Boarding Homes

Sambhali Trust runs three boarding homes that provide girls and young women, primarily from the impoverished village of Setrawa and urban poverty in the city of Jaisalmer, with a chance for a bright and successful future. The program began in 2012 when a group of eight and nine year-old girls came to live at the Sheerni Boarding Home. As they grew,  there was a need for a boarding home for younger girls and the Laadli Boarding Home was opened in 2017.  In 2021, as the original boarding home girls graduated from secondary school, the Abhayasthali Boarding Home was established to enable them to become the first women in their family to attending college and graduate school. Today, the Laadli Boarding Home is for younger girls and those newer to the boarding home program, while Sheerni is home to older girls primarily in secondary school. 

The  Boarding Homes have housemothers who lives with the girls and tutors who help the elementary and secondary school girls with their homework and provide individual and class instruction as necessary. In addition, the girls receive instruction in self-defense, computers, and sewing as well as workshops on topics including sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, women’s history, legal rights, geography, and the environment. The college students at Abhayasthali Boarding Home receive ongoing academic, career, and emotional support from Sambhali Trust staff and they give back to the Sambhali family by working with Sambhali programs for children. All of the boarding homes emphasize academic excellence along with developing self-esteem and leadership skills.