About Us

About Us

सफ़र (safar) means Journey in Hindi. Saphara’s journey starts with our CEO and Founder, Dr. Christine Burnett

Christine's Journey (क्रिस्टीन का सफ़र)

My passion for India began in 1998, sitting on the floor of a Delhi slum hut, hearing the hopes of impoverished women whose greatest longing was for their children to be educated. Listening to their dreams for their children’s future changed my life. The students back home at my Belfast school were keen to share in this journey and so began transformational encounters between Indian and Irish young people, learning from and inspiring each other through our annual visits to India.

The significant impact of these encounters on both Irish and Indian kids motivated me resign from teaching in 2008 to set up Saphara, opening up these opportunities to students from both Catholic and largely Protestant schools in cross-community teams. From 2009 to 2019 over one thousand young people and teachers went on life-changing journeys to Dehradun and Mussoorie in the Himalayan foothills. 

The schools we worked with, run by grassroots NGOs, began flourishing with the support of both the expertise of Irish teachers and the funds we brought out. But as we saw achievement and aspirations increase, it was clear that girls were lagging behind. One heartbreaking day in 2012, I returned to Donk Primary School where the Class 5 pupils were moving up to ‘big school’ only to discover that Arti would not be joining her friends. ‘Arti is a married lady now’ I was told – at 12 years old! Such a shocking reminder that one third of the girls who are victims of child marriage globally are in India.  

This experience has haunted me personally and given rise to our mission to save girls from child marriage, gender-based violence and trafficking. Through the Saphara Girl Champions programme, thousands of adolescent girls from Dalit and tribal communities have been empowered with the skills, knowledge and self-belief to resist abuse, stay in school and live flourishing lives. 

 
Dr. Christine Burnett talking with 2 girls in a school in India.

My greatest joy is to hear stories from girls like Harshita of how the girls’ programme gave her the courage to ask her father for the use of a phone during Covid so she could take part in online lessons. When I met with Harshita recently, I asked her how her studies had gone since. She told me, ‘I got 93% in my final exams and was 3rd in the whole district of Dehardun. I got invited to meet the Chief Minister and was given a gold medal and a Dell computer!’ She also shared some of what she has learned through the Girl Champions programme below.

Who we are

Meet the Team

Dr Christine Burnett

CEO

Christine is our inspirational CEO and Founder.

Christine is passionate about bringing young people together to discover their own value and worth and that they can change the world through working together.

She cares deeply about justice for marginalised children both in N. Ireland and India.

Her greatest joy is meeting with girls from remote tribal communities through the Saphara Girl Champions programme, and seeing them realise their unique God-given potential. 

Email Christine

Paula Stronge​

Education Director

Paula joined Saphara soon after beginning her own Transformational Journey in October 2017 as a teacher on a schools’ team to India. Her encounters with Saphara’s inspirational partners and the children they support created a new focus for her strong belief in the power of education to transform lives, and a longing to provide vital education for those living in marginalised communities. She subsequently trained and led 4 further school teams to India throughout 2018 and 2019, cementing her desire to work for Saphara full-time. Leaving her 30 year career as an English teacher in both primary and secondary sectors, she took up the role of Education Director for Saphara in 2020.  

In early 2021 she fulfilled a long held ambition to gain a qualification in teaching English as an additional language and completed a Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching. This led to the privilege of working with refugees and asylum seekers here in Northern Ireland, both in her spare time and as an integral part of Saphara’s Be the Change focus on celebrating the richness and diversity brought to our school communities by newcomer children.

Paula loves to see young people from different backgrounds discover their strengths and grow in confidence; building new friendships as they work together as a Saphara team; developing greater local and global awareness; and exploring ways in which they really can Be the Change they want to see in the world.

Email Paula

Bernie Devlin

Director for Education

Bernie is Director of Education and a member of the Saphara Board of Directors. Her involvement with Saphara began when she was Pastoral Vice-Principal of Assumption Grammar School.

In that capacity, she was part of two Principals’ Trips to India in 2011 and 2015.

These trips afforded her the opportunity to witness first-hand the great work done by Saphara in Indian schools and rural communities and to engage in professional staff development with Indian teachers.

Since retiring from school in 2016, Bernie has continued her involvement with the charity accompanying the Down Team to India in 2018 and 2019.

Since the outbreak of Covid 19, Bernie has relished the opportunity to continue her work with Northern Irish students and to witness their growth in confidence, compassion and mutual understanding through the Be the Change Award.

As well as increasing the Year 13 students’ awareness of issues pertaining to refugee, newcomer and Indian children, the year long programme creates meaningful opportunities for students of different religious backgrounds to work and grow together as transformational leaders with empathy and a heightened sense of moral responsibility.

Email Bernie

Our Programmes

SAPHARA

Be the Change Schools

Each year we partner with secondary schools across NI to deliver Be the Change Award to 150 sixth form students.

SAPHARA

Be the Change India

We partner with schools and NGOs in India to support their vital work providing education for all.

SAPHARA

Be the Change Girls

There are 15 million girls worldwide who are never expected to enrol in school. We want to change that

SAPHARA

Be the Change Colleges

Equipping teaching students from Stranmillis and St Mary’s to deliver affirming education to marginalised children in NI and India.

Latest News

Group of girls in uniform at a school in India

Saphara in 2024

At Saphara we are passionate about the power of education to transform lives.

In India we work with some extremely poor and marginalised children and see how the education they receive at our partner schools is bringing powerful change into their lives.

Read More »
Child in school uniform in India encoruring donations to Christmas Gifts Appeal

Donate to our Christmas Gifts Appeal 2023

At Saphara we are passionate about the power of education to transform lives.

In India we work with some extremely poor and marginalised children and see how the education they receive at our partner schools is bringing powerful change into their lives.

Read More »

Colleges India Team 2023

The first Saphara College team since 2019 began their India experience with a wonderful day in Delhi. Clothes shopping was followed by a relaxing and

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