Geeta Pareek
Born in Alwar, Geetaji came to Amer after marriage. She is the mother of two children and has been teaching at the Tushita Foundation since it was founded. Teaching is her passion and teaching at the Tushita Foundation makes her feel free, content, and empowered. She loves reading Harry Potter and playing badminton in the Tushita Foundation playground wearing a sari.
Ruchika Tripathi (M.A)
Ruchika has a Master’s degree in Sanskrit as well as English. A teacher at Tushita Foundation since 2010, when she first came she did not want to be a teacher! Now she cannot picture herself enjoying anything else than being around kids and teaching them.
Ruchika is one of the most loved teachers at Tushita Foundation. With the best collection of the latest Bollywood songs, she makes all the celebrations we have together more enjoyable and fun!
Priya Sharma
Priya is a young woman from Amer who completed a Masters in History at Maharani University. For her, the Tushita Foundation is a safe place to practice and speak English. Her sister Priyanka, a former Tushita Foundation teacher, convinced her to assume responsibility for work even though Priya at the time felt intimidated by foreigners. She loves cooking South Indian food and delights the team with idlis and sambhar.
Ruksar Pathan (M.A.)
Having completed her Masters in Urdu at Rajasthan University, Ruksar is the only formally educated person in her family. She advocates for education, and has even started a collective in her neighborhood to encourage young women to pursue their studies. She always says that the Tushita Foundation was a lucky charm that allowed her to be respected in her family and community.
Ruksar loves to teach as much as the children love her as a teacher. Working at the Tushita Foundation since 2011 has helped her widen her horizon and she now aspires to become a tourist guide, a profession considered ‘unfit for women’ in her community.
Payal Sharma (M.Com)
Payal is a brilliant and confident young lady who loves to learn English, and for that reason she loves to teach it as well. She has been with us since 2012, teaching English Grammar and shouldering the responsibility of managing inventories at Tushita Foundation.
In her free time, she paints portraits and sketches the world around her. She loves photography and is always ready to strike a pose. Teaching at Tushita Foundation gives her joy; whenever she is sad, she needs only to walk through the doors of Tushita Foundation to forget her troubles and return back to her usual happy self.
Rahela Khan (Pursuing M.A.)
Rahela is also from Amber and has a Bachelor’s degree in History, Public Administration, and Sociology. Her calm and loving character makes her a perfect match for our youngest children.
Since 2014 at the Tushita Foundation, she has learned effective Montessori techniques from the volunteers and passionately uses them to help students learn and grow. She hopes to continue teaching in the future, but wishes to open her own restaurant someday to share her love of fine cuisine.
Saleha Khan (Pursuing B.A.)
Rahela’s little sister followed her sister’s footsteps to Tushita foundation, Shalu, as we lovingly call her, has the world’s most innocent laughter and a day without her makes Tushita Foundation seem dull. She is a big time foodie and the best person to contact if you want to know anything about the local cuisine and its many delicacies.
Pooja Mishra (Pursuing M.A.)
Pooja got married at the age of 18. She is a rare combination of being a child at heart and a mother in reality. She has a beautiful six year old daughter, Dia who is also a student at Tushita Foundation. Pooja’s dream to see Dia as a well educated and independent woman brought her to us.
After joining Tushita Foundation last year, Pooja decided to pursue her studies further. Her bright smile lights up a room and her caring nature makes our young ones feel especially at home with her.
Jyoti Mishra (B.Sc.)
When Jyoti completed her graduation, realized how important it was to learn English to get a job. For her and other women like her, Tushita Foundation is the perfect place to interact with volunteers from different parts of the world, learn English and earn a salary at the same time.
Jyoti’s house isn’t ordinary; she lives in the magnificent Amber Fort! Her father serves the Fort temple as a priest.
Firdous Jannat (Pursuing B.A.)
We call Firdous Tushita Foundation’s own encyclopedia! We are amazed at her vivid knowledge about almost everything under the sun. It has not been very long since she has joined Tushita Foundation, yet she has impressed us with her beautiful henna arts and Guajarati folk dance moves!
Fun loving and self motivated Firdous fits perfectly in the Tushita Foundation culture!
Haridev Dadhich
Hari grew up in Jaipur and became an engineer graduating from IIT Guwahati. During the couple of years he worked at Tushita Travels, he grew fond of the Tushita Foundation seeing the value in its mission.
He often wishes there were something like the Tushita Foundation back then, when he was a kid studying near Amer.
He is our digital Superman, eager to contribute in his own way; he updates and maintains the Tushita Foundation’s website thus enabling us to reach out to the world.
Veena Rathore
Veena Rathore, our Veenaji, is the pillar of the Tushita Foundation. Her clear vision and her capacity to connect with everyone in the Amer community has rooted our project and allowed it to grow. She is a guide and an inspiration for our team of nine local teachers, as well as for the children and their families. Through her sheer dedication and hard work, she animates our home of learning and empowerment not only for the children of Amer, but also for all who come in contact with it. Veenaji has a special place in the heart of all the volunteers who have worked with us.
Gajendra Singh
Gajendra Singh, whom we lovingly call Gajju bana, has been with Tushita all his professional life. He is a fantastic cultural ambassador for his country who has accompanied countless travelers throughout the length and breadth of India. He was the one to find in Amer a town visited by thousands of tourists every year, yet lacking the economical and educational opportunities needed to succeed. His desire to give back to society makes him devote considerable time and energy to the Tushita Foundation. His diplomatic presence in the community has been a catalyst for harmony and growth.
Federico Di Puma
Federico spent three months as a volunteer at the Tushita Foundation in 2014 and, since then, couldn’t stop returning to Amer and to the Tushita family, so much so that he has later become an integral part of the team. Over the months spent at the Foundation he has worked with volunteers, children and teachers and has coordinated the first Health Care camp as well as the creation and publishing of the book “Everything is pink in my garden.”
He is now based in Milano from where he manages the volunteers’ recruitment process and the Tushita Foundation newsletter.
Isabelle Lambotte Caforio
Isabelle, a pharmacist from Belgium, visited the Tushita Foundation in 2013 and literally fell in love with it, eventually convincing the founders to welcome her in the team. She has since brought her infectious enthusiasm, great ideas and healthcare experience to introduce new initiatives such as the Health Care Camps and the Clean Water Access initiatives. An essential presence in the decision making team of coordinators, she also contributes to fundraising activities, which have resulted into an exponential growth of the Tushita Foundation.
She lives in Princeton with her husband and their two children, from where she takes part in the recruitment process of the volunteers. Her regular visits to Amer bring great joy to the entire community.
Rosenda Arcioni Meer
Rosenda is a designer and an educator and is passionately involved with the Tushita Foundation. She has a pivotal role in the pedagogical vision that inhabits our home of learning and empowerment. Her dream was to expose the children of Amer to creativity and to contribute to their growth offering them a safe space for learning and exploring in innovative ways.
Constantly in touch with the volunteers, from the time of their application to their tenure with us, she contributes to bridging cultural divides and ensuring that the Tushita values are respected. We are here to serve the community of Amer and we let growth happen from within.
Jan Meer
Jan Meer is the founder of Tushita Travels and has worked relentlessly to share his love for India with travelers from all over the world. Fired by the unshakable belief in the oneness of life and the burning desire to be a bridge between cultures, Jan has looked for ways to give back to the Indian society and contribute. He and his wife, Rosenda, have long dreamt of creating a home of learning and empowerment, and once they found in Gajju bana and Veenaji the generous allies they needed on the ground, there was no looking back.
Jan is in charge of administration and enjoys visiting Tushita Foundation and play with the children.
Ankita Gupta
A graduate in Human Resources from France, Ankita currently lives in the heritage city, Ahmedabad. She believes in the power of holistic education and finds it being reflected in the Foundation’s vision. Having been exposed to different cultures in her own life, she has come to find value in the global outlook on one’s life.
She acts as the support person for our volunteers from around the world while they go through the process of visa application and keeps them abreast with the administrative requirements.