Browse through SATHI's annual reports over the past decade and you'll get more than a dose of stories on the lives they have impacted. Luckily, most have a happy ending and SATHI's follow-up phonecalls and visits to some of the reunited childrens' homes reaffirms that. The story of Santosh, Dinesh and Sandip are just a sample of the kind of...

Ramesh was found crying on Pune railway station. A broker who had promised him a good job in the city had abandoned him on the platform. Unable to withstand the thrashings from his drunk older brother and the humiliation from the seniors in his boys’ hostel, 15-year-old Arun stole Rs. 100 and sought refuge at the platform of the Bangalore...

It’s mentioned on their website that SATHI was “an unplanned outcome of a well-intended intention. It started as one woman’s dream to take care of underprivileged children.” This got me seriously intrigued and so my first question about how it all began obviously went down this path. As Mr. Kulkarni clarified, “I remember I was at work at Prerana,...

FFE is the brainchild of Dr. Prabhu and Mrs. Poonam Goel. Dr. Prabhu Goel hails from a humble, middle-class family in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He went to IIT Kanpur for his undergraduate education; and subsequently in 1970, to Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburg, for graduate studies. Getting an opportunity to study at two of the best educational institutions in the...

“Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give.” - Ben Carson (noted neurosurgeon) Foundation for Excellence India Trust’s (FFE) one-room basic office on Bangalore’s Indiranagar lies in complete contrast to the work that they do and the impact they create. Set up in 1995, FFE helps exceptionally talented but poor students in India become doctors, engineers,...

Maria Seva Sangha’s Nutrition Scheme arranges to serve a hot, nourishing meal each to some of the children in 21 schools across Bangalore today. Why some and not all children in these schools? And why just 23 schools in the city which probably has over a 100 schools? Because the scheme is specifically targeted at children whose families are...

Sometimes one particular incident sparks off a major change and that seems to be the case with how Maria Seva Sangha was set up. Ms. Ethel Brito was volunteering with a small school in Ashoknagar, and purely out of curiosity she asked a class of 60 students this simple question: "How many of you bring lunch to school?" 24 hands...

...Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. This adage is apt for Maria Seva Sangha. Set up in 1981, this organization was set up by a lady named Ethel Brito, along with a group of public-spirited people. They worked together to obtain registration, tax-exemption, FCRA sanction and the like, to establish the institution's credentials in the eyes of...

Vathsalya Charitable Trust was registered in 1988 but actual work began only in 1989. Mrs. Mary Paul is the current Managing Director and she’s been around since the beginning (although she did take a decade’s sabbatical between 1991 and 2001 to bring up her own two children. The organisation was set up in response to a need that existed...

It was quiet day at Vathsalya Charitable Trust, the day we visited. Their CEO Mary Paul was out at a meeting with Government officials and while we waited for her to return, we spent time with the children at their in-house school. There were just 9-10 kids. That isn’t too many children. But for an organization like Vathsalya, it...