HEALTH & EDUCATION ALLIANCE
Healthy & educated children are the foundation of vibrant communities
While Darjeeling tea can sell for hundreds of dollars per pound, the laborers who produce the tea work for less than $3/day. Rural communities face stagnant economies, poor infrastructure, and limited access to quality healthcare and education.
Our Story: A Journey of Health and Education Impact
In 2007, Denna Matergia, BA, MEd, a primary school teacher, and her husband, Michael Matergia, MD, spent one-year volunteering on a tea plantation in rural Darjeeling, India.
While living on the tea plantation, Denna and Michael witnessed how these structural inequities negatively impacted the psychosocial development of children and adolescents.
In 2011, Denna and Michael returned to Darjeeling and founded Broadleaf Health and Education Alliance. Working in partnership with DLR Prerna, a Darjeeling-based NGO focused on improving rural development and equity outcomes, Broadleaf developed the Comprehensive Health and Hygiene Improvement Program (CHHIP). In the following years, Broadleaf conducted a five-year research pilot that successfully demonstrated that CHHIP improves health and education outcomes.
Born in Darjeeling
Proven in the Himalayas:
Our Global Footprint
Since our founding, Broadleaf has sustainably expanded our impact.
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Beginning with 7 schools in 2011, we currently partner with over 100 schools in the Darjeeling Himalayas reaching over 10,000 youth.
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While initially focused on creating health promoting schools, we identified an urgent need for accessible mental health care. Together with partners at DLR Prerna and University of North Carolina, we designed Tealeaf - a pioneering approach to youth mental health.
In 2024, after rigorous testing, Broadleaf expanded Tealeaf to Manila, Philippines and North Carolina, USA. Meanwhile in Darjeeling, Tealeaf is expanding to reach adolescents in secondary schools.
Broadleaf’s innovative and impactful programs are made possible through a multitude of local and international partnerships with host communities, NGOs, governmental bodies, academia, and the private sector.
