About Us
Our Purpose
Empowering women and girls in India to break the cycle of poverty through access to education.
It All Started with Water
OneProsper International is a purpose-driven Canadian registered charity. Over the years, we have helped hundreds of women and girls in India’s Thar Desert break the cycle of poverty through access to clean water and education. And we have helped thousands of girls in other parts of India practice their spoken English.
Learn more about the program on the Project Parivartan.
Raju Agarwal founded OneProsper as a Canadian nonprofit in 2010, and established a U.S. nonprofit a few years later. In partnership with GRAVIS, Raju’s original goal was to help families in India’s desert regions to grow more crops for income by equipping them with drip irrigation systems.
After traveling to India to visit beneficiary families, Raju learned that they were not using their new irrigation systems. He also saw firsthand how young girls spent their days collecting water for their families rather than attending school. Raju and GRAVIS did some soul-searching and brainstorming, and in 2017, Project Parivartan was born.
In 2018, Raju made another trip to India to meet Project Parivartan’s beneficiary families and hear how the program has changed their lives. He saw that the students and many of the teachers were unable to speak English, despite that being an official language in India. This inspired the English Learning Buddy program.
“Seems like every time I go to India, I get an idea.”
– Raju Agarwal, Founder and CEO at OneProsper
Raju’s Story
OneProsper’s Founder and CEO, Raju Agarwal, was raised in Canada, but his family has deep roots in India. During his many visits to the country, both as a child and an adult, he has gained a deep understanding of what life in India is like.
While Raju was studying at Boston University, he visited Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. There were many children on the street, and one girl stood out: she was school-aged and holding a baby. When Raju asked the girl why she wasn’t in school, she said she would love to go to school, but couldn’t because she had to look after her little brother while her mother worked.
Upon reflecting on this encounter, Raju realized that these girls, who are growing up in extreme poverty and limited by deeply-ingrained gender roles, have the same aspirations as girls in Canada and the United States — but not the same opportunities. Their barriers to education are more complex than simply whether or not their families can afford tuition.
After graduating, Raju worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers and then Bank of America, but he felt unfulfilled. He read Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood, which inspired him to take action. Raju founded OneProsper so that he could use his business acumen and resources to help women and girls in need.
OneProsper’s Board of Directors
Raju Agarwal
Founder & CEO 
Vilok Kusumakar
Director
Surjit Babra
Director
Special Thanks
Special thanks to GRAVIS, our local nonprofit partner in India’s Thar Desert and co-creators of Project Parivartan.
The dedicated team at GRAVIS has worked with us since the beginning to grow Project Parivartan into the
successful program it is today. Project Parivartan would not be possible without them.
Thank you also to Photographers Without Borders and the talented photographers who work with this organization.
Their work has had an immeasurable impact on our ability to tell the stories of women and girls in India’s
Thar Desert, and we are grateful that they promote OneProsper through their blog.
The dedicated team at GRAVIS has worked with us since the beginning to grow Project Parivartan into the
successful program it is today. Project Parivartan would not be possible without them.
Their work has had an immeasurable impact on our ability to tell the stories of women and girls in India’s
Thar Desert, and we are grateful that they promote OneProsper through their blog.
Help Support Our Mission
Are you interested in joining our team? Email us at
connect@oneprosper.org to discuss volunteer
opportunities or membership on our Board of Directors
or Event Committee. You can also donate to help fund
our important work
connect@oneprosper.org to discuss volunteer
opportunities or membership on our Board of Directors
or Event Committee. You can also donate to help fund
our important work
