"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

“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.

“What will happen to them after me? I am 80+. I spend sleepless nights,” worries ex-Air Force officer, Group Captain AC Barua while talking about the future of the 28 destitute women under his care. “They have nobody in this world, sometimes they don’t remember their own names. They are absolutely alone,” he informs us as he goes from one room to the other meeting all the women who live at Seneh, the only home where they are loved and taken care of. After fighting for his country all his life, this octogenarian is now fighting to rescue homeless and abandoned women from dying on the streets. But he cannot do it alone. “Everyday I keep on getting calls from here and there. ‘Oh! there’s a woman lying here. Can you help?’ But I don’t dare to go and help because I don’t have the money. I don’t have the resources, our resources are very limited,” explains Gr. Capt. Barua who is lovingly called ‘Sir’ and ‘Deuta’ (father in Assamese) by the residents of Seneh. With your help, 80-year-old Group Captain Barua can fulfill his mission of rescuing abandoned and homeless women from dying on the streets, alone. Donate nowDonate easily through UPI, all debit/credit cards and net banking. All 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).Seneh- a home filled with love, care and hopeThe residents of Seneh often don’t remember who they are, where they have come from. Many times these are women with mental health conditions and considered being a witch due to superstitious beliefs and beaten up as a result. They are victims of domestic abuse or widow mothers who are considered to be a burden on the family. Group Captain Barua has not only rescued them from critical conditions, he has provided them with urgent medical care, food and above all, a free safe shelter where they can live with love and care. Among these residents is Sarala Kalita who fled to save herself from the tortures of her alcoholic husband only to face neglect and trauma from her brothers- and sisters-in-law. “Both my brothers and their wives urged my father to leave me somewhere as they didn’t want to take care of me anymore. One day my brother’s wife didn’t even let me have food at home. She just wanted me to leave and go away. So that’s why, my father got in touch with Seneh through someone, and handed me over to Sir to take care of me,” says Sarita who has found joy in living at Seneh. “Coming to Seneh, it felt like I got a new life altogether. Sir has given me a harmonium. I love singing. It makes me forget everything and takes me to someplace else entirely,” she adds. More women like Sarala can find their way to a loving home like Seneh. All they need is a little bit of your kindness. “It is difficult to make both ends meet”To sustain their daily expenditure, Capt Barua needs approx ₹3 lakh a month and arranging the funds is a mammoth challenge for the NGO. “Our expenses are growing day by day. Residents are growing older, their sicknesses are increasing. At times we have to give them special food. They require more care so we have to get more employees. About half of them require leading around, 1-2 has to be fed also. It will be very difficult to sustain it unless we get help,” he added. One act of your kindness can save these abandoned women, with no one in this world, from struggling on the streets to survive. At 80+ Gr. Capt. Barua cannot sustain Seneh on his own. “With folded hands, I appeal to all. Please come and please help us. Let us help these people, these old people who have nobody in this world. They are dying. They will die on the streets,” he urged. Donate to this fundraiser by Give.do to support retired Air Force officer, Group Captain Barua in his mission to rescue abandoned and homeless women from dying on the streets.

After fighting for India, former Air Force officer is now fighting to save abandoned women. Help him, 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 Women Empowerment. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Women EmpowermentWomen EmpowermentWomen Empowerment.

Women Empowerment

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 Art & Culture For the purpose of testing I will use the word Art & CultureArt & CultureArt & Culture

Art & Culture

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

Envisioning the empowerment and upliftment of the rural and deprived communities, a seed was sown on 7th July 1998, known as Gramin Vikas Evam Chetan Sansthan (GVCS) in Barmer, Rajasthan. It is a non-governmental, not for profit social welfare association, founded for the enablement of women, to strengthen artisans through crafts promotion and livelihood generation as the core, preservation and promotion of folk songs and folk music. GVCS motto serves “To empower women artisans, to reinstate their value and to make handicraft a viable means of home-based employment.” The idea was to give women financial independence while they work from their home with fulfilling their family responsibilities.With the sheer determination, commitment, and leadership, GVCS commenced with just 10 members has today become a large organization providing livelihood to more than 22,000 women across 75 villages. This growing network of women artisans engaged in different craft forms has helped GVCS to work on a broad spectrum of rural development activities. Formation of SHGs, fodder for drought-affected cattle, and education programmes for children and women are other initiatives of the organisation.GVCS reckons that every individual can realize his/ her potential when allowed to participate in the process of decision- making and empowers every individual to exercise their right to expression towards enhancing organizational efficiency.Upholding its commitment to the rural development and women empowerment, GVCS justly symbolizes as the organisation for the artisans and by the artisans.

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.

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Vikram Singh

Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan

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.

Suresh Kumar

ग्रामीण विकास एवं चेतना संस्थान द्वारा कोरोना काल में 2,00,000 से अधिक निशुल्क मास्क वितरित किये गए एवं 16,500 वोलंटियर को कोरोना बचाव हेतु प्रशिक्षित किया गया.

Due to the timeless efforts of Ruma Devi, GVCS Ngo has successfully relieved 2,000 families of Thar Desert by distributing dry ration kits at their doorstep.

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Barmer district is a marginal and desert region lining the Indo-Pak border . The country-wide lockdown has affected the tribal community and poor laborer families living in the desert between sand dunes. These people live in inaccessible desert areas, where there is no transport facility due to lack of road and it is not possible to reach without a 4 x 4 vehicle. There is an off-road distance of one kilometer between their houses. Most of their families are children, old people, and women. Family men work as daily wage laborers. These people do not have a collection of ration materials and do not have any savings because they have to earn and eat daily. Due to being down for several days, work is stalled and these people have finished rationing in their houses. 
 Our organization has identified 4000 families/houses in the desert area who are suffering from this problem as they have finished rationing in their houses. If someone even wants to buy the ration material, it is not available near their houses. It is necessary now to provide ration material of at least one month to these families because it will take 2-3 months for these people to return to normal functioning after the lockdown. Most of these families will not have any work available for the next two to three months. For the above mentioned solution, we have made a list of essential ration material items which will be delivered to their houses by our volunteers via 4x4 vehicle which can run in off-road area. For a family of 4 people, these ration items will work for fifteen days and in the very first phase of relieving, we are aiming at 4000 families which will be relieved by providing ration items at their doorsteps.A team of two can cover 30-35 houses per day by hired 4x4 vehicle and deliver the ration material to them as their houses are off-roads. 
 <ul><li>By providing ration material, we will save thousands of family from mal-nutrition.</li><li>Single mother or lady who is the only take carer of the family will be helped financially as well as mentally by supporting.</li><li>The revived craft will not be on line of extension once again as these are people who practices on the appliqué craft.</li><li>The future of India will be saved by providing ration material to the families.</li></ul>

Covid-19 relief fund – To provide ration material to the poor families in desert!

<ul><li>Due to Covid-19, the artists and artisans of the Thar desert region were disconnected from their audiences and customers, Social Bounce Back Post Pandemic is an initiative to reconnect them to their audiences and customers.</li><li>Providing financial, food and health help for a limited period of time is not really helping them to sustain and retain their livelihoods.</li><li>These art forms are a way of living which also help in the conservation of folk art. Now, due to unavailability of exhibitions and live shows, artists and artisans are migrating for other opportunities and cultural heritage is now on the wage of extinction.</li><li>For artisans and artists, life has come to a halt, hence no money to feed their families.</li><li>Craftspeople - the second largest employment sector in India; Folk artists, who have carried the legacy generation after generation, are fighting a battle of balancing passion and sustainability.</li><li>Due to illiteracy and lack of digital awareness, they are unable to even leverage online platforms for their benefits.</li><li>Due to not having clarity of upcoming situation of Corona pandemic, they are afraid if they will be able to re-connect with their customers which is leading to the terrific mental and emotional pressure.</li></ul> 
 <ul><li>Digital Literacy Training will be provided to illiterate most needy 1000 artists and 1000 artisans to participate in virtual exhibitions, go online through e-commerce, you tube channel making and managing, conducting live shows through mobile phones etc.</li><li>50+ digital live programs and 50+ live exhibitions will be organized for all the artists to perform and artisans to sell their products in niche market.</li><li>To promote the artisans and artists internationally, a global virtual Thar Heritage Week will be organized.</li><li>A free digital studio will be set up for all the artists to perform or to record their performance with all the technical equipments like camera, mic, live set up, noise proof room etc. The artists will be provided 24x7 technical support.</li><li>E-commerce website and a brand will be developed to display the handmade products available for sale of all those rural artisans who have been in veil from centuries.</li></ul> 
 <ul><li>Due to Corona pandemic, Artists and artisans who got disconnected with their audiences and customers, will be able to re-connect.</li><li>They will be to again cherish the art and craft which will lead to the perseverance of our rich cultural heritage.</li><li>Illiterate artists and artisans will be able to go live and present themselves by using digital technology.</li><li>By performing live and participating in events, there will be unexpected increase in the income of the artists and artisans, and again a sustainable module will be generated for their livelihood.</li><li>Basic needs of their families and their selves will be fulfilled.</li><li>Mental and emotional pressure will be reduced.</li><li>Universal recognition nationally and internationally.</li><li>More art and craft-based employment will be generated.</li><li>New upcoming generation will be able connect with their cultural heritage.</li></ul>

Social Bounce Back Post Pandemic Initiative by Ruma Devi

Barmer district is the marginal area in the western Rajasthan and women here does the handicraft work from centuries. Due to lack of skills, market or local mediocres pays low wages to these women. These women donot have financial independency as they have always been dependent on males. They have been limited to the boundary of their houses being in veil. Most of the ladies are willing to learna and earn money to run their houses smoothly.Assumptions<ol><li>Hand embroidery profession runs throughout the year</li><li>A person who is skilled with the innovative and fare technique can adopt the hand embroidery profession.</li><li>Many clothes related hand embroidery item have been prepared by the artisans like saree, kurta, duppatta etc.</li><li>Stole, Dupatta, Sarees, Kurta, Suit &amp; cushion cover etc. items which are prepared by the rural women of the Barmer district which is very costly .The average price of its are different .</li><li>Income of artisans related to hand embroidery will increase in 50 to 100%.</li><li>Availability of raw material may be possible at local level.</li><li>Companies like Fab India &amp; others have been searched through the good production for the export of the ready-made piece.</li></ol> 
 Skill up gradation Training - Skill development Training will be carried out for artisans for intensive inputs to qualitatively upgrade their production and Micro Entrepreneurship development skills. Before skill training Master trainer will be finalized. Since applique/embroidery has its own requirement of skill, so the selection of experienced Master trainer will be on the basis of the type of skill assessed during diagnostic study. Master Artisans will be providing skill training. SD specialist will provide training for Group formation, strengthening and linkages with financial schemes to artisans group. The existing skill of the applique/embroidery artisans shall be assessed by Master trainer for on developing Training package. Project is planning 15 days course curriculum basic skill development for applique/embroidery work artisans. Only thing is that project should upgrade their existing skills with technological up gradation. Women from urban habitation/dhanis and adjacent rural villages involved in Applique/embroidery work on large scale. According to proficiency level among Applique/embroidery artisans course curriculum by master trainer will be designed according to their skills possesses. 15 days long course curriculum on acquiring advanced skills is being proposed. Master Trainer will visit initially selected Area to discuss with traditional Applique/embroidery artisan about existing skill, traditional tool kit and availability &amp; quality of raw material for all marketable Barmer applique products. After experiencing with locally available infrastructure with Applique/embroidery artisan, Master trainer will finalize tool kit, advanced equipment or machines and type/quality of raw material for all marketable Applique products. At the initiation of training programme, selected tool kit and qualitative raw material will provide to Trainees.  
 <ul><li>A source of income for women through home-based employment. </li><li>Rural artisans are the important tools for development in any country. If the artisans are channelized in an effective manner, they will take the nation towards the goal of being an economically strong and self-reliant state.</li><li>The program would facilitate in establishing informal system of skill development and upgrading to facilitate sustainable productive employment and /or self-employment for the rural poor.</li><li>Quality of the final goods will be much better</li><li>Costing of the products will be reduced</li><li>Artisan will be known about the latest and advance technologies and market requirements</li><li>Artisans could get rid of middle men and brokers and could get more value of their products</li><li>More employment will generate among the artisans and its family members</li><li>Up gradation of artisan’s skill through appropriate design &amp; technology intervention so as to enable them to use quality raw material, tools and equipment to produce value-added items. </li></ul>

Covid-19 relief fund – To provide ration material to the poor families in desert!

Social Bounce Back Post Pandemic Initiative by Ruma Devi

'Doro' - A Livelihood Generation for rural women artisans through Skill Up-Gradation

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

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

After fighting for India, former Air Force officer is now fighting to save abandoned women. Help him, donate now

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