Global Perspective Fuels Student’s Volunteer Mission for Educational Equality

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Oorja Munot. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Due to her dad’s job and his desire to raise kids with a global perspective, Oorja Munot grew up in Belgium, India and the US. Now a high school junior, her international experience has left her with the ability to speak multiple languages—French, Marwari, English, Hindi and Marathi. Her journey has shaped her personality, her plans for the future and even her leisure activities. She takes classical Indian singing lessons and often has her nose in an Adam Grant book when she’s not spending time with friends. It also showed her that when it comes to learning, not everyone is getting an even start—an injustice that led her to create Equality Through Education (ETE) as a freshman.

In under two years, the organization has torn down barriers to education by building 20 Smart Classrooms in partner schools, providing 2,000+ Essential Kits to students learning English and developing an offline app offering more than 500 volunteer-made presentations and life skills resources with $15,000 they’ve raised. Oorja has helped establish 35+ chapters and partner schools around the world while attracting 1000+ volunteers. If learning is a privilege, Oorja insists it be one that everyone has.

What inspired you to build Equality Through Education?

Growing up in multiple countries gave me exposure to various types of education and ways that people learn. It also showed me that resources are not equal everywhere. Privilege has an upper hand over a student’s merit.

I founded ETE in 2023, but I’d thought about it for a year before that. I attend a magnet high school, and when I applied, I used an essay I wrote about ETE. Originally, I named it Montgomery County Equality Through Education, or MoCo ETE, but within a couple of months, it was very clear that this could be bigger. So, I dropped MoCo from the name.

Tell us about your volunteer role.

As CEO, I lead my executive board team, engage in outreach and fundraising, ensure projects are impactful on the community we aim to serve and provide long-term strategic planning. This is something I want to do beyond high school, so I’m making sure we’re sustainable.

My day-to-day involves a lot of team meetings about initiatives and, every few months, how we can improve them based on feedback we receive. I also develop partnerships and oversee all of our departments.

I’ve connected with many international nonprofits focused on the same thing. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There’s a lot of great work already being done, and it’s important to build off that or build together.

Several months ago, I led a sub-group of 75 people called the Menstrual Equity Education Coalition that developed a five-unit, doctor-certified curriculum on menstrual hygiene and menstrual health. Many schools in, for example, India don’t have this kind of curriculum.

We had to ensure it was culturally sensitive before implementing it in schools, because many of the areas we were targeting aren’t very open to this stigmatized conversation. That’s part of the narrative we’re trying to change. We also had it translated into five languages.

What are Essentials Kits?

The Essential Kits are personalized kits mostly aimed towards elementary and early middle school students in the US who don’t speak English as their first language. When I moved, it was fairly easy, because I’d been learning English in India and Belgium. But a lot of people don’t have that experience.

We include language games and charts, basic school supplies and motivational cards. Sometimes, we put in a printed version of online resources. It’s also really helpful for parents. When they walk in the International Admissions Office to register a student in Montgomery County, they can grab one.

What was it like to expand globally, and what have you learned along the way?

Initially, I did everything and didn’t feel the need for a team. But I realized that when you want to make a big impact, collective effort goes a long way. I also discovered a lot of gratitude and enjoyment finding people who shared my vision.

I recently talked about team development at a conference hosted by a group that serves as an incubator for student leaders called Youth Creating Change. I graduated from their program. They taught me about three things you need to grow your project—fundraising, outreach and a solid vision and mission. You need a strong sense of purpose and community when doing this kind of work. That’s how you grow and push yourself to dream bigger.

Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.

We’re on week two of a six-week program called Advocacy Academy. A big thing that I missed out on early in my own journey was learning how to advocate for myself, and that’s the goal of this program. We want to give these students the essential skills they need, like leadership and communication, and embolden them to bring their own impact to the world.

What can people do in their own area to contribute to education equality?

First, empower yourself, and then find a small problem that could be solved. For example, when I was first starting out, I noticed that the AP and IB exams in our county were very expensive, especially the associated books. So, I went to the Montgomery County Board of Education and gave testimony advocating for free AP and IB exam books for all students.
That didn’t end up happening, but they made exams free. Start small; it can make a big difference. And collaborate with other people and organizations.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

There’s no perfect time to start making a difference. You can be a middle schooler or a senior. No one has a roadmap to success, not even for nonprofit work. You have to take the first step on your own. After that, there are a lot of people to help you. Don’t be afraid. Most of the time, it’ll turn into something bigger than you could have ever imagined.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Oorja? Find local volunteer opportunities.