Aloha Ahimsa Foundation (AAF)
The Aloha Ahimsa Foundation (AAF) is a not-for-profit organization committed to inspiring meaningful change through education, advocacy, and collaboration to build a more compassionate and sustainable world. We do this by integrating concepts related to animal welfare, compassion, and environmental consciousness into the curricular frameworks of educational institutions.
We inspire nationwide impact through policy advocacy, strategic partnerships, and the development of high-quality online/offline content that leads future generations to a more compassionate and sustainable world. We are a Section 8 company registered under CSR and 80G.
Our Approach
To find opportunities in the existing curricula where concepts of Animal Welfare, Sustainable Living, One Health One Welfare and Compassion can be included in the text books of various Boards and private publishers.
To create digital content to supplement textbook learning, where concepts related to Animal Welfare, Sustainable Living, One Health One Welfare, and Compassion can be reinforced, embellished, or brought out where they have been missed in the textbooks.
To empower teachers from across the country by identifying and training select teachers on Animal Welfare, Sustainable Living, One Health One Welfare, and Compassion to become Master Trainers within their Boards/Schemes/Systems and then go on to train and multiply the workforce with this knowledge.
What Is Aloha Ahimsa?
Aloha is a Hawaiian word for being one with the land. It stands for love, peace, compassion and mercy and a way of life that emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of treating others with respect and kindness. It involves cultivating a positive mindset, practicing mindfulness, and fostering harmonious relationships with others. Aloha is a reminder to live with love, compassion, and peace and to appreciate the beauty and abundance of life and to treat all beings with respect.
Ahimsa is a Sanskrit word that translates to “non-violence” or “non-injury” and espouses not causing harm to any living being through actions, words or thought. Ahimsa extends beyond merely avoiding physical harm. It encompasses a broader concept of non-violence towards all living beings, including animals, plants, and even oneself. It promotes a harmonious and peaceful coexistence among all beings. It is often associated with concepts such as love, compassion, and tolerance.
The Aloha Ahimsa Foundation (AAF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing awareness about compassion, animal welfare, animal rights & animal protection laws, along with allied fields such as One Health One Welfare, Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Living. We believe that challenges with regard to the environment and biodiversity can be addressed by incorporating animal welfare, compassion, and sustainability in the curricular frameworks of educational institutions.
Compassion in Education Through NEP 2020
The National Education Policy (NEP, 2020) and the National Curricular Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) present several opportunities to introduce compassion to students at all levels of school education – whether they are in the foundational, preparatory, middle school, or high school level.
The Vision Statement of the National Education Policy envisages that the curriculum and pedagogy of our institutions must develop among the students a deep sense of respect towards the Fundamental Duties and Constitutional values, bonding with one’s country, and a conscious awareness of one’s roles and responsibilities in a changing world (NEP, 2020). Moreover, under the Principles of the Policy, the purpose of the education system is “to develop good human beings capable of rational thought and action, possessing compassion and empathy, courage and resilience, scientific temper, and creative imagination, with sound ethical moorings and values.” It aims at producing engaged, productive, and contributing citizens for building an equitable, inclusive, and plural society as envisaged by our Constitution.
The Introduction of the Policy document mentions that ****“Education must build character, enable learners to be ethical, rational, compassionate, and caring, while at the same time prepare them for gainful, fulfilling employment.”
In Section 4.28, the NEP 2020 states that “as consequences of such basic ethical reasoning, traditional Indian values and all basic human and Constitutional values (such as seva, ahimsa, swachchhata, satya, nishkam karma, shanti, sacrifice, tolerance, diversity, pluralism, righteous conduct, gender sensitivity, respect for elders, respect for all people and their inherent capabilities regardless of background, respect for environment, helpfulness, courtesy, patience, forgiveness, empathy, compassion, patriotism, democratic outlook, integrity, responsibility, justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity) will be developed in all students.” A few significant Indian values that are connected with Animal Welfare are listed below:
- Karuna (compassion): A core principle in many Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
- Sarvodaya (welfare of all): The interconnectedness of all living beings. Including animal welfare education promotes this concept.
- Ahimsa (non-violence): Extends beyond human interactions and encompasses respect for all life forms.
Approach To Curriculum Inclusion
- Create high-quality offline content on Compassion for Animals and Environmental Consciousness.
- Identify potential institutions for collaboration and pilot testing
- Research existing curriculum frameworks and identify potential entry points for Animal Welfare content.
- Explore strategic collaborations for the development of high-quality online content and to maximize outreach.
- Draft initial representations for the Ministry of Education and allied institutions highlighting the need to include standardized content in the formal curriculum.
- Begin engagement with relevant officials within the departments and offer assistance as subject matter experts.
What We Do
Our ongoing projects in Education Policy
Creating and implementing curricula on compassion with age appropriate content and exercises for students of all age groups.
Collaborating with Teacher Training Institutions and NGOs to create a trained workforce to disseminate content on animal welfare.
Leveraging the NEP to assist appropriate government agencies to include animal welfare content.
Establishing sensitisation programmes in educational institutions to increase compassion and mitigate human-animal conflict.
Creating outreach material such as posters, hoardings, murals, wall art and social media content to promote awareness about animal rights.
Creating content for school textbooks and digital media to formally include compassion into mainstream education
Creating Digital Content to supplement textbook chapters, in collaboration with the NCERT, various SCERTs, and other official educational bodies at the state/central level.
Our Team
