship, that I have been so lucky to receive from Saheli, will help me in furthering my education by giving me the encouragement that those around me and the members of my community support higher education and my aspirations to succeed in pursuing my degree”, Yashvi says.

The Eva Banerjee Scholarship fund seeks to empower and advance South Asian girls through higher education. It was given with the inspiring thought that from a young age children should be taught to contribute to make our world a better place.

Vivek and Vandana Sharma Foundation is actively engaged in supporting organizations which make a long lasting impact in society and are active in both the US and India. They have adopted several large projects in various parts of India and are investing in improving health, hygiene, education and livelihood among girls, supporting development projects in villages to increase their economic stability, and improving lives of women and disabled children by providing skill-development trainings that support livelihoods.

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