DIWALI is a celebration that lights up homes and streets across India. The lights that adorn homes on Diwali symbolize inner light that protects people against the darkness in our world. On this festival of lights, people meet with friends and family members to send their good wishes to their loved ones, share meals together, distribute sweets and honor the tradition of gift-giving, which tells people they are loved and cherished. Diwali, or Deepawali as it is called in different parts of the world, is celebrated across days and includes a host of activities that families do together such as cleaning up their houses, decorating their homes with candles or little lamps called diyas and performing religious rituals.
Diwali is also a time during which many people spread their light by reaching out to the less fortunate. Considered a blessing to help those in need, charitable acts are common and have religious connotations as well. Friends, families and individuals sponsor meals for the poor, buy clothes for people in dire need and reach out to help those who are in desperate need of some kindness and caring – especially during the festival season. NGOs across India look forward to Diwali since it is a time when their light shines brightest. As homes across India light up for Diwali, NGOs take this opportunity to extend their helping hand to those who need it most and you can join them this festival season to spread cheer and light to the darkest parts of our world.
Here are 5 NGOs lighting up the world this Diwali:
Missing Link Trust
Every 26 seconds, a child is trafficked and never heard from again. These children are coerced or kidnapped and then trafficked to red light districts where they are sexually exploited by up to 20 men each day. The Sundarbans in West Bengal is a trafficking source, transit and destination hub and that makes it dangerous for children who do not know what trafficking is. For this reason, Missing Link Trust has developed an awareness program to make children alert and aware – and safe.
The Kolkata-based NGO’s Missing Awareness and Safety School program (MASSp) has been implemented in more than 600 schools in West Bengal and has taught 175,000+ children how to identify traffickers and be equipped with tools and resources to keep themselves and their friends safe. For girls who have escaped the red light district, Missing Link Trust supports them with education, skills training, medical care and personal guidance and support.
This Diwali, your support can help Missing Link Trust shine the light of goodness over the darkness of child trafficking.
Akshaya Trust
Old age is something most people welcome as a sign of gratitude for their long lives. But for senior citizens across India who have been abandoned by their families and left on the streets to suffer without shelter, food, water, medical care or any affection at all. After a lifetime of caring for their children, many elders are pushed onto the streets once their finances, properties and possessions are taken from them and become homeless. For them, their lives are heartbreaking and miserable.
Akshaya Trust is an NGO in Chennai that rescues these homeless elders from the streets and gives them a safe and loving home to live in, 3 nutritious meals a day, medical care and treatment, recreational activities and the companionship and affection they so desperately crave. Akshaya Trust is caring for 260 abandoned elders and wants to bring in many more people who need the care and support that their families have refused to give them.
This Diwali, your support can help Akshaya Trust shine the light of goodness over the darkness of abandonment.
Children of India Foundation
The ancient Devadasi system has been banned across India from as early as the 1800s. But under the guise of this banned system, criminals exploit young girls into forced prostitution and when these girls grow up, their daughters’ lives are at risk of sexual exploitation as well. To combat this crime, it is important to raise awareness among families and local communities to not allow their daughters to be exploited. It is also important to equip girls with information on how to keep themselves safe.
This is a mission that Children of India Foundation has taken up and runs programs to raise awareness on the dangers of dedicating their daughters into the banned Devadasi system. The Bengaluru-based NGO has conducted extensive research on the prevalence of the Devadasi system and runs programs like Kishori Clubs which empower girls to watch out for signs of dedication and alert the authorities if there are any signs of illegal dedications that force girls into prostitution.
Support Children of India Foundation
This Diwali, your support can help Children of India Foundation shine the light of goodness over the darkness of child sexual exploitation.
Railway Children India
Railway stations are dangerous places for unattended children. In one minute, thousands of people walk in and out of railway station platforms and it is easy to overlook a stranded child in need of help. Traffickers and criminals take advantage of this and often kidnap children from railway stations to be exploited into child labor, begging, drug peddling and even sexual exploitation. When children get lost on trains, they often cross state lines and are never heard from again.
Railway Children India maintains a presence in 23 major railway stations across the country and watches out for missing children. The Delhi-based NGO works with the local authorities and the Indian Railways to assess the child’s situation, contact their families or place the child in long-term care in a safe environment. Railway Children India has protected more than 100,000 children since 2013 and its vigilant presence in railway stations thwarts the activities of traffickers.
Support Railway Children India
This Diwali, your support can help Railway Children India shine the light of goodness over the darkness of child abduction.
Mahima India
Red light areas are no place for children. But children are found in brothels when they are trafficked for sexual exploitation or because their mothers live there. These children suffer extreme abuse and those as young as 10 have shared that they have been raped up to 10 or 15 times a day by multiple men. In addition to rape, videos are often taken of the children without their clothes on or when crimes are being committed against them to be used for pornographic films.
Mahima India is an NGO based in Kolkata that provides shelter, trauma counseling, medical care and education to help child victims who have been abused. Traffickers use multiple “opportunities” such as social media connections and even the chaos after a natural disaster to snatch unattended children and sell them into brothels to be sexually abused and exploited. But Mahima India offers these children a way to heal and recover from their trauma and live better futures.
This Diwali, your support can help Mahima India shine the light of goodness over the darkness of child sex trafficking.
Celebrate Diwali by supporting these NGOs
Diwali is a celebration of light over darkness. This Diwali season, shine your light in the darkest parts of our world and give people across India a Diwali filled with happiness, gratitude and all that their hearts desire. Happy Diwali!
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Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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