Your donation can save 40 blind girls from going homeless. Donate now

“I would hear the footsteps of children from my village chirping and running to school every morning. I felt disheartened that I could not join them anymore. By then I had lost my eyesight completely due to a genetic condition. But even though I had lost my vision I never lost my dreams,” says Arti. Her father is paralysed and her mother is a daily wage farm labourer. Her siblings are also visually impaired. But Arti had dreams, and she couldn’t burden her family any more.

“It was my fight to do something with the life I had been given that brought me to Blind Welfare Society (BWS) after school,” she says. A resident of BWS in Delhi for the last 3 years, Aarti is pursuing a career in teaching.

BWS has not only provided her shelter and financial support but also counselling and guidance.

BWS, has been a saviour for 40 visually impaired girls many of whom have been abandoned by their families and have nowhere to go. The NGO provides these young girls and women food, shelter and support their education so they can pursue a life of their dreams. 

But BWS is facing a serious financial crunch, and without your support, the NGO could be on the verge of closing and making its residents homeless. Donate now.

The man behind BWS

Dheeraj Bhola, the founder of BWS, is visually impaired and understands the pain of losing one’s eye sight and the all kinds of discrimination that one has to face. “I knew of a few girls who had been abandoned by their families and some sold on account of being a blind girl. I saw the pain of these girls since they had nowhere to go. I could feel the burden of their crushed dreams. And it was in 2010 that I started BWS to provide shelter, food and educational support,” says Dheeraj.

Dheeraj says that visually impaired girls are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and they need to be provided a safe home and family-like environment. “I had resolved to never let a visually impaired girl student feel like she was in an orphanage or a hostel but I wanted them to feel like they are living in their own house among family members”, he further adds.

Difficult times

Over the last two years, BWS has been facing a severe fund crunch and has not been able to fulfil even some of the basic needs of its 40 residents and then there is the threat of eviction from the the rented property. “Most of the blind residents do not have a home to go back to if they are evicted and may even end up on the street. With your support these girls can complete their education and make their dreams come true,” appeals Dheeraj.

With your support, BWS can continue to be a safe home for many more young blind girls in need of help and can provide them every opportunity to blossom into confident, independent women.