Samta Saathi
Saathi means companion. Student Leaders who came up through the circles mentor younger children. Volunteers work shoulder to shoulder with them — not as weekend guests.
The pipeline runs through the village
Samta Saathi is how leadership is practised here. Students who sat in the first circles become Student Leaders: they tutor peers, mentor younger children, run sessions, and carry the circle's culture when adults are not in the room. The point is not a certificate. The point is that the organisation is eventually run by the people it was built for.
Some of our first students from 2019 now mentor as college students and founding members of the trust. No one was hired from outside to do this work. Watching children who joined as learners become the mentors of today is, in our founder's words, the greatest achievement of this journey.
From learner to teacher, in the same circle
A Student Leader is a young person from the village who has lived the circle long enough to hold it for someone else. They plan a session, sit with a junior who is stuck, and model what consistency looks like. They are not assistants to an urban volunteer. The volunteer is there to work with them.
Leadership here includes the unglamorous work: showing up when exams collide with community events, explaining a concept twice, and speaking in village spaces where they were once told they did not belong. That is the Saathi we are trying to grow.
Companion, not a weekend visitor
On the ground
You work inside a running tuition class in Tillu and surrounding villages, minimum eight hours a week, alongside a Student Leader. You live with the community you serve. You do not need a teaching degree. You need patience and reliability. Children invest in adults who return.
How pairing works
You submit interest. We have a short conversation to confirm the weekly commitment is realistic before any student meets you. Then you are paired with a Student Leader and begin inside a class that is already running. The children should not have to train you in showing up.
What help is useful
Teaching and tutoring in maths, science, and language. Workshop facilitation for career and digital sessions. One-to-one mentoring. Remote support in design, content, and documentation if you cannot be in Himachal — still with a clear commitment, not a one-off.
Remote Saathis
Online mentoring, webinar coordination, and digital contributions exist for people who cannot relocate. Hours can be flexible. The standard does not change: children should be able to count on you.
Run by its own people
Samta Tillu is run by founding members who were once students in the circles, rural Student Leaders, and a growing volunteer community. That is not a slogan. It is the hiring policy: we did not staff the trust from outside.
When a teenager who joined in 2019 now designs a session for children who remind her of herself, the program has done its job. Become a Samta Saathi if you can honour that culture rather than replace it.
Write to us about volunteering →Explore the rest of the work
Become a Samta Saathi
If you can give eight hours a week on the ground, or a serious remote commitment, we will pair you with a Student Leader and put you inside a class that is already running.