Trutiya
Ratna
Empowering Children and Youth from Marginalised Communities
An initiative of Uppalam Foundation, building confidence and leadership through education across Bihar.
TRUTIYA RATNA
Trutiya Ratna is an initiative of Uppalam Foundation to empower children and youth through access to quality education and leadership development.
We empower marginalised, first-generation learners through libraries, after-school programs, and comprehensive educational support — building the confidence and leadership to sustain social transformation and justice across generations.
Marginalised communities, empowered through education, leading intergenerational social transformation and justice.
Trutiya Ratna is guided by Phule-Ambedkarite ideology, which holds that caste and social hierarchy are not problems to be managed but structures to be annihilated. We draw on feminist principles and anti-discriminatory practice to shape our programs, our internal culture, and our engagement with the communities we work alongside. We believe education is not neutral — it can entrench hierarchy or dismantle it — and we choose to build learning spaces, institutions, and policies that actively work toward equity rather than merely avoiding harm. Our commitment to inclusion is not a value we hold alongside our work; it is the work itself.
OUR IMPACT
WAYS TO MAKE AN IMPACT
Sponsor a First-Generation Student
Your support can help a first-generation learner from Bihar to complete their education.
Donate funds
Donated funds to strengthen and sustain community led initiave and institutions.
Trutiya Ratna runs four Community Knowledge Centres and Libraries across Patna, Jehanabad, Jamui, and Aurangabad in Bihar. Together, these libraries house over 1,500 books, including children’s literature, school textbooks, anti-caste writings, science and mathematics resources, literature, and competitive examination materials. Alongside after-school academic support for 200+ first-generation learners from historically marginalised communities, the centres foster reading, critical thinking, and collective learning through reading circles, discussions, and community-led activities.
Through a network of dedicated volunteers, Trutiya Ratna mentors first-generation learners from rural, landless, and historically marginalised communities to access higher education. Our support includes online classes, career counselling, guidance on SOPs and application processes, mock interviews, and scholarships, particularly for girls. We have mentored 20+ students from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat, many of whom have secured admission to leading institutions such as TISS, Azim Premji University, the University of Delhi, Ambedkar University Delhi, and the Central University of Gujarat.
Through Bal Sabhas, reading circles, and discussion sessions, Trutiya Ratna nurtures leadership, critical consciousness, and democratic participation among children and young people. Since February 2024, we have conducted 500+ weekly Bal Sabha sessions across our four community libraries and 50+ online workshops & discussions on social issues and human rights. The programme has also trained 20 youth leaders who facilitate discussions, mentor younger children, and strengthen community leadership. By engaging with autobiographies such as Joothan and conversations on caste, gender, sexuality, mental health, constitutional values, and social justice, participants build confidence, leadership skills, and a deeper understanding of their lived realities.
Through family counselling, legal aid, and support in accessing government welfare schemes, Trutiya Ratna helps families overcome discrimination and rights violations. We have supported 20+ families in getting income, caste, and residential certificates for children’s education, and helped 5+ youths obtain PAN cards, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and bank accounts for government schemes and scholarships. The programme has supported two young mothers during pregnancy and provided legal aid in a POCSO case, accompanying the family to court and the police station, alongside mental health counselling, awareness on sexual and reproductive health, and efforts to prevent child marriage and protect children’s rights.
TESTIMONIALS
Having closely followed the journey of Trutiya Ratna and its founder, Dr. Sunita Vishwas, I am consistently inspired by her unwavering commitment to educational equity. Trutiya Ratna is built on a foundation of deep community trust, academic rigor, and genuine empowerment for historically marginalized youth. Their Community Knowledge Centres are creating tangible, systemic change across Bihar. This is grassroots transformation at its absolute finest, and I highly encourage anyone looking to make a meaningful difference to support and amplify their work.
Reading and critical thinking are essential for conscientious citizenship and social change. With a crumbling educational infrastructure, most children in Bihar don’t have access to books or spaces to read. Trutiya Ratna is changing that, one library at a time. May there be a library in every part of Bihar in the coming years, with Trutiya Ratna’s work showing the way forward.
When you fight for your own place, it's not just you but a whole generation stepping towards equality. Trutiya Ratna transforms your struggles into strength, gives you wings to fly, and turns your silence into words. Your dignity may be threatened, but trust yourself. This fight isn't about you alone. It's about the path you create for your community. Educate. Agitate. Organise.
Trutiya Ratna is founded and led by two remarkable and resilient women I know who forged their path on their own to where they are now and supporting first-generation learners, especially women and girls from Dalit Bahujan communities, to create their identity and future they aspire for. For me, Trutiya Ratna is a hope. A hope for better, equitable, and just world. And, I wish more and more people will come forward to support the dreams these two women saw to take ahead the teachings of our leaders and give back in the truest sense.