About The Project

Routes 2 Roots has been promoting people to people contact between India and Pakistan since 2004 through cultural activities such as art, theatre, music and festivals. Although India and Pakistan share boundaries, similar histories and cultures, misconceptions between the two nations have contributed to growing tensions.

The Student Exchange Program is a unique project initiated by Routes 2 Roots since 2010. It has connected over 12,000 students aged between 9-14 years from 37 schools across seven cities of India and Pakistan. In this year-long program, children are connected through the activities of writing letters to each other followed by postcards, collages, audio and video recordings that share oral histories of pre-partition thereby eliminating misunderstandings about each other’s cultures. This engagement enables the students to ask each other questions about their hobbies, festivals, historical monuments, food, schools and sports thus discovering common interests.

At the end of the year, select children and teachers from each school are taken to visit their partner schools, see places of historical interest and directly experience the other culture. These children, who will be the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow, are empowered by experiencing the trust that they have cultivated themselves.