See our Impact

Since 2015, Mother Miracle School has been honored as the “Best School in Rishikesh.”  Our students have collectively won 490 academic and athletic awards since 2009, which are proudly framed in our school’s dining hall for everyone to see. Our graduates have pursued neurosurgery, engineering, and master’s-level and doctorate programs in India and in the United States.

At Mother Miracle School we believe if you provide children with the best they will deliver the best

“Who’s the Best?!”

We thought a lot about how we could convince these kids that they are worthy. So, we came up with this cheer, asking them to do it with powerful energy. If you say with confidence that you are the best every day, you will be the best. How can it not be so?

Now, they believe it so much that they don’t come back without an award when they go to competitions.

Children chanting Who’s the Best?  Click to Watch the Video

Our Unique Educational Model

Mother Miracle owns and operates a 50,000 square foot school building where we serve over 500 students grades K-12. In our Computer Department, we have four state-of-the-art computer labs and 150 computers & laptops. Each child practices 10 hours a week on the computer, in our computer education department. Students also benefit from an advanced English-taught educational curriculum and yoga, meditation, karate, sports, art, dance, and music.

Admission to our school is highly competitive. By targeting the most brilliant applicants from the most impoverished areas of our community, we find the children most likely to succeed long-term. In Kindergarten, they are memorizing multiplication tables up to 10, can write complete sentences in English and are taught to type. By 6th grade, they learn one coding language, and by 7th grade, they learn their second coding language. By 8th grade, they learn their third coding language. By 9th grade they’re proficient in programming and coding.

Mother Miracle Technology Center (link to find out more about our Technology Center) is the innovative and unique program that will provide the opportunity for Mother Miracle School students to receive post-high school education to become successful in a technology career.

Planned for opening in 2026, graduates will attend specially designed boot camps and learn advanced technology, soft skills such as teamwork and office protocols, and receive career advice, internships, and assistance in job hunting. Once our students have the necessary skillset, our staff will help them find paid remote positions in high-tech firms around the world.

This key piece of education and job experience will allow our students to support themselves, save up to pursue their career passion, financially help their families, and sponsor a new child in our school, thus breaking the cycle of poverty.

Free Nutrition and Healthcare

Living in the slums of Rishikesh, our children are constantly threatened by malnutrition, illness and disease from contaminated water, poor sanitation, and unhygienic food preparation.

Most of our students come to school hungry. Because hunger thwarts learning, we partnered with a dietician and volunteers from Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge to create a school menu packed with nutrients often lacking in typical vegetarian Indian diets. We provide a full glass of milk for breakfast, a midday snack, and “all you can eat” lunch 6 days a week.

We also provide high-quality healthcare with annual ear, eye, and dental checkups, twice-annual anti-parasite and worm treatments, emergency consultations, and hospital visits.

We are proud to announce that since 2008, 100% of our children have shown extreme improvement in height & weight as compared to the average child in their community.

Produce a change in mindset to overcome the social stigma

To overcome the numerous barriers to success, our children have to believe in themselves and demonstrate perseverance and courage. Through positive affirmation, extra-curricular activities like meditation, yoga, martial arts, and the unconditional love from everybody at Mother Miracle, our students assume confidence in their abilities and potential. This is truly the secret to our students’ success.

Create an environment of excellence & security

For most of our students, home life is chaotic and wrought with insecurity: little food available, abuse and alcoholism are frequent realities. By contrast, once the students enter Mother Miracle, everything is organized, on time, clean, and disciplined. This safe and structured environment creates the optimal conditions for our students to excel. Over the years, we have seen many times over: when a student has a goal and is made comfortable to reach that goal, the results are phenomenal.

Ending poverty with a sustainable sponsorship model

Through individual child sponsorships, our students are supported from kindergarten through 12th grade. Once employed, our graduates create a better life for themselves while also lifting their families out of poverty. Additionally, each Mother Miracle School graduate must pay it forward by sponsoring another student from kindergarten through college, ensuring a sustainable future.

The Story of the Shoes

“After lunch, it would take a very long time for the kids to find their shoes because they would kick them off and leave a huge disorderly pile of hundreds of sandals. Sometimes, they ended up with one boy’s shoe and one girl’s shoe, or different sizes and they were crying because they couldn’t find their shoes!So, I told them they had to line up their shoes perfectly to the millimeter, and if I passed by and saw a shoe out of order, I would throw it in the garbage. And I did! Of course, I always had a staff member follow me to retrieve it. So, it just took a few days for them to act more consciously, and this order is what you see every day. Their mother and father said they now line up their family’s shoes at home because it bothers them to see the shoes out of order. It’s about acting consciously, with respect for themselves, others, and their environment.”

Shahla Ettefagh, President and Founder

The Founder Shahla Ettefagh’s Vision for 2026

The future Mother Miracle Tech Center, set to open in Rishikesh in 2026, will provide continued skill-development in all critical coding languages and job placement in the leading global tech-firms for our students.

Access to education at Mother Miracle School changes lives. Read the stories of Vikrant, Kusum, and Mamta.

Your $50 monthly gift changes a child’s life forever.

84% of your gift goes straight to your sponsored child’s education, healthcare, breakfast, and lunch. For more detail, click here to visit our Financial Transparency page.

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