Oberoi International School

Igniting hope and empathy through community collaboration

Oberoi International School, an independent international school in Mumbai, India, brings hope, empathy, and shared possibility to its students and surrounding communities. With a curriculum designed to foster social responsibility while challenging students academically, the school prioritises community collaboration through its Skill Sharing and Mentorship programmes, community service projects, and partnerships with local organisations and IB programmes worldwide.

Oberoi International School describes itself as being surrounded by many realities. To overcome many of the differences between these realities, the school works hard to build trust with local organisations and community members by setting clear goals and objectives for its collaborations. Importantly, the school involves its students in the process to cultivate their sense of ownership and agency.

The school’s multifold approach to community collaboration includes community service projects, cooperative learning, peer-to-peer learning, skill sharing, and mentorship programmes. The collaborations have not only focused on addressing community needs but also on engagement with the communities, to learn about social issues and develop leadership skills.

The resulting awareness and empathy have led to several meaningful student-led initiatives, like the Unified Theatre, a collaboration with Priyanj Special School, which involves students from both schools working together, sharing resources, and staging plays, with proceeds donated to charity. Another initiative is Project Chirag, which entails organising fundraising events and then visiting rural villages to construct solar panels. Throughout the process, the students actively engage with the local community and school children, fostering meaningful interactions and creating a positive impact. By combining their efforts with hands-on involvement, the students are not only addressing the energy needs of these villages but also establishing valuable connections and knowledge-sharing opportunities with the residents.

The school has also partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the underprivileged, organised fundraisers for food distribution drives, and facilitated Relay for Life events, which raised INR 2,00,000 for the MESH Foundation and Tata Memorial Hospital.

If Oberoi International School wins the World's Best School Prize for Community Collaboration, it plans to make a transformative difference in the lives of underprivileged children in India. The focus will be on upskilling teachers and providing resources to schools catering to underprivileged students. By investing in their education, the school can empower these children to break the cycle of poverty and create a brighter future for themselves and their families.