After losing parents to COVID, grieving children need your support. Donate now

"A few days back a 6-year-old girl was crying next to her mother...without realising her mother was dead. The police rescued and brought her to the SOS family. She was really in a stressed and traumatized state, not able to talk or express herself. She is just one of the thousands of children abandoned and orphaned due to COVID. And at SOS village we try to build a safe home and help build a new life for them" says Sumanta Khar, secretary-general of SOS Children’s Villages of India.

Orphaned, abandoned, malnourished or neglected, India’s children are facing the dark side of the pandemic. SOS Children’s Villages of India are providing such children with accommodation, nutrition, education and counselling. But they cannot do it without your help. 

Ground reality: Children in despair

India is home to 31 million abandoned children and COVID has only added to that number. As of June 5, India has recorded 3,632 orphans and 26,176 children who have lost one parent to coronavirus. These children are not only going through tremendous emotional trauma, they are also at a high risk of experiencing neglect, abuse and exploitation.

Besides, many children who were already homeless or below the poverty line have faced hunger, lack of education and nutrition. They also face risk of trafficking, child labour and mental and physical abuse. 

Adoption is not an immediate solution as it involves a lengthy legal process to safeguard the interests of the child and is often not a viable option for kids who are slightly older. Shelter homes too are crowded. All these factors are having an indelible impact on a child’s growth and development. 

Be family to a child in distress

Abandoned or orphaned by COVID, children at SOS Children’s Villages India dream of the life they had before the pandemic changed their lives completely. Together we can ensure that India’s children don’t live a life of neglect and abuse. Let us come together and do our bit to provide a healthy and safe life to children who are losing their childhood to this pandemic. Your donation will provide them with: 

• Food and nutrition to ensure proper growth and development
• Medical expenses to provide essential healthcare services
• Educational expense including school fees, books and stationery
• Social and psychological support through counselling sessions
• Clothing and hygiene 
• Salaries to caregivers

All it takes is ₹10,000 to provide monthly care to one child in need. Every rupee counts, donate now.

About SOS Children’s Villages India

Founded in 1964, SOS Children’s Villages of India (SOS India) is a non-profit organisation committed to the welfare of children who have lost their parents (orphans)or are at risk of losing adequate parental care via a curative and preventive approach. Spread over 22 Indian states, their 32 SOS villages have so far opened their loving arms to 28,500 vulnerable children by building families for them and helping shape their future through community based projects like Family Strengthening Programs, Kindergartens, Schools, Vocational Training Centres, and a Nursing School.