Dream India Network

The driving factors of poverty and social exclusion compel families to relinquish their children from the rightful childhood care they deserve. Families, due to financial constraints, surrender their children, believing it to be the best way for them to access essential services such as education and healthcare. Children, particularly girls, those with disabilities, ethnic minorities, those with HIV/AIDS, and those born out of wedlock, endure discrimination and neglect, along with other forms of physical, social, and emotional violence.

DIN envisions and pledges to bridge this gap by establishing structures that provide a nurturing environment for children to thrive to their full potential. DIN Foster Homes are conceived and established with this objective. Each DIN Foster Home, secular in nature, offers a secure and caring family environment conducive to the physical and personal development of the eight most vulnerable children aged 5-8 years.

DIN Grace Homes offer dignified and professional residential care for destitute individuals living on the streets. Observing that thousands of men and women in Bangalore lack basic facilities and services while residing on the streets, DIN recognizes their vulnerability to physical, emotional, and social challenges. The risk of destitution is heightened by poverty and other structural inequalities. The organization is committed to ensuring that individuals not fully capable of self-care maintain the highest possible quality of life, aligning with their individual preferences and promoting independence, autonomy, participation, personal fulfillment, and human dignity.

DIN maintains a steadfast belief that individuals experiencing destitution on the streets are akin to fallen stars whose vibrancy has faded. The Coloring the Fallen Stars program is crafted with the purpose of rejuvenating these individuals by offering quality care and support. Reports indicate that numerous women and men endure life on the streets without adequate care or attention. This district-level initiative involves each district being equipped with an ambulance and a team of volunteers led by DIN staff. This dedicated team will respond to calls or proactively patrol the streets to rescue destitute individuals, providing them with medical care and permanent rehabilitation. The program also aims to explore opportunities for family reunification whenever feasible. Leveraging existing homes, facilities, and resources available from the government and other stakeholders, this program seeks to enhance its impact.

In collaboration with United Way Bengaluru and the Women and Child Development Department (Government of Karnataka), Dream India Network (DIN) has launched the Born Learning Campaign. This initiative aims to augment the existing facilities and activities of selected Anganwadis in urban and peri-urban areas. The project's objectives include ensuring school readiness and holistic development for children aged 0-6 years, enhancing early learning abilities, including fine and gross motor skills, engaging mothers to raise awareness about health and hygiene for children, and providing a conducive environment for early learning. DIN has already commenced the infrastructure development of 24 Anganwadis, accompanied by community engagement programs in the Dommasandra area of Bengaluru Urban District.

In India, transgender individuals confront a spectrum of challenges, perceiving exclusion from active participation in social and cultural spheres, the economy, politics, and decision-making processes. A significant contributing factor to their exclusion is believed to be the lack of clear recognition of the gender status of hijras and other transgender people, posing a barrier to exercising their civil rights in their affirmed gender. Dream India Network (DIN) has established a platform to assist transgender individuals, including sex workers, in asserting their right to lead a dignified and respected life in society. This project aims to unite them under one banner, amplifying their voices to society, asserting their rights, and facilitating a normal life akin to others. The program includes the formation of Transgender Self-help groups, entrepreneurship development, legal aid and advice, counseling and guidance, community awareness, and sensitization.

Dream India holds the belief that networking is the most effective approach to harness the collective capacities of diverse entities and utilize shared strength and resources to accelerate the growth and development of every citizen, regardless of gender, caste, color, religion, etc. Dream India Network (DIN) collaborates with individuals, CSR departments, communities, faith-based organizations, and NGOs to turn this vision into reality. Currently serving as the focal center for two significant networks:
* Impact India: This network comprises seven like-minded organizations collaborating for societal improvement. Established on October 23, 2017, the network is actively engaged in the rehabilitation of homeless individuals throughout the city of Bengaluru.
* FEVOURD- K (Federation of Voluntary Organizations for Urban and Rural Development in Karnataka)

Dream India Network (DIN) believes that NGOs should actively contribute to improving the public healthcare system, especially at the grassroots level. The organization is dedicated to identifying economically disadvantaged individuals in need of support for medicines and hospital care. Volunteers and civil society groups in various locations will pinpoint such families, individuals, children's homes, and destitute people requiring medical assistance, connecting them with individuals, CSR groups, and other associations for necessary support. The upcoming free destitute hospital in Bangalore, a collaborative initiative of DIN with multiple partners, serves as a model that they aim to replicate. DIN emphasizes the need to develop effective and efficient healthcare service delivery models, expressing its willingness to collaborate with the public healthcare system at the grassroots level and explore innovative ways to efficiently provide services for the benefit of a broader population.

The initiative envisions providing support to distressed individuals and families residing under makeshift shelters, particularly in slums and on the streets across various parts of the city. The primary objectives include addressing their basic survival needs and ensuring the education of children within these families. Program components involve identifying and mapping families experiencing distress and living in makeshift shelters, distributing Free Provision and Protection Kits (including items like chapati and blankets), conducting surveys to assess the educational status of children, and facilitating their education by connecting them to nearby government schools or DIN Foster Homes/residential hostels. Additionally, efforts will be made to link these families with relevant government schemes, programs, or other agencies for further assistance.

Homeless individuals, often referred to as roofless or pavement dwellers, have been consistently overlooked by local and state governments, receiving minimal essential services for basic survival, such as shelters, food, and clothing. This program aims to ensure that no homeless person spends the night exposed to the elements and, instead, provides them with around-the-clock safe and healthy accommodation, offering opportunities to lead a decent and dignified life.

The DIN Sponsorship Programs aspire to provide suitable means for children who are unable to afford education, ensuring that they have access to a safe and conducive learning environment. Targeting primarily those from marginalized and vulnerable families, the sponsorship covers school fees, books, uniforms, school lunch, and boarding expenses for primary/secondary school students and those pursuing technical courses. These students may attend educational institutions near their homes or opt for boarding facilities. The 'Student Support Program,' a collaborative effort between Dream India Network and United Way Bangalore, focuses on backing deserving students in higher education facing financial constraints. The project emphasizes quality education, holistic development through life skills courses, personality development, social responsibility, career guidance, and value education. Each student is mentored and guided with moral and economic support, currently benefitting 1090 students

The Ambassadors for Change Program unites students and adult mentors from various parts of the world to foster mutual understanding, enhance leadership skills, and equip them to effect positive change in their communities and society as a whole. Participants will take part in workshops, engage with community leaders, participate in community service activities, undergo interactive training, visit high schools/colleges, and more, with the aim of promoting the vision and mission of Dream India Network. This initiative seeks to establish additional connections and partnerships for the welfare of marginalized and vulnerable individuals in both children and adults.