"My son used to kick me when he was in my womb. Why make an issue when he kicked me in my old age?" reasons a very forgiving Shakti Dasi. The widow travelled 2300 kms from Tripura to Vrindavan after her only son violently beat her with a burning plank of wood and broke her knee one evening. She had to leave behind the business she had built with her husband who had died a few years back. Shakti ended up on the streets of Brindavan begging for food and shelter. But when Winnie Singh of Maitri saw Shakti in a frail state in tattered clothes, she brought her to the shelter home where Shakti gets food, care and medicines. What more, with Maitri’s intervention, Shakti reconciled with her son - and daughter-in-law, and now travels home to Tripura twice a year to spend time with her grandchildren. But she is not leaving Maitri, as this has become her family.Not every elderly widow who comes to Vrindavan after being abandoned by her family gets as lucky as Shakti. Many of them often end up living a lonely life and begging to survive on the streets. Maitri aspires to take care of every widow in need of help.<img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/ce101369-528c-4d37-bc1d-1118b9925af3.jpg" />Maitri’s Project Jeevan to the rescueAbandoned, elderly widows are the amongst the most vulnerable in India. After being thrown out of their often abandoned by their own children and are forced to beg for food and shelter. “Through Project Jeevan, Maitri houses aging widow mothers in two ashrams in Vrindavan and Radhakund (Mathura), providing them with wellness and well-being. The programme also reaches out to widow mothers beyond the ashrams with fruit, milk and healthcare services,” explains Winnie Singh, co-founder and executive director, Maitri India.Save homeless elderly widows from begging on the streetsMost widows who make their way to Vrindavan are abandoned by their families, often after years of abuse. They come here hoping they will spend the rest of their days in prayer and devotion. But most live in impoverished conditions on the streets and in dingy rooms. Since poor living conditions often cause a wide range of health ailments, including respiratory infections and chronic conditions, Maitri comes to their rescue through its Project Jeevan.The project aims to:<ul><li>Provide meals leading to improved health and wellbeing</li><li>Make physical and mental health services accessible</li><li>Offer necessary quality aged care and assisted living support</li><li>Increase awareness on and engagement around the struggles of abandoned widow mothers</li></ul><img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/1abfb906-563b-4747-85b8-8af2071a2856.jpg" />Project Jeevan needs your support to help those in need of food, healthcare and well-being. Donate now.“Maitri urgently needs your support to provide food, clothing and healthcare to sustain these widow mothers who are prone to more illnesses as they age,” appeals Winnie.Maitri believes in a woman’s right to dignity in life and death, more so a mother. Our help will enable Maitri to save hundreds of abandoned widows from a life of begging, and restore the respect, dignity, and identity they deserve.

Save abandoned, elderly widow mothers of Vrindavan from begging on streets

For a mother who has spent her entire life loving and raising her child, being beaten and mercilessly thrown out onto the streets by her own son is too heartbreaking to overcome. But this is a common story among the elderly residents of the Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram. “I’ve seen mothers in old and torn clothes, their bodies smelling and their hands and feet rotting and covered in maggots,” shares Dr. G.P. Bhagat, founder of the ashram. These abandoned elderly men and women lay starving on the streets hoping for someone to rescue them from their suffering. But most people walk past them without a second glance. “Like this”, Dr. Bhagat explains, “many elders die on the roads.”Since 2003, SHEOWS (Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society) has rescued over 10,000 elderly people from the streets and given them a home with care and support. The elderly staying at the ashram have all been abandoned by their families and have nowhere else to live. Your support can give them comfort after their abandonment. Donate now.Donate easily through UPI, all debit/credit cards and net banking. Charitable donations to this fundraising campaign are tax exempted under 80G of the Income Tax Act (India). Safe and loving homeFor 20 years, SHEOWS has been providing free shelter, nutritious food three times a day, clothing, medical care, recreation activities and emotional support to abused and disabled elderly people rescued from the streets of Delhi. The Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram has a dedicated rescue team that saves the elderly from the streets and gives them immediate medical care upon their arrival at the home. To tend to the multiple health complications of the seniors, the home has a medical facility with doctors and nurses, a physiotherapy unit, a pathology lab, a digital X-ray monitoring machine and a pharmacy to provide 24-hour care to older adults anytime they require assistance, even during emergencies. Dr. Bhagat prioritizes the health of the seniors and ensures that they receive three balanced meals a day based on their precise health requirements. Need for the fundraiserThe humanitarian mission of SHEOWS is making an impact in the area, as more and more people are being rescued and brought to Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram. To meet the financial costs of running the home, SHEOWS needs support to continue providing the residents with all the facilities that they need. This includes constant care and round-the-clock medical attention, nutritious food and maintaining a hygienic environment to keep the seniors in comfort and good health. Dr. Bhagat explains that as the number of residents is increasing, SHEOWS needs support for food and medicines. “I request you to help these elderly parents lead a peaceful life.”Donate now to help Dr. Bhagat continue caring for the 500 destitute elderly and giving them shelter, food, medical care and the will to carry on living despite their tragic abandonment by their families. Your support will enable SHEOWS to keep serving abandoned senior citizens and help them recover from the trauma of abandonment and life on the streets. “I have been serving these elderly as if they were my own parents”, shares Dr. Bhagat. “I want only one thing - their tears should vanish and they should have a smile on their faces.” To help Dr. Bhagat achieve this dream, your support is critical. Donate now to help SHEOWS care for more abandoned elderly. Donate to this fundraiser by Give, India’s largest online donation platform, to support SHEOWS in their mission to rescue the abandoned elderly from the streets and give them shelter, food, medical care, recreational activities and emotional support.

Help Dr. Bhagat care for 500+ elderly parents rescued from abuse and homelessness

“They insert a candle in the vagina, fingers are inserted (in the vagina) and tortured, and if children don’t relent even then, they put chilli powder so that children will say “yes” because of the burning of the skin… There are teeth marks on their bodies, and their vaginal parts are burnt. When children stay in these conditions, it is painful even to hear,” says Lalitha SA of Society for Participatory Integrated Development (SPID), in course of talking about many heart-rending stories of trafficked children in red-light areas.In over three decades, the SPID led by Lalitha, has saved over 3000 children from the red-light areas, many from clutches of sex trafficking.Sadly, many more children need to be rescued and in need of a loving home. But Lalitha needs our support to carry on the mission, to move out of her small facility so that she can rescue more children, house them in a permanent location and give them all the love they deserve. Your support can help her give these children the care and upbringing they need. Donate now.Donate easily through UPI, all debit/credit cards and net banking. Charitable donations to this fundraising campaign are tax exempted under 80G of the Income Tax Act (India).A movement to protect vulnerable childrenAs a social worker, Lalitha has worked for decades in GB Road, the red-light area of Delhi and helped many women escape the clutches of being forced into sex. But it was the exploitation of children, many of them hardly ten or twelve or even less. The SPID has focused on rescuing such children and giving them a new life.Lalitha plays a vital role in the survival and safety of vulnerable children in the red light areas. As SPID is almost entirely dependent on donations from the public, we can support and strengthen SPID’s mission to save children. Donate generously.Donation to SPID’s fundraiser on Give.do“I have limited funds and very limited space, and if I had the funds, I would be able to rescue many more children and provide them with more comfort. With folded hands, I plead with you that you help us with funds in large numbers and support us in providing us children with a decent life. Become a part of the mission,” pleads LalithaDonate to this fundraiser by Give, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform, to help Lalitha give hundreds of children rescued from brothels a life away from violence and abuse.NGO's 80G number: AADAS3217RF20212NGO's 12A number: AADAS3217RE20214

This Navratri, help Lalitha give kids rescued from abuse in red-light areas a safe and loving home. Donate now.

This is a sample description for Healthcare. For the purpose of testing I will use the word HealthcareHealthcareHealthcare.

Healthcare

This is a sample description for Disaster Relief. For the purpose of testing I will use the wordDisaster ReliefDisaster ReliefDisaster Relief.

Disaster Relief

This is a sample description for Women Empowerment. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Women EmpowermentWomen EmpowermentWomen Empowerment.

Women Empowerment

This is a sample description for Human Rights. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Human RightsHuman RightsHuman Rights.

Human Rights

For 25 years, Calcutta Foundation has conducted ground-breaking work, to extensively support underserved communities around West Bengal. Recognizing that the progress of women come from the progress of her families, we have worked with almost 500,000 individuals, families, and communities. Working so closely with the West Bengal community for 25 years has enabled us to create a strong network of women in 21 districts across West Bengal. We work together with these women to overcome challenges and create progress within these communities. As an organization, our strength lies in our relationship with our community — our ability to create direct impact on the grass-root level. Our vision is to dramatically change the life of every woman we work with and systematically dismantle gender inequality in India.Today, Calcutta Foundation lives the legacy of compassion, feminism and action. Calcutta Foundation is currently working to empower women socially and financially and teach them a livelihood that will make them independent for life. Through trainings and opportunity building, we hope to nurture a culture of entrepreneurship and independence.

Donations through Give Foundation, registered under section 80G of India's Income Tax Act, 1961 are tax-deductible.

Donations through Give Foundation, Inc. a registered US 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, are tax-deductible.

Donations through GIVE, a registered charity in UK, are covered under Gift Aid

Saumya Varma

Calcutta Foundation

This nonprofit is registered as a charitable trust under section 12A of India's Income Tax Act, 1961.

This nonprofit is registered under section 80G of India's Income Tax Act, 1961. This means you can deduct 50% of the donation you made through your tax return.

This nonprofit is registered under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010. This means it can accept donations from foreign nationals.

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Fighting for women's equality focusing in on rural India. 
 We have 4 pillars of change -- Advocacy, Independence, Access and Safety. All our projects are designed to work towards achieving one of these pillars. Through self-defense workshops, digital and financial literacy programs, trainings, research and documentation support, we hope to employ a holistic approach towards the progress of women. We are currently working in 4 districts in Bengal to bring equality to women. 
 Our dream is for an equal India. By tackling problems on the societal and individual levels, we hope to bring equality and access to women in rural India. Our hope is that through our interventions, we will be able to nurture the progress of women allowing them to live an independent and equal life.

Apni Kutir

Mayuri aims to tackle problems of inadequate access to quality healthcare and medical facilities, lack of education opportunities, improper nourishment, and the scarcity of clean drinking water, faced due to extreme poverty. Women and children living in the villages in extreme poverty are more vulnerable to serious health issues due to their inability to leave their homes and seek quality health care. There is poor medical care in these areas – especially for girls facing puberty, women with gynecological issues, and pregnant women. The distance and the cost of travel to Kolkata and treatment further limit their ability to seek medical care in hospitals in Kolkata. This makes healthcare a secondary concern for women and girls in rural areas, something that is not prioritized given While our primary work is suspended, our current efforts are focused on providing relief to those that have been affected by Cyclone Amphan which added to the already devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Many who lost wages due to the lockdown have been rendered homeless by the cyclone. They are in need of urgent support to rebuild homes and to help sustain them during this period of economic uncertainty. 
 In our effort to reduce the inaccessibility to healthcare in rural areas, our concept it to bring healthcare to the doorstep, especially to improve gynecological and nutritional issues during childhood, puberty, pre and postnatal periods, and menopause and by ensuring that women and children have access to sustained, reliable, and quality care at minimal cost at their doorstep. In its first phase, Mayuri has set up monthly rural outreach clinics taking gynecological, pediatric, and general physicians from prominent hospitals in Calcutta. Currently working in 4 areas, we are providing a group of 1685 women and children free monthly medical consultation, medicines, eye checkups with glasses and cataract surgery and blood tests when necessary. In our current relief efforts, we have been providing material to several affected families around the state. In the last 73 days, we have provided relief to over 3,000 families (COVID and Amphan), and are working to widen our impact. While we have sent out urgent and temporary measures such as Tarpaulin for victims of Amphan, we hope to send out a new phase of relief to render a more permanent solution for those who's homes have been destroyed. Additionally, we want to continue sending food kits and rations to provide stability in these uncertain times. 
 Our goal is to provide access to healthcare, nutrition and sanitation for women and children in the outskirts of Kolkata and rural areas of West Bengal. We believe that improving maternal and child health is the key to not only improving the general health and wellbeing but also reducing poverty and creating an empowered population of women. Our hope is that intervening at the critical stages of will ensure improved health of the mother during pregnancy, reducing chances of complication during childbirth and thus reducing the rates of maternal mortality and improve the health and nutrition of babies and children under the age of 5 and thereby reduce the chances of future illness and ensure proper development of the child. Our impact is to assist the most financially vulnerable populations with basic necessities through these trying times. The fight against COVID is a long one, and with India being far from its peak, these populations continue to live in economic instability and lack of access to food. Our desired impact is 2 fold-- providing physical security and shelter to those who have lost homes due to the cyclone, and to continue support the basic necessities of people.

Apni Kutir

Project Mayuri by Calcutta Foundation

Save abandoned, elderly widow mothers of Vrindavan from begging on streets

Help Dr. Bhagat care for 500+ elderly parents rescued from abuse and homelessness

This Navratri, help Lalitha give kids rescued from abuse in red-light areas a safe and loving home. Donate now.

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