"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

“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

Cattle, bred for profit and abandoned after they stop producing milk, are often found malnourished, injured or sick on city streets. Many face bitter winters, starvation and death in road accidents - a sad fate for cows in a country where they are revered by lakhs of people. To save cows from such a sad end, Swami Ishwar Das started Shree Krishnayan Desi Gaushala, currently home to 18,000+ abandoned cows. But with the rising costs of fodder and medicines, he is struggling to provide the quality of care such mistreated animals deserve. “It was in 2010 when I witnessed abandoned cows from the streets in Uttarakhand being transported in a truck. The cows were administered anesthesia and stacked one above the other like lifeless goods. When me and a few of my acquaintances brought the cows off the truck, two of them died before my eyes and that sight shook me to the core. It was then that I started Shree Krishnayan Gaushala with 11 abandoned cows in a small donated land,” says Swami Ishwar Das.Swami Ishwar Das is unable to bear the rising cost of nutrition and medical care for injured cows and needs support to continue to save these voiceless animals. Donate now. All donations on this platform are tax exempted under 80G of the Income Tax Act (India), &amp; 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (USA).<img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/ead01668-6b4d-4a8c-85de-30b43e174f22.JPG" />Every life matters“Here at Shree Krishnayan Desi Gaushala, it is our resolve to leave no stone unturned in caring for helpless cows. No matter what the cost of treatment may be, we make every possible effort to aid ill and injured cows. Our only objective is that a cow should not lose its life for the want of medical care, food or water,” says Swami Ishwar Das. In order to provide the best quality of care and treatment to its adopted cattle, three well trained veterinary doctors attend the gaushala 24/4. The NGO - Shree Krishnayan Desi Gauraksha Avam Golokdham Seva Samiti - spares no expense in providing nutrition either. From jaggery and grains to a healthy mix of green and dry fodder, cows are given meals best suited to their needs.With cost of fodder on rise the Gaushala needs help<img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/93e7eafe-4438-40d6-ae40-6972feaf0988.jpg" />Swami Ishwar Das and his team, however, are struggling to keep up with rising costs of nutrition and medical care for cows. “The cost of fodder has risen by almost three times in the last couple of years. From food to medicines everything has become expensive. And we will never compromise with the quality of care and love that we want to give to our cows,” says Swami Ishwar Das. Help Swami Ishwar Das provide the best care and love to abandoned cows while saving them from a desperate life of starvation and suffering on the streets.

Help Swami Ishwar Das rescue cows on roads, abandoned as they no longer produce milk

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 Livelihood. For the purpose of testing I will use the word LivelihoodLivelihoodLivelihoodLivelihood.

Livelihood

Kochi Biennale Foundation is a non-profit charitable trust engaged in promoting art &amp; culture and educational activities in India; primary amongst them the hosting of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, an art exhibition and festival that is the largest of its kind in South Asia. The fifth edition of the Biennale will run from 12 December, 2020 until 10 April, 2021.The Foundation works throughout the year to strengthen contemporary art infrastructure and to broaden public access to art across India through a diverse range of programmes.

Suprita Moorthy

Kochi Biennale Foundation

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COVID 19 &amp; its IMPACT of the Creative Sector and KMB 2020The COVID-19 pandemic has had a sudden and substantial impact on the arts and culture communities worldwide with the closure of venues and the cancellation of major events forcing organisations to cease operation. While governments, corporates and individuals around the world have been doing their best to contribute to their sinking economy and helping professionals and companies in need, the arts and culture community continues to suffer. The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is one of the leading art's exhibition throwing focus on the visual art practices in India and the world. KMB over the years has become a prominent exhibition that encourages discourse and a strong Indian voice in the Global Arts Community. A biennale that was created by artists for artists has become the People's Biennale and this would not have been possible with the support of the community at large. I have included a small video link about the Biennale for your perusal: https://youtu.be/bP-VE_fJ2aUEvery edition of the Biennale supports over 80 artists and gives them an international platform to express their creativity, showcase their practice, comment through discourse their responses to the world events that shape our future. The students Biennale gives an opportunity for over 60 student artist and young curators to showcase their creativity alongside their seniors and established artists. Our arts education programme provides and explores curriculum intervention and ensures Art History &amp; Theory classes are provided to all art students to over 120 art schools across the country. KMB also creates a platform for writers, performers, cinema directors and creatives to express their voice and practice to over 6 lakh physical visitors and making its way into millions of online resources. Over the last 4 editions, the Biennale has been the main reason for the increase in touristic activity in the state attributing to a substantial increase in business in local community. KMB creates and adds to the economic activity of Fort Kochi, by offering livelihoods to the skilled labour communities, hospitality industry, local artists &amp; craftsman and many more. Due to the pandemic this activity have completely stopped creating losses in business and unemployment in Fort Kochi and creative sectors. The arts sector is currently under enormous pressure to sustain, protect its artists and restore the creative activity, however due to the lack of funding for this sector by governments and corporates, leaves exhibitions such a KMB vulnerable to closure.  
 The Kochi Biennale foundation is a non-profit heavily dependent on endowments and with the rise of the Covid Pandemic and the fragility of human existence, we appeal for the peoples support in ensuring the efforts of the Kochi Biennale Foundation continues and provides support and opportunity to the people who are affected in the creative industry. To enable this too happen we appeal from the people to support the Biennale by donating, INR 1000, INR 2500, INR 5000 and above. We hope to be able to achieve a minimum target of INR 2,00,00,000 by appealing to a minimum 20,000 people across India and the state of Kerala to help us uplift the community, aiding and ensuring income to artists, cultural professions and those who are impacted by the execution of the Biennale. For their generosity, we will attribute one page of the KMB website for those who have contributed and ensure each and every contributor will avail tickets and guided tours to the Biennale this year. In addition they will also get access to the online version of the Biennale and its programmes if they prefer not to attend. CAMPAIGN: KBF is compiling a list of its supporters and influencers who via a Video will be able to appeal to the masses to support KMB 2020. Most of the suggested influencers are people who have and continue to support the Biennale both financially and in-kind. KBF has a large content resource and a video lab that will be able to edit and create video's for the campaign.Some Sample Videos of the Biennale are below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjwRIii8Z_Uhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlmuoTRDUgUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXxzAJHHxPsI hope this gives you sufficient information on what we are all about and what we intend to do and achieve. I hope Give India can help us in achieving the above. While we understand there are no guarantee's in fundraising, we hope you will be able to aid us, give us a platform and your expertise in crowdfunding and help us communicate our initiative and appeal to the masses. While the biennale has a small database we would like to rely on your extensive contact base to educate them about our initiatives with the hope that they find merit in our initiative and donate for our cause.  
 According to an impact assessment conducted by Vidya Mohankumar, architect, urban designer and founder of Urban Design Collective (UDC), it was noted that there was a:• 166% rise in the number of tourists visiting Kerala since 2006• 60% Biennale visitors are first-time visitors to Kerala• 50% increase in business for local traders• 35% hike in business for homestays • 35% rise in foreign tourists visiting between Dec-March since the first biennale edition in 2012• Despite overlap with the tourist season, local businesses attributed up to 30% of their sales exclusively to the BiennaleThe Kochi Muziris Biennale provides livelihoods to hundreds of homestays in and around Fort Kochi, Provides employment to the labour groups, contract work to local traders, enables cultural tourism to Fort Kochi enabling hospitality, travel, aviation and transport businesses. In addition it fuels the creative industry by giving opportunity to artists to create and exhibit and learn and survive.

Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2020

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

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

Help Swami Ishwar Das rescue cows on roads, abandoned as they no longer produce milk

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