Dr Surjan Singh Memorial Foundation has being set-up in memory of Dr. Surjan Singh, who was born in ‘Kohra’ village and through sheer hard work and perseverance excelled in his educational and professional career.

He struggled in his early years to complete his basic education from the village schools and went on to complete his Bachelors & Masters from the AgraUniversity and then doctorate from the University of Illinois, USA, as a food technologist.

During his illustrious career he worked with the GB Pant University, the USAID, the UNDP & the FAO.  At the time of his retirement he was the Regional Director of the Winrock International at New Delhi.

As an individual he was always close to his roots and to the people of ‘Kohra’. About 60 kms from the industrial city of KanpurIndia, or probably a little worse. There are no roads, no sanitation, no safe drinking water and no proper educational facilities. The area has not seen the positive development experienced by other areas in the country. in Uttar Pradesh, there is a small village called “Kohra”. The village is similar to thousands of other under-developed villages across.

The majority of the village population is engaged in farming, but has seen their land holdings become smaller over generation leading to poverty and helplessness. Their attempts to trying to get jobs fail as the quality of education provided in the village and the adjoining areas does not groom the kids well enough to get quality jobs. The current limited numbers of education centers are badly built, badly staffed and lack the enthusiasm of providing quality education.

Dr. Surjan Singh wanted to do much more for the improvement of the quality of life of his birthplace, than what he was able to do.  The foundation would try and accomplish that dream. In lieu of the situation in Kohra, Dr. Surjan Singh Memorial Foundation (SSMF) is being established to endeavor a high quality educational institution, which will bring about a positive change in the lives of the coming generation in the villages in the area. 

The focus of the Foundation is on the betterment on the quality of lives of the people of ‘Kohra’.  The foundation will undertake grass-root level activities, which would have a positive impact on the population of the village, and it’s surrounding areas in the long term.  One of the key areas on work for the foundation would be education.

Objectives of SSMF

• To focus on all types of educational issues
• To initially establish a non-profit School 'Adharshila’ in village Kohra
• To facilitate growth of education through awareness, networking and contacting other like-minded individuals
• To educate the citizens on basic human rights issues
• To establish Information Technology centers like computer training centers etc.
• To organize projects for poverty alleviation
• To organize the skill/technical training centers
• To organize the projects concerning small-scale enterprises
• To establish and maintain well equipped libraries
• To provide all sorts of facilities to deserving persons free of charges for the benefit of the poor and needy people 
• To provide support to the other organizations working for similar objectives
• To undertake any scheme with a view to collect funds for the achievement of the above objectives