Our History

The Children’s LoveCastles Trust (CLT) story began in 1997 from a room with a view...

From my apartment window, I would see children building castles out of the mud. Kids who should be spending their time in school were out accompanying their parents at the construction site. This scene which resonated with me would repeat itself day after day until I realized a universal truth – Children loved building castles and homes – a place of belonging, whether at the beach, a playground or here at a construction site. Children’s LoveCastles Trust (CLT) was born out of a passion to keep kids in school. To give them the education they deserve, so they can go build on their dreams and aspirations”        – Bhagya, Founder  

There was a natural progression and evolution of our work into education space while we were doing school mid-day meal programs. It gave us a window into the everyday struggle that the government schools were faced with not being able to provide teachers for every grade, one teacher-one room schools, teacher absenteeism at its worst, etc. It would get much worse in rural areas to attract and retain qualified teachers. India is still facing 1.2 million teacher shortage today. Our idea of having a hub to bring in the best of teachers to centralize pedagogy and map it to National curricula and customize it to every State and leverage technology for its strength in replication and distribution. Personalized access and equity to quality education for every child at the local level has paid dividends.   

clt story

Our Journey

  • 1997

    Trust incorporated

  • 1998

    Pioneered the School Mid-Day Meal Program for government schools in Karnataka

  • 2000

    CLT setup the Srujana Learning Centre as a pilot for introducing ICT tools in government schools

  • 2002

    Intel partnered with CLT to establish the only Intel Computer Club House - an after school program for the under-served youth where children work with adult mentors to explore technology for community projects.

  • 2005

    CLT International Foundation Inc registered in Virginia, USA

  • 2006

    The CLT e-Patashale Program was conceptualised as the first ever digital STEM Program in regional languages. Was piloted in 100 government schools

  • 2011

    CISCO partnered with CLT for Distance-Learning program

  • 2012

    CLT setup a research cell for pedagogy and technology to bring in a scalable and replicable model for e-Patashale where the experts would design innovative STEM resources in regional languages

  • 2013

    CLT won the USAID FICCI Millennium Alliance Award for low-cost technology innovation in education.

  • 2014

    CLT, in collaboration with Department of Education and CSR partners put in a system to scale and to build a complete ecosystem for sustainable e-learning classrooms.

  • 2015

    Under the research of “Making a difference in the way girls are impacted in secondary schools” by Dasra, in partnership with USAID, CLT was identified as one of the Seven Changemakers.

  • 2016

    CLT in-house lab was setup for the customized sim enabled ‘Digital Learning Box’, which enabled the data analytics and content upgrades to be managed remotely.

  • 2017

    CLT’s e-Patashale Program extends its reach to Hindi Speaking States- UP, Bihar, Rajasthan. Also, extends to Maharashtra as a pilot in 2 districts.

  • 2018

    To increase access to e-Patashale resources while leveraging on mobile technology, CLT introduced the Jigi platform - custom apps for teachers and learners

  • 2020

    - CLT India receives the 2nd Millennium Alliance Award for Early Grade Reading(EGR).
    - YouTube channel Study-e-Station was successfully launched. CLT India, due to the COVID-19 crisis, responded with "Study from Home" campaign and distribution of free learning resources through
    JIGI-JIGI, the student app.

  • 2021

    CLT India received the Sabera Award 2021, we launched an upskilling program to enhance digital literacy for 30 teachers, with the addition of 5 new partners, we've expanded our reach to 180 schools, impacting 36,000 students.

  • 2022

    Awards - Math power prize - GCPIT Award New Programs - Educational Scholarship for Girl Students from Govt Schools - Digital Literacy Ver1.5 Launched - Digital Literacy Program in Telugu - With the help of Donors, the Jigi-Jigi Student app was distributed to 200 students from various govt schools. Partnerships - Menda Foundation - Rotary District 3190: 180 Schools - Rotary Lakeside Trust - 40 Schools - Aseem Infra Finance Ltd - 27 Schools - Embassy Group - 5 Schools

Awards

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USAID FICCI
  • June 2013 – CLT India receives the Millennium Alliance Award for “Low-cost innovation in e-Learning”
  • August 2020 – CLT India receives the Millennium Alliance Award the second time for Early Grade Reading(EGR) Initiative
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Social Innovation Award
  • 50 most impactful social innovators in the global listing.
Digital India
  • CLT India was honored with the Digital India Award 2017 for its “Digital innovation in e-Education” learning solutions by the Times Network.
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Manthan Awards
  • CLT India’s innovative contribution was recognized in the “Field of Science and Technology” with the Manthan Award South West India 2014.

Our Leadership

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Nixon Joseph, CEO

Nixon Joseph brings a wealth of experience to CLT India, garnered from a distinguished career spanning the banking and non-profit sectors. Before joining CLT India, Mr. Nixon held the position of President & Chief Operating Officer at SBI Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) subsidiary of State Bank of India. Prior to this, he served in various capacities including Manager (Operations) at SBI Bahrain and Chief Executive Officer at SBI Tokyo branch. With a robust background in banking, Nixon’s expertise spans diverse areas, acquired through extensive work across India. He holds certifications as a Certified Credit Professional, Certified Banking Compliance Professional, and Certified Information Systems Banker. Nixon’s tenure as President of SBI Foundation witnessed the successful implementation of impactful projects aimed at assisting the underprivileged and disadvantaged. A post-graduate in English Language and Literature, Nixon embarked on his professional journey with the State Bank of India in 1985 as a probationary officer.

Nixon’s commitment to social innovation is evident through his distinguished completion of the “Social Intrapreneurship” course offered by Ashoka Changemakers. He has been honoured with prestigious awards including the Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Award 2018 for excellence in public service and the Dr. Kalam Memorial Ignited Minds Award. Nixon’s name features prominently in the “Be the Inspiration” Book published by the Rotary Club, Mumbai, recognizing 45 inspiring Indians. He was lauded as a “Covid Warrior” by the Governor of Maharashtra for his leadership in spearheading covid relief efforts, and is an “Aspire Circle Fellow.” Beyond his philanthropic endeavours, Nixon is a celebrated marathon runner, boasting the completion of 68 full marathons and Ambassador of Fit India Mission, the flagship program of Govt of India.

Additionally, Nixon serves on the Governing Council of Yes Bank Foundation and extends his expertise as an advisor and mentor to numerous NGOs and CSR Foundations. He is member of IQAC of Amity University, Mumbai & guest faculty of various Universities.

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Our Board

Bhagya Rangachar

Founder & Managing Trustee

Kentaro Toyama

Harsha Murthy

Bill Thies

Gayathri Krishna

Ashish Kasi

Rohit Setty

Marina Kundu

Francis Vérillaud

farooq syed

Farookh Syed

francis

Francis Vérillaud

francis

Francis Vérillaud

Our core team

sachin

Sachin


Head - IT

shruthi pujari

Shruthi Pujari

Project Manager
(STEM)

clt hr

Yamuna

Head
(Accounts & HR)

manu

Manu L S

Deputy Lead
(Pedagogy & Digital Content)

shivacharan

Shivacharan H R

Associate
(Operations)

Shivam

Shivam Kumar V

Associate
(IT & WEB Developer)

mangala

Mangala B Tuppad


Associate - IT

ansh

Ansh Sharma

Program Coordinator
(Uttar Pradesh)

shivacharan

Bhagya Rangachar

Founder & Managing Trustee

shivacharan

Bhagya Rangachar

Founder & Managing Trustee

thejus

Bhagya Rangachar

Founder & Managing Trustee

Our Gallery

CLT is very grateful for Nixon Joseph's service, commitment and inspired leadership for the last 3 year's. We are in the process of finding new leadership for CLT. Bhagya Rangachar will be an interim CEO. We appreciate your continued support of CLT to provide access to quality education for all. We will keep updating developments.

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