Nina Kanjirath founded Gaia Preschool & Childcare Center, RT Nagar in 2005. With over thirty years of experience as a teacher trainer, curriculum developer and pre-primary/elementary school educator, Nina has worked in New Zealand Kindergarten, British and American schools in Sri Lanka and Indonesia and in Mallya Aditi International School, Bangalore.
In 2015 Nina handed over the reins of Gaia to husband-wife duo Ivan and Rekha D’Souza, who currently own and manage the school.
Born and bred in Bangalore, Rekha is a post graduate from Mount Carmel deemed university.She began her career in the publication and print media space with Indian Express and later moved to Dubai where she worked with leading publishing houses like Khaleej Times, Motivate, and BBC Good Food.
She was instrumental in conceptualizing, designing and launching many key publications, magazines, and tabloids. She was behind the launch of Parent Talk, a magazine that focussed on parenting and early childhood, and it was during this time that she developed a keen interest and passion for early child education which eventually led to her taking over the reins of Gaia.
Rekha believes that the environment makes all the difference when it comes to educating little minds. The environment stimulates curiosity and real learning happens outside the classroom from observing the little aspects of daily life. Furthermore, children never learn when their social and emotional wellbeing is threatened. And this is exactly what her vision for Gaia is - To create a safe, warm, friendly and fun environment where every child is given the freedom to develop at his/her own pace and realise their milestones organically. Her wish is to see that every child walking into Gaia learns something new everyday and that the learning happens with a big smile! She is committed to providing quality education and a great preschool experience to children and parents alike.