"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

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

“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 Disaster Relief. For the purpose of testing I will use the wordDisaster ReliefDisaster ReliefDisaster Relief.

Disaster Relief

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

Livelihood

This is a sample description for Community & Rural Development. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Community & Rural DevelopmentCommunity & Rural DevelopmentCommunity & Rural Development.

Community & Rural Development

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

Children

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

Human Rights

Centre For Social Action (CSA) is a registered trust (Reg. No. E17189 - Mumbai). Its vision is to be “Facilitators of a Just and Humane Society based on Love, Equality and Harmony with Creation”. In order to fulfill this purpose, CSA networks NGOs and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) who share similar values. CSA takes the following approach:<ul><li>Community Organization: CSA builds the capacity of grass root communities to develop awareness of their social problems, prioritize its needs, build the will and ability to respond to these, and connect them with various resources to address these needs.</li><li>People Led Development: CSA believes that the ownership of all its interventions should always be with the people, and consequently it facilitates the formation of local committees who own and drive the process of their own development.</li><li>Engagement with Stakeholders: CSA animates the interaction of communities with various stakeholders like the Elected Representatives, Government Offices, Corporate Houses, Funding Agencies, etc.</li></ul>Thus, CSA endeavours to fulfil its mission – “to initiate, empower and sustain non-violent, collaborative, and integral development processes for vulnerable individuals and groups in Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts.”CSA is successfully implementing the following interventions:Supplementary classes for Vulnerable Children with the aim of providing a support structure that lowers the school drop-out rate, improves the attendance of the children, enhances their learning through a play-way method of teaching, and improves the functioning of the schools by training the parents to participate in Parent-Teacher meetings. CSA has 150 Supplementary classes across the districts of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad.Children’s Parliament aims to provide the children a platform for awareness of local social issues and responding to these using Democratic Processes, thus building their leadership skills and preparing them to be the enlightened and empowered citizens of tomorrow. CSA has 80 Children’s Parliaments across the districts of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad.Women’s Empowerment is facilitated through Capacity Building Trainings, formation of Self-Help Groups to avail of micro-credit, and by imparting Financial Literacy classes wherein the women are taught about the banking system, are enabled to open Bank accounts, save monthly in Recurring Deposits, and move the annual savings into Fixed Deposits. Over 200 women across Mumbai, Thane and Raigad are benefiting from these interventions.Enhancing Livelihoods &amp; Skill Development of Vulnerable Individuals and Groups is achieved through various trainings in traditional as well as professional domain skills, and by providing them opportunities for employment or access to markets for their produce. CSA is in the process of forming a marketing federation to further strengthen this process which at present benefits about 300 persons across the districts of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad.Emergency Relief provided to individuals and communities affected by natural calamities or major illness which helps them to tide over the vulnerability context without jeopardizing their developmental process. CSA takes special care to ensure that the emergency relief provided does not make the beneficiary dependent on the donor agency.

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Fr. Joseph Gonsalves

Centre 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.

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The Lockdown due to the covid19 Pandemic has resulted in a distressful situation for the already vulnerable groups - tribals, trans-genders, rag-pickers, people with disabilities, elderly, women headed families, pregnant and lactating women, and other groups with special needs.Most of these are daily wage earners who have been struggling to survive through the lockdown as they have practically no savings to fall back upon. While the lockdown is gradually being eased, there are serious concerns of unemployment and food security among these communities. Covid safety practices are imposing additional financial burdens on the already fragile situation. 
 Centre for Social Action is providing relief to the distressed persons and communities:<ol><li>Distribution of food kits to supplement the rations given through the Government PDS. CSA also coordiates with various civil society organisations to check that there is no duplication of distributions to the same beneficiaries, as well as ensure that the really needy are not left unattended.</li><li>Distribution of Hygiene kits consisting of Face Masks, Soaps and Hand-sanitizers, Disinfectant Sprays, Sanitary Napkins, etc.</li><li>Financial support to those who are unable to pay their essential expenses like medicines, house rents, electricity and telephone bills, etc.</li><li>Livelihood support by providing seeds for kitchen gardens, micro-credit through SHGs, skill development trainings for enhancing employability, and mentoring for encouraging micro-entrepreneurship</li></ol> 
 We envisage our interventions bringing about <ol><li>Food security in the short term </li><li>Income stability in the long term </li></ol>for these vulnerable individuals and communities.

Covid19 Relief

The Kathkaris are one of the most marginalized of all the tribal people in Maharashtra. They face hurdles every day of their life with regard to education for children, access to water, community land, saitation and hygiene, and livelihoods. Most of them are completely illiterate or early drop outs from shcooling system. Since their ancestors were forest dweller, they do not own lands; hence end up working as agricultural labourers during the monsoons and as migrant labour in brick kilns and construction sites. Their migration leads to children dropping out of school and perpetuates illiteracy. 
 This project aims to facilitate the education and socio-economic development of the Kathkari tribal hamlets in Raigad through the process of People Led Development (PLD), wherein the tribal people are enabled to use the traditional Gavki (decision making forum of the hamlet) to raise awareness levels, to discuss issues of concern, connect to various resources and take appropriate action for their own development.The key components of the project are:·  Facilitation of the Gavki to take up issues of concern by the Social Work Animator·  Supplementary classes in order to ensure children do not drop out of school and Children’s Parliament (Bal Sansad) conducted by the volunteer (wadievika) in order to develop social awareness and deepen sense of democratic responsibilities among the children.·  Formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and access to microcredit and Government grants for rural micro-enterprises.·  Creation of livelihood opportunities and linkages with markets to enhance the income of tribal micro enterprises, and formalizing the same to ensure sustainability.·  Financial Literacy, which includes hand-holding them to open bank accounts, save regularly through recurring deposits, and move their savings into fixed deposits at the end of the year.·  Trainings and exposure visits for the Animators, Wadisevikas and Tribal people on the above-mentioned aspects·  Professional monitoring and guidance of the entire project by a qualified and experienced Project coordinator. 
 We envisage that empowered Kathkari tribals will be able to effectively sustain themselves through traditional or alternate livelihoods, and create significant educational and socio-economic opportunities for their children and youth

Development of Kathkari Tribals in Raigad

There is very little consciousness that Children are the PRESENT stakeholders of society, with inviolable rights to survival, protection, development and participation in matters that affect their lives. This leads to a social ethos that dictates terms to children, discounts their views and feelings, and creates an imbalance of power that is often detrimental to the psycho-social development of children. This is further aggravated in socio-economically vulnerable communities. There are also pathalogical behaviours of abuse which cause untold miseries to children, which are often swept under the carpet for fear of social stigma. Making children aware of their rights, enabling them to proactively insist on these, and providing a mechanism in society to protect and promote these Chiild Rights is the need of the hour. 
 Children from a neighborhood or an institution are formed into a Bal Sabha (Children's Parliament) wherein they are given awareness sessions and opportunities to affirm their Child Rights by taking action on small local issues that affect their lives. These groups are further networked at various levels of governance (Block level-District level- State level - National Level) to provide multi-layers of forums for advocacy and action on Child Rights. Children are given exposure to the governance mechanism at various levels in the State. Legislators as well as Officials interact with these enabled children, listening to their experiences and committing themselves to functioning in a manner that upholds Child Rights. 
 We envisage a society and governance mechanism that is child-freindly, providing children opportunties to affirm and take appropriate action on matters affecting their lives in a rights-based manner.

Covid19 Relief

Development of Kathkari Tribals in Raigad

Bal Sabha Manch - A Rights Based Network of Childrens Parliaments

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

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

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

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