Education for Every Child

The Zenith Group is a UK-registered international NGO supporting over 25 educational initiatives in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and Laos.

The Zenith Group works alongside schools and educational projects in under-resourced communities to drive long-term, sustainable change. The Zenith Group focuses on collaborative models that transform the lives of over 12,000 children and more than 300 staff.

India

The Zenith Group supports 17 schools in the slums of northern Mumbai.

These slums are not globally recognised like Dharavi; they are not visited by film stars, sports celebrities and tourists. These are communities which do not make the headlines and where the need is greatest; lives here can be short and brutal. The Zenith Group has an established track-record of commitment and success working alongside these children, schools and communities.

CapEx Projects:

The Zenith Group has funded a large number of significant CapEx projects at many of its school locations, constructing new buildings, additional classrooms and washroom facilities. These projects allow our schools to scale and provide education for increasing numbers of children.

Corporate Partnerships:

The Zenith Group recognises that working in partnership with corporate support can lead to the greatest impact investment. Working in partnership with Voltas Pvt India, The Zenith Group provides a clean water supply at one of its schools, where previously there was no running water. Children are now able to attend school instead of walking to collect water each day. In many of these impoverished communities, children lack role-modelling and life skills. Working alongside the UAE-based Warrior Academy and its charitable arm, The Zenith Group provided a twelve-month program teaching and instilling self-discipline, respect for others and determination.

Real Estate Investment:

In 2019 The Zenith Group invested in its own school building, which is now provided to Zenith Heads on a rent-free, long-term lease to operate a school serving a particularly impoverished community.

Mentoring Programs for School Leadership:

Each local Head works under enormous pressure in challenging conditions. The Zenith Group recently invested in a twelve-month Leadership Mentoring program for selected Heads, delivered by a New Zealand-based educational consultancy.

Women’s Empowerment:

The Zenith Group is developing a partnership with a leading Women’s Empowerment Program and social enterprise operating in northern Mumbai, helping it to expand and develop; this in turn improves the lives of the women, their families and their communities.

Teacher Training Initiatives:

The Zenith Group has funded a two-year, Group-wide training program for all its school leaders and teaching staff. This program was delivered by one of the best national training organisations and included classroom delivery, on-site implementation and ongoing feedback, assessment and mentoring. This initiative enabled teacher-capacity building, improved efficiencies and enhanced communications; as a result, each school now provides the best possible curriculum delivery.

Sri Lanka

The Zenith Group works with pre-schools and community centres in economically deprived areas.

CapEx Projects:

The Zenith Group has funded a CapEx project doubling the capacity of a pre-school in an economically deprived area in southern Sri Lanka. This expansion has enabled significant numbers of additional children to access education. It has also enabled parents to access paid work while their children are at school, improving the overall financial position of many families and the success of the entire community.

Inclusive Education:

The Zenith Group is committed to inclusive education; every child deserves an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of disability or circumstance. The Zenith Group is involved with a special education project, supporting the needs of children and young adults living with significant learning differences – helping educate communities and encouraging them to embrace the full spectrum of learning needs.

Real Estate Investment:

In partnership with a leading international volunteering organisation, The Zenith Group also supports a local Community Centre in Galle. It has funded the creation and establishment of an outdoor classroom and learning area.

Strategic Support:

The Zenith Group has committed human capital to the development and expansion of a parallel Women’s Empowerment and Development Program. Human capital is also provided to support the ongoing operation and development of underfunded schools within similar socio-economic areas.

Nepal

The Zenith Group develops educational projects for children from impoverished communities.

CapEx Projects:

In partnership with Houston-based recruitment agency, CCL Global, and a local Nepalese NGO, Laxmi Pratisthan, The Zenith Group has supported the construction of a large sports facility at a school in the Kavre region of rural Nepal in the foothills of the Himalayas.

The sports centre is a significant project that enables many children from the school and the surrounding villages to experience and enjoy sport and access physical education. The Centre is also used as a meeting hub, bringing together disparate communities across the surrounding region.

Many children live in small villages scattered across challenging Himalayan topography; there are no schools in their villages. In order to attend school, they travel for many hours and stay at the school overnight during the term. During this time, they also learn valuable life skills, contributing to the maintenance of the school and helping grow food for meals.

The Zenith Group has recently co-funded repairs to buildings damaged during recent floods and landslides and is about to embark on a new tranche of CapEx investment, to improve, develop and expand school buildings within the Kavre region.

Inclusive Education:

Continuing its commitment to inclusive education, The Zenith Group supports a program for children and young adults in central Kathmandu who are blind or visually impaired. The program teaches IT skills essential for success in adult life, including skills that enable students to set up online businesses and achieve financial independence. The Zenith Group provides premises for the program, ensuring a secure and safe environment for the students and staff – who are also visually impaired. The Zenith Group has also invested in IT infrastructure and specialised assistive technology.

The Zenith Group also supports a school and Day Care Centre for impoverished families and single parents in central Kathmandu. The safety of the children is always paramount and The Zenith Group has invested in a large outdoor learning space, to ensure that children have a secure area to learn and play.

Strategic Support:

The Zenith Group has committed human capital to strategically support the growth and development of its partner Kathmandu-based NGO.

Thailand

The Zenith Group provides vital support to children through informal education and learning development.

Inclusive Education:

The Zenith Group works alongside a local NGO, to provide critical support for the welfare and development of children from an underprivileged community. The Zenith Group funds a facility for these children to attend workshops which focus on social and emotional support, conversational English and sport.

Strategic Support:

The Zenith Group provides continuing and ongoing support for the Leadership team at our partner NGO through a commitment to ongoing Board and advisory roles in Thailand.

Laos

The Zenith Group works alongside children and young adults within Vientiane to access a better education.

Inclusive Education:

The Zenith Group supports its partner NGO to provide a program of life skills development to children and young people in Vientiane. The Zenith Group funds facilities and meeting spaces for workshops, in which these children can learn and develop crucial skills in leadership, public speaking, innovation and English language.

Strategic Support:

The Zenith Group provides continuing and ongoing support for the Leadership team at its partner NGO in Laos through a commitment to ongoing Board and advisory roles.

The Zenith Group Approach

The Zenith Group is proudly disruptive.

The Zenith Group does not believe in post-colonial models of charitable handouts; every project is an equal collaboration, empowering each community to raise the next generation of leaders.

The Zenith Group is committed to maximum impact through people. The Zenith Group understands that local leaders know their communities best and it is through enabling local leadership that success is achieved.

The Zenith Group is committed to maximum impact though premises and infrastructure. The Zenith Group has provided CapEx investment for expansion and improvement of school campuses; funded innovative and creative classroom resources; implemented IT infrastructure and hardware.

The Zenith Group is committed to maximum impact through partnerships. The Zenith Group has catalysed, mobilised and deployed resources through key strategic partnerships, facilitating new initiatives and connections which benefit the entire educational ecosystem.

The Zenith Group is committed to maximum impact through strategic direction. Through strategic deployment of resources, The Zenith Group is constantly seeking the multiplier effect, aiming to amplify impact through empowerment and self-belief within the leadership of projects in which it invests.

The Zenith Group is committed to maximum impact by influencing change, remaining restless, constantly seeking improvement. The Zenith Group is driven by progress, not permanence.

Project Locations

About The Zenith Group

The Zenith Group is led and governed by a Board of Trustees, providing strategic direction and overseeing all global projects.

Strategic vision and direction are set by the Board, with decisions made in collaboration with each national team. Operational implementation is managed by national leadership, who have the best understanding of their local environment, context and communities.

Each region is led by Country Directors, who report directly to the Board. Individual schools are managed by Heads, who report to the Country Directors.

The Zenith Group was founded and is led by Ben Marsh. After a decade as Managing Director of a UK-based boutique law firm, Ben committed to full-time philanthropy and social enterprise. Ben is a Patron of the Asia Society; sits on the Board of Laxmi Pratisthan Foundation in Kathmandu and the Board of Dāna Education in Chang Mai and Vientiane; he is President of the Board of Excellence at HMES in Mumbai. He holds Directorships and Consultancy roles with several social enterprises across Asia. Ben is based in the region and travels widely.

Contact Us

Thank you for your interest in our work.

If your company would like to support The Zenith Group via a specific project, through your CSR program or through Payroll Giving, please contact us.

The Zenith Group is always interested in discussions with school Leadership Teams, Investors or Partners either planning to start, or in the early stages of starting, projects in socio-economically deprived areas.

The Zenith Group is registered for UK Gift Aid.

UK Registered Charity 1157788
Registered Office: c/o Lelliott & Co Accountants, Heath Place, Ash Grove, West Sussex, PO22 9SL, United Kingdom

Education for Every Child

India

CapEx Projects:

Corporate Partnerships:

Real Estate Investment:

Mentoring Programs for School Leadership:

Women’s Empowerment:

Teacher Training Initiatives:

Sri Lanka

CapEx Projects:

Inclusive Education:

Real Estate Investment:

Strategic Support:

Nepal

CapEx Projects:

Inclusive Education:

Strategic Support:

Thailand

Inclusive Education:

Strategic Support:

Laos

Inclusive Education:

Strategic Support:

The Zenith Group Approach

Project Locations

About The Zenith Group

Contact Us

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