Our Story

Why a foundation carries one girl's name

Every branch of our work traces back to a single, painful morning — and to a founder who decided that grief would become a lifelong promise.

The Beginning

Before there was a foundation

For years, informal classrooms run with whatever small resources were on hand quietly served children of the Siliguri hills. There was no building, no funding body — just a teacher and a handful of students being given a shot at something better.

Then came a loss that no lesson plan could have prepared for.

A young student of that small classroom — a girl named Neha — took her own life over something as small, and as devastating, as the lack of a single meal. Her absence asked a question that has shaped everything since: if a child's life can hinge on something so basic, what does it truly mean to educate one?

Her name became the foundation's answer. What began as informal teaching turned into a deliberate promise — that no child in our care would ever again go without food, without schooling, or without someone paying attention. That promise grew into three branches, each holding one part of it.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a trusted adult, a doctor, or a local helpline — support is available, and you don't have to carry it alone.
Our Vision

A childhood no circumstance can take away

A society where every underprivileged child — regardless of background — grows up fed, educated, protected, and genuinely seen.

Our Mission

Nurturing the whole child, not just the syllabus

Delivering education, healthcare, nutrition, and moral grounding to marginalised and vulnerable children — dismantling the barriers of poverty and exclusion they face daily.

Jagannath Banerjee
Founder & Managing Director
A Message From The Founder

"Education is the only light strong enough to cut through generations of poverty and despair."

Our founder's own childhood was shaped by hardship — growing up guiding a blind father through train compartments to beg for a single day's food. That closeness to poverty, and to being overlooked by the world, is what built the foundation's insistence on dignity: every child deserves to be seen, fed, and taught, not just tolerated.

That conviction, sharpened further by the loss of a student named Neha, is what turned one teacher's quiet classroom into a foundation with three branches and a standing promise to the children of Siliguri.

— Mr. Jagannath Banerjee
Our Values

N.E.H.A., in practice

Four commitments that guide every centre, classroom, and conversation.

N

Nurturing

Patience over pressure — recognising potential circumstance has kept hidden.

E

Education

Formal schooling, skill training, and life literacy for the world children will inherit.

H

Healing

Counselling and nutrition that address the whole child, not just academics.

A

Approach

Community-rooted advocacy against drop-outs, child labour, and child marriage.

Our Journey

How the promise grew

Early Years

An informal classroom begins

Small, unorganised teaching efforts reach underprivileged children in the Siliguri hills.

2008

Neha's Hope is founded

Following the loss of a student named Neha, the founder formalises a mission built on food security alongside education.

Growth

Neha Educare Academy opens

A full inclusive school is established, offering Pre-Nursery to Class VI with smart classrooms and trained educators.

Present

Neha's Hostel provides shelter

A residential wing is added for orphaned and marginalised children who need more than a classroom — they need a home.

Meet the three branches carrying this promise

See how Neha's Hope, Neha Educare Academy, and Neha's Hostel each play their part.

Explore Our Branches