Meet Anakh Sawhney | CEO, Rice Kids

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anakh Sawhney and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anakh, how does your business help the community?
Rice Kids helps break the cycle of poverty by removing barriers that keep children out of school. Right now, we’ve taken on complete responsibility for over 1,000 kids, providing everything they need to ensure they return to mainstream education, and we’ve supported over 75,000 people in their journey to self-sufficiency over the past seven years.

We work with communities in the U.S. and India to provide comprehensive support. Kids get nutritious meals so they don’t have to sit in class hungry. They get educational resources and health checkups so they can attend classes. Their families get support, too, so they’re not forced to pull kids out of school to work.

But here’s what makes the biggest difference. We train women in local communities to become educators and advocates. These women understand their communities way better than we ever could. They know which families are struggling and how to reach people with respect and dignity.

The results have been encouraging. Schools we partner with have seen dropout rates fall by 11%. Over half the students we support return to mainstream education. When a kid who was doing odd jobs suddenly returns to a classroom with a real shot at a better future, that changes their entire family’s trajectory. And because we empower local people to run these programs themselves, the impact continues as we expand to new communities.

These results would not have been possible without support from over 400 volunteers and 300+ partners globally.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Rice Kids is a nonprofit that provides individuals with pathways from poverty to prosperity through education and holistic support. We operate across the U.S. and India, helping thousands of individuals in their journey to self-sufficiency.

What sets us apart is our focus on solving the root cause rather than the symptoms. Most organizations provide temporary aid, but we recognized early that you can’t break poverty cycles without addressing education. So we built a model that removes every barrier keeping kids out of school: hunger, lack of resources, family economic pressure, health issues, all of it.

Getting here had its share of challenges, but the Rice Kids community and supporters have helped me overcome them. When I was 11, COVID shut down all our operations. But instead of giving up, we started researching and found we could actually serve ten times more people with more pronounced needs if we expanded to India. That challenge turned into our biggest opportunity. Later, when some partners took funding without following through on their commitments, I learned to focus on smaller grassroots organizations that genuinely wanted to work together. So, every challenge came with a learning opportunity that helped us advance our mission.

What I’m most proud of is our community-driven approach. We help women from the community become education leaders because they understand their communities better than we do. When a mother in a village explains to another mother why education matters for their daughters, it carries real weight.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you don’t need to be an adult or have all the answers to create real change. You need to listen to the people you’re trying to help, stay humble, and be willing to adapt when things don’t work. Age isn’t a barrier. Thinking you have to wait is.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend were visiting, I would make sure we had a really fun trip. We would definitely go see a Broadway show, which is my favorite thing to do in the city. I would show them the regular tourist attractions, but also ensure a good culinary experience. I would take them to Din Tai Fung because the soup dumplings there are just incredible. For a celebratory meal, we would go to Fogo de Chao to experience the best of Brazilian barbecue. I would make it a perfect mix of sightseeing, art and entertainment, shopping, and food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give my shoutout to my family, especially my parents. They could have easily told my younger self that starting a nonprofit was too ambitious or that I should wait until I was older. Instead, they supported me from day one. They have helped me throughout, whether it was simple things like driving me to volunteering sites to assisting me with partner meetings, and expanding in India. They believed in this vision even when other adults were skeptical.

Beyond my family, I’m grateful to the hundreds of volunteers and 300+ partner organizations who’ve worked with Rice Kids. They didn’t have to trust a teenager with serious work, but they did. The biggest credit goes to the women educators and community advocates. They’re the ones doing the hardest work every single day. I just help remove barriers so they can succeed.

Website: https://www.ricekids.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teamricekids/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anakh-sawhney/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teamricekids

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1MymLtbDfU