Mamoon is a committed social entrepreneur with twenty years of experience. Born and brought up in the slums of Tikiapara,* Mamoon was unable to complete his schooling due to lack of finances. But he was determined to make a difference in the lives of the children of Tikiapara through education.
Starting with teaching just a few students in his own home, Mamoon established Samaritan Help Mission (SHM), which has now grown into six schools with ~7000 students.
Mamoon collaborated with the local police to clean up the alcohol and drug-dens in a dilapidated school building (set up by Jewish settlers 150 years ago) and turned it into an outstanding educational institute. 100% SHM students have successfully negotiated the state run high school board examinations, and many are now working toward successful careers.
While championing education, Mamoon transformed the entire neighborhood with low-cost healthcare services, skills development centers for women, clean drinking water for the residents, and has facilitated their access to govt. programs and financial services. He has started to replicate these successful programs in the nearby slum of Bankra with ~400K residents.
A recipient of multiple national awards for social entrepreneurship, Mamoon’s vision is to ensure that every child in Tikiapara has ample opportunities to succeed. His goal is to develop good citizens who will give back to their own communities.
*Tikiapara is a suburb of Kolkata with ~350K residents, most earning less than $2/day.
