"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 Women Empowerment. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Women EmpowermentWomen EmpowermentWomen Empowerment.

Women Empowerment

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

Children

<blockquote>Self-defence is not just a set of techniques, it's a mindset, and it begins with the belief that you are worth defending. -Rorion Garcie</blockquote>The fear of sexual assault forms an ever-present backdrop of women's' lives, limiting them from exploring their true abilities.Adolescents who are victimised are up to 5 times more likely to be victimised later in life than those who are not (Humphrey &amp; White, 2000). 1 in 3 women in India face one or more forms of violence in her lifetime. Violence and the threat of violence strips girls of their basic rights and fuels societal barriers that limit them from achieving their full potential. There is enough evidence that suggests that a female is habituated to feel a prisoner of her own body, as she feels weak and helpless. She starts looking at the female body as a deterrent to her dreams, rather as a voice and agency to live her life fully. <a href="https://mukkamaar.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">MukkaMaar</a> works to build agency in adolescent girls with strong belief that if the perception of being weak and helpless is removed, something deeper is ignited in girls. We work in partnership with government schools, and every girl in 6, 7th and 8th standard gets bi-weekly MukkaMaar classes during school hours. Each 60 minute class is divided into physical and non-physical activities. We use fitness, physical and verbal self defence, identification of types of violence, boundary setting, assertiveness training, negotiation, forum theatre and much more, building a holistic curriculum delivered with effective pedagogy.<img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/48262333-84a6-4af5-9aea-89f81b47993d.JPG" style="display:block;margin:auto" width="590" /><blockquote>MukkaMaar girls feel safe, respond positively to threats, have greater confidence and self esteem, reject gender norms that don’t benefit them and have the skills to navigate social barriers that prevent her from living freely.</blockquote>Since 2018, MukkaMaar has trained 3K girls offline, 16K girls online and indirectly impacted ~50K girls through training government school PT teachers in gender sensitised pedagogy, consent, boundary setting and reflections in PE.

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Ishita Sharma

MukkaMaar

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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Due to the pandemic, vulnerable, adolescent girls are unable to get an education and MukkaMaar classes for self-defence. MukkaMaar's 'POWER with Mukki' aims to empower 10k girls by 2022. For just Rs. 150 you can help a girl stay safe for a month.Lata, 13, lives in a slum in Mumbai and studies in a Government School. When COVID hit, her MukkaMaar classes in school stopped. Her family of 8 people has 1 phone shared between 5 siblings. She was diligent in MukkaMaar class because her uncle 'makes her do bad things' and nobody believed her. She wanted it to stop. She is unable to attend MukkaMaar online classes because- <ul><li>she is told to do house-work</li><li>her brother has other classes at the time</li><li>she cannot exercise in front of her father</li><li>she is unable to download a new app on the one phone they have because of low memory</li><li>studying online uses too much data which she doesn't afford.</li></ul><blockquote>In the first week of the nationwide lockdown, helplines received more than 4 Lakh calls from distressed children. Thousands of girls like Lata, are locked at home with their perpetrators and face violence every day.</blockquote> 
 MukkaMaar has served online lessons to 10.7k + students from Mumbai slums during the pandemic, online. However, there are 40k other students like Lata who cannot attend online classes. Here's how we are helping them-We sent Lata a phone number. <ul><li>Lata got hang of the phone at night and messaged 'Hi' on the number on WhatsApp</li><li>She already had WhatsApp and so there was no memory issue</li><li>Even though it was 11 pm, Mukki from 'POWER with Mukki' replied to her</li><li>Lata was delighted. She quickly registered and got 500 bonus points!</li><li>As they started chatting, Mukki sent her a few self-defence moves to practice</li><li>Lata made a short video of herself and sent, and won more points</li><li>Lata would pick the phone daily at whatever time she could, and learn about her rights, exercise, safety, assertiveness, negotiation and much more</li><li>With some practice, Lata was able to deter the attacks of her uncle.</li><li>What's more!? She keeps redeeming her points to earn Rs.100 mobile recharge every month</li><li>Now, even her father encourages her to exercise</li></ul> 
 POWER (Practice On WhatsApp for Empowerment &amp; Rewards) with Mukki is a scalable, child-friendly, low-tech product that puts safety skills in the hands of the vulnerable with<ul><li>one click</li><li>at their own time convenience</li><li>and rewards them to stay safe</li></ul>All at just Rs.150 per month per child. <blockquote>What if every girl who has ever felt unsafe, could push a button and change her life?</blockquote>Help us deliver this powerful shield to 10K students because safety should not be a privilege.

Dolphin Tank for MukkaMaar - Locked in, safely!

The problem of gender based violence with girls in India is a complex jigsaw of related problems such as, social structure, patriarchy, poverty, malnutrition and overpopulation. Besides facing severe neglect from families, girls are also ‘taught’ by society to behave in ways that make them ‘better victims’ of assault and abuse.She is burdened with the responsibility of the assault itself, adding shame to the complexity of the situation. Crime against girls are not ones of aggression, they are crimes of power; in order to establish superiority of gender. Such crimes mostly take place because it’s easy to do so. Girls often don’t know an act is ‘wrong’ unless violent; the parents think it’s the child’s fault. Even if the girl knows it’s wrong, she doesn’t know where to seek help, and most of all, she doesn’t know how to defend herself, or doesn’t ‘think’ she will be able to. 
 In order to solve this complex problem, we use a comprehensive self-defense training program as means to not only teach the physical part of the training but to also inculcate a system of values wherein the girls gain agency over their bodies.Self-defense training (one that combines the physical techniques, assertiveness training and a mindset of agency) arms women with the skills to avoid, deter, interrupt, and resist assault. In order to defend the self, a woman must ‘perceive herself as having value’ over and beyond that of an attacker. Women must first feel ‘entitled’ to be safe and respected. Our program is designed to achieve the above end. 
 Over several months of training through our school program, we have seen profound changes in not just the girls, but in their parents, schools and community. Besides getting physically fit to deal with violence, incase it is perpetrated, they have actually begun to look at themselves like strong girls, who can fight anything, and ones who value themselves and their bodies. They have been able to not feel ashamed of their bodies and build resilience. 95% girls have mentioned in our survey that they find the program useful. Many have said that they fall sick less often, do not feel scared to step out and know how to act in a violent situation. There have also been instances where the girls have been able to report and stop violence and abuse, with the help of our trainers.We sincerely believe that the real impact would be when safety becomes a priority for each one of us, rejecting the grotesque attitude of, "but this happens to all girls".And slowly, we can see our girls, schools and parents taking steps towards this.

MukkaMaar- #FightLikeAGirl

Due to the pandemic and the lock-down, vulnerable, young girls from Maharashtra are unable to get education and MukkaMaar classes for self defense. MukkaMaar is providing online sessions to 40,000 students for next 6 months. For ₹450, you can help 3 girls stay safe.Lata, 13, lives in a slum in Mumbai and studies in a Government School. When COVID hit, her MukkaMaar classes in school stopped. Her family of 8 people has 1 phone shared between 5 siblings. She was diligent in MukkaMaar class, because her uncle 'makes her do bad things' and nobody believed her. She wanted it to stop. She is unable to attend MukkaMaar online classes because<ul><li>she is told to do house-work</li><li>her brother has other classes at the time</li><li>she cannot exercise in front of her father</li><li>she is unable to download a new app on the one phone they have because of low memory</li><li>studying online uses too much data which she doesn't afford.</li><li>In the first week of the nationwide lockdown, helplines received more than 4 Lakh calls from distressed children. Thousands of girls like Lata, are locked at home with their perpetrators and face violence every day.</li></ul> 
 MukkaMaar has served online lessons to 10.7k + students from Mumbai slums during the pandemic, online. However, there are 40k other students like Lata who cannot attend online classes. Here's how we are helping them-We sent Lata a phone number.<ul><li>Lata got hang of the phone at night and messaged on the number</li><li>She already had WhatsApp and so there was no memory issue</li><li>Even though it was 11 pm, Mukki from MukkaMaar's Learning Assistant replied to her</li><li>Lata was delighted. She quickly registered and got 500 bonus points!</li><li>As they started chatting, Mukki sent her a few self-defense moves to practice</li><li>Lata made a short video of herself and sent, and won more points</li><li>Lata would pick the phone daily at whatever time she could, and learn about her rights, exercise, safety, assertiveness, negotiation and much more</li><li>With some practice, Lata was able to deter the attacks of her uncle.</li><li>What's more!? She keeps redeeming her points to earn Rs.100 mobile recharge every month</li><li>Now, even her father encourages her to exercise</li></ul> 
 Mukki's Learning Assistant is a scalable, child-friendly, low-tech product that puts safety skills in the hands of the vulnerable with<ul><li>one click</li><li>at their own time convenience</li><li>and rewards them to stay safe</li></ul>All at just Rs.150 per month per child. What if every girl who has ever felt unsafe, could push a button and change her life?Help us deliver this powerful shield to 5300 students in the next 6 months!In the next 6 months, your support will help pave the way to keep 1M girls safe in 2022.

Dolphin Tank for MukkaMaar - Locked in, safely!

MukkaMaar- #FightLikeAGirl

Locked in, safely - with MukkaMaar

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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