A chance volunteering stint in Ladakh changed Mahima Mehra’s life. Now, she leads Himalayan Volunteer Tourism and education NGO Srot, through which she has impacted thousands across the Himalayas with her initiatives in rural education, healthcare, and alternative tourism.
Mahima Mehra is not your average social entrepreneur. Her work spans multiple sectors: from education and rural development to healthcare and responsible tourism.
Co-founder of Himalayan Volunteer Tourism (HVT) and Director of Srot Rural Education and Development Foundation, Mahima is also the Vice President of the All India Council of Human Rights, Liberties & Social Justice (AICHLS).
Her passion for making a difference has touched thousands of lives in the Himalayan region, and it all began with a brief stint in Ladakh.
A PATH TO THE HIMALAYAS
Mahima’s journey into rural education began unexpectedly. She spent a decade teaching in Dubai and Pune, gaining experience across age groups.
After working with differently abled children, senior citizens, cancer patients, and marginalised groups through the NGO Spectrum in Pune, she decided to take her skills further.
She branched out to training programmes — skill training and career guidance, environmental awareness talks, etc.
Soon, a drive to experience a different culture and heritage took her to a volunteer programme at a school in Ladakh. And her life transformed.
“It was my life-changing experience where I felt I was actually contributing where it was needed the most,” she reflects.
The impact of connecting with rural communities lit a spark. “When someone from the city volunteers and connects with rural folks, they learn to value their own potential, especially when they see the impact,” she says.
With this shift within her, Mahima Mehra decided she wanted to know more about the people living in the Himalayan region. She wanted to bring change. So she joined educational and awareness platforms online to understand how things work there.
“During one such session, I met Mr Panki Sood, and he invited me to do some workshops for the children in the Kullu valley, Tirthan.” Around 30-40 children used to come to these workshops.
The chance meeting led to the founding of the Sunshine Learning Centre. Since they needed support from teachers and faculties, they soon launched a Facebook page for the centre and invited volunteers to enrich their travel visits by conducting workshops there.
“The group on Facebook grew from 50 to 500 in no time. And today we have 24,500-plus volunteer members,” says Mahima.
This overwhelming response led to the creation of Himalayan Volunteer Tourism in 2018. Meanwhile, Sunshine Learning Centre was formalised as an NGO called Srot Rural Education and Development Foundation.
HVT and Srot developed into partner organisations — the volunteers from HVT supported Srot activities.
IMPACT OF HIMALAYAN VOLUNTEER TOURISM
The goal of Himalayan Volunteer Tourism (HVT) was simple yet impactful: connecting volunteers with host organisations to work across education, skill development, healthcare, environment and sustainability, and community development in the Himalayan region.
HVT’s journey began with its first project in Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh, where children from four villages attended workshops and learning activities. Today, it facilitates volunteerism across the Himalayas, supporting over 50 schools in the region.
HVT has made a notable impact in the Himalayan region by setting up around 10 toy libraries and over 35 book libraries, and conducting workshops in over 20 schools, drug addiction camps by Panki Sood, dental and other medical camps, skill training etc.
“In Arunachal we have initiated digital literacy programmes in five schools, and sent volunteers to all these locations,” Mahima says.
While HVT connects volunteers, Srot Rural Education and Development Foundation focuses on delivering educational programmes.
Established after the Sunshine Learning Centre became an NGO, Srot runs multiple centres in Tirthan Valley, where more than 500 students have benefited from after-school programmes.
Initially, Srot began with a single after-school programme in one village, supporting 70 students. Soon, other village students joined.
“But younger children should not have to walk so far. So the next step was connecting with local graduate women who were trained as teachers for a year, a stipend was given, and then a branch of Srot was started in their village to support the education of younger children.”
Nominal fees were taken so the teachers could become financially independent.
