"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

In the dark and dingy alleys of red light areas, injustice, pain and suffering run rampant. And the worst affected are the children who grow up in red-light areas and are subjected to constant abuse and violence. “The sight of a 12-year-old girl being gang-raped by a group of men near a house l haunts me to this date. I was filled with anguish and resolved to do something,” says Girish Kulkarni who has made it his life’s mission to rescue children from red light areas and give them a safe and secure childhood. In the last 3 decades Girish has saved over 1100 girls from a life of abuse in red-light areas, giving them a loving home, education and medical care. He has further supported over 20,000 children with a better life.Sadly, 250 of the children rescued from abuse and exploitation are HIV positive. The high cost of medication has left Girish struggling for funds. Your support can help him provide these children with 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), &amp; 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (USA). A movement to protect vulnerable children“Growing up in Ahmednagar, the experiences I had as a child witnessing the horrors of sex trade defined the path of my life. I had even seen my friend’s 15-year-old sister and 70-year-old grandmother being forced to do sex work for the price of a cup of tea”, recalls Girish. “I started by merely feeding and teaching children of sex workers initially with the intention of giving them some respite from the horrors of life of abuse in red-light areas. Gradually more and more mothers started coming to me and asked me to take their children away, even if it was just for a couple of hours,” he further adds.The work that Girish started in his youth gradually grew to become a movement, with many more joining his cause. His NGO Snehalaya to date has transformed the lives of millions. Girish’s work is crucial for the survival and safety of vulnerable children of sex workers. Snehalaya is almost entirely dependent on donations from the public and your support can strengthen his mission to save children most in need. Donate generously.The horrors of life in red light areas“The cruelty and abuse that children as young as 6 or 7 years of age face is something that I can’t explain in words. Young daughters of sex workers are made to watch their mothers being raped, are brutally assaulted and forced into sex work. No child deserves to grow like this, Girish says in anguish.Sad reality of life for children growing up in red light areas is that they are deprived of even the most basic needs like proper food, safety and education. Moreover, a majority of children rescued by Girish are diagnosed HIV positive. The task of securing medication, providing them quality education and much needed nutrition is one that requires constant support from donors. Moreover, the increase in healthcare cost has left Girish struggling to keep his home for children going. But your support can enable him to give his children a loving environment and save many more who still remain trapped behind closed doors.Donate to this fundraiser by Give, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform, to help Snehalaya give hundreds of children rescued from red-light areas a life away from violence and abuse.

Help Girish give 250 HIV+ children, rescued from abuse in red-light areas a new life

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

Children

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Healthcare

This is a sample description for Environment For the purpose of testing I will use the word Hunger & HomelessnessHunger & HomelessnessHunger & Homelessness.

Hunger & Homelessness

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

Livelihood

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Education

This is a sample description for children

children

Catalysts for Social Action (CSA) is an Indian NGO that works towards creating and ensuring a brighter future for every child under institutional care. We strive to ensure a better future for children in need of care and protection which pays attention to their physical, emotional, personal, spiritual wellbeing and learning.We believe that every child needs family or family-like care in a well-managed institution. We have been working since 2002 as catalysts by leveraging existing institutions and empowering them to improve child outcomes and enhance the quality of care to children. This is achieved by partnering with like-minded childcare institutions, individuals, and corporates.Over the last 18 years, we have been enabled by our generous donors, supporting partners and volunteers to create a visible impact in the lives of 20000+ children.Our VisionTo build a nation where children in need of care and protection are nurtured into happy and contributing members of society.

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

Akash R

Vikas Puthran

Catalysts for Social Action

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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Vulnerable children account for 170 million or 40 per cent of India’s child population. They experience difficult circumstances characterised by their specific social, economic and geopolitical situations, and need special attention.The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) is the law that ensures children in need of care and protection are provided with necessary support, services and facilities so that they can grow up in a safe environment and become contributing members of the society.Children in need of care and protection are defined as:1. Homeless children2. Victims of child labour3. Child residing with an abusive or exploitative person4. Child residing with someone unfit or incapable of taking care of the child5. Child who either does not have parents or the parents have surrendered the child6. Child who is a victim of an armed conflict or natural calamity7. Child who is a victim or is in the imminent danger of child marriageIndia is home to approximately 30 million children in need of care and protection, probably the highest in the world. Our work spans across multiple challenging areas that come with the responsibility of providing care and protection to the vulnerable children in our country. 
 Through our institutional care channels and the tireless efforts of our teams and your support, we ensure family-like care for our children, and that they have access to healthy living conditions, good education and personal development resources along with a healthy livelihood. An estimated 2500 children live in adoption agencies and 3,70,000 live in Child Care Institutions across the country who need constant care and support.Our objectives are to:1) Enhance the quality of care provided to children in child care institutions2) Ensure Care Leavers have access to support from the Government3) Ensure children restored from CCIs are monitored and supported4) Promote and spread awareness of legal adoption and foster care5) Ensure all children facing risk are brought under the purview of state child protection mechanisms.One of our key objectives at CSA is to build the capacity of stakeholders at various levels to enhance awareness around the best child care practices and advocate to promote adoption in the country.Our work with children in CCI’sWe aim to act as catalysts by leveraging existing institutions and empowering them to improve child outcomes. These CCI’s suffer from a variety of different bottlenecks that prevent them from providing family-like care to CNCP children:<ul><li>Lack of clean facilities</li><li>Poor infrastructure, health &amp; hygiene</li><li>Resource constraints for education and aftercare</li><li>Malnutrition of children</li></ul>How we bridge the gap?<ol><li>Conduct a comprehensive gap analysis using our CCI Evaluation tool at the start of the engagement with the CCI to identify key bottlenecks and target areas for our intervention</li><li>Devise a 3-5 year engagement plan for the CCI either under our GO WIDE program or our GO DEEP program that addresses these highlighted problem areas</li><li>Roll out sub-programs under our 4 categories- Health and Nutrition, Education and Child Development, Aftercare and Livelihood and Capacity Building – custom to the needs of the CCI or our partners' thematic interventions</li><li>Weekly Monitoring and Evaluation of Program Outcomes</li><li>Yearly Evaluation of outcomes against original Objectives and Targets</li></ol> 
 We have been working since 2002 to act as catalysts by leveraging existing institutions and empowering them to improve child outcomes and enhance the quality of care to children. This is achieved by partnering with like-minded institutions, individuals and corporates. Over the last 18 years, we have been enabled by our generous donors, supporting partners and volunteers to create visible impact in the lives of 20000+ children."Our vision is of a nation that cares and protects its children in need of care and protection and ensures that each one is nurtured into a happy and contributing member of society. We act as catalysts to achieve this vision. We inspire and channelize action to bring about sustainable social change to have a brighter future for the children in institutional care."Our Programs Areas: Health &amp; Nutrition- Health &amp; WaSH (Water. Sanitation &amp; Hygiene)- Supplementary Nutrition- Infrastructure- Day to Day EssentialsEducation &amp; Development- Education- Life Skills- Recreation<ul><li>Sports</li><li>Digital Engagement </li></ul>Livelihood &amp; Aftercare- Preparatory program- Aftercare support- Higher Education &amp; Skill Training- Vocation TrainingCapacity Building &amp; Advocacy- Adoption- CCI Capacity Building- Stakeholder Workshops &amp; TrainingWe have impacted the lives of children across 4 states of IndiaMadhya Pradesh (since 2011):<ul><li>10 districts reached</li><li>24 Partner Child Care Institutions</li><li>1,002 Children supported</li></ul>Maharashtra (since 2002):<ul><li>14 districts reached</li><li>33 Partner Child Care Institutions</li><li>1,991 Children supported</li></ul>Goa (since 2010):<ul><li>2 districts reached</li><li>12 Partner Child Care Institutions</li><li>402 Children supported</li></ul>Odisha (since 2007):<ul><li>5 districts reached</li><li>18 Partner Child Care Institutions</li><li>1,132 Children supported</li></ul>

Spread your Love & Smiles for Children!

India is home to nearly 30 million children who are in Need of Care and Protection. Out of these nearly 3,70,000* children are in Childcare Institutions.Once these children turn 18 years, they have to leave the CCI and make a life for themselves. There are an estimated 150,000 children who have to leave the CCI's every year, as they turn 18 years of age.They have no support system, no family to go back to. They are mostly orphans or children who have been subject to some form of exploitation, with no one to care for.In this situation, girls are married off by the time they turn 18 or end up into exploitative professions, and boys mostly get into very low paying jobs, as they have no guidance and skills. 
 Catalysts for Social Action provides care and support to children in Need of Care and Protection in Child Care Institutions.The Aftercare &amp; Livelihood program is a program that has been curated to look after these children once they turn 18 years and have to move out of these institutions. It aims at making youth who are preparing to leave CCIs, as well as those who have been de-institutionalized, termed as Care Leavers (CLs), self-reliant.Through this program CSA is making tremendous efforts to fill the gaps around career awareness, support for higher education, vocational trainings, life skills &amp; job placements as these children who have to move out have to making a living for themselves. We work towards making them future ready so that they can easily adapt to the world outside the institution to create successful lives for themselves.Under this program, we Empower these Young Adults by providing career counselling, livelihood training, education support and job opportunities so that after the age of 18, when they can no longer remain at the CCI, are able to earn and start building an independent life with confidence. 
 Catalysts for Social Action, through the Aftercare &amp; Livelihood program is looking to empower the youth who have lived in Child Care Institutions as children without access or exposure to the world outside.Through this campaign we are looking at changing the lives of 50 Care Leavers under the Livelihood and Aftercare program across Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha during the year 2020-2021.These Youth are the future of our nation. Building their capacity will enable multiples of change.o This program will provide an opportunity to the youth to pursue further studies, which they are, otherwise, unable to do, and therefore, aim for better prospects in the futureo We believe that instead of being employed in an unskilled and informal sector, being able to earn approx. Rs.8000-9000 per month post completion of skill training related to their broader career goals, would result in better income opportunity and bargaining power to the youth. This would make a huge difference to them over their lifetimeo Even those youth who do not get placed immediately will benefit from the training programs. It will enable them to hone many soft skills and confidence of exploring a good job, whenever requiredo Self-confidence and awareness of opportunities is very important for girls in particular and willhold them in good stead throughout their lifeOver 5 years, we have impacted the lives of 4500+ children across 87+ CCIs in 4 states. Cumulatively, we have impacted the lives of 20000+ children since 2009!Over 200 adolescents have been supported under the Aftercare for Higher education &amp; Skill training.100+ young adults placed in jobs with monthly remuneration ranging between Rs.8000 to Rs.21000.

Empowering the Youth (Care Leavers) with Skill-Based Training through the Aftercare & Livelihood program!

At Catalysts for Social Action, we currently work with 280 young adults who used to reside at Child Care Institutions (orphanages), of which 175 are pursuing their studies and 105 are employed. The COVID crisis has brought uncertainties beyond imagination to our Young Adults.<ul><li>35% youngsters are already facing uncertainties with their jobs. </li><li>Only 50% of them have received their salaries in April while the remaining is either delayed payment or the prospect of no income. </li></ul>Some of the businesses where they are employed may cease to exist in the coming days.Many young adults pursuing studies or working live on their own either in hostels or private accommodations and are struggling to meet their daily expenses. These young adults were just beginning to shape their lives after moving out from CCIs &amp; are now facing a new set of challenges with a deep sense of uncertainty and anguish. 
 At CSA, we are committed to support these young adults with the financial resources and support to enable them to navigate through this difficult period and either continue their studies or find new jobs. 
 Through this project, we aim to support 25 Young Adults to help cover their living expenses for the next 5 months in the absence of an income.For INR 3500 per month, a youngster will be able to cover costs around rentals, food &amp; personal essential expenses.Join us as Change Catalysts in our mission to provide these youngsters a ray of hope in navigating this crisis.

Support living expenses of orphaned youth for 5 months

Once children turn 18, they have to move out of the Child Care Institutes (CCIs) and have to figure a way to navigate through the complexities of life on their own.Due to the COVID crisis, young adults (YAs) pursuing studies &amp; in jobs have been affected in the following ways -·  Youngsters placed in jobs have been badly impacted - It is very likely that they may lose their current jobs and may not be able to get another job for quite some time.·  Young Adults in colleges or pursuing skill training have also been impacted because their institutions have shut down due to the lockdown which is likely to remain shut for an indefinite periodThe most important impact is on the morale, self-confidence &amp; mental health of these youngsters - they have been impacted negatively due to the uncertainty that is looming ahead of them.  
 Most YAs have access to a mobile phone; however, they have very low internet connection packs.We plan to provide them with adequate data packs to support their learning. Now more than ever, it is essential to stay connected through digital technology and resources.With better internet connectivity, youngsters can enroll for various online courses to upgrade their skills around spoken English, personality development, soft skills, meditation, yoga, and vocational / educational courses that can keep them positively engaged during this time and help them hone their skills for better job prospects 
 By contributing INR 200 every month, you can help us empower 275 Young Adults! We are requesting support for a period of 5 months.