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, Of the 250 the children rescued from abuse and exploitation, around 70 of them 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 Ahilyanagar, 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 good number 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 children, rescued from abuse in red-light areas a new life

“I saw a girl, barely 7 or 8, being pushed into flesh trade. Her cries for help still echo in my ears. There were men as old as 60 r*ping the innocent child. That was the day I knew my mission in life was to get these children out of the hell-like conditions in red-light areas. They are nothing short of hell and no child deserves to grow up in this environment” says Vinay Vasta, founder of Social Activities Integration, an organisation committed to freeing children trapped in red-light areas.Vinay and his NGO have been able to provide education, medical care and nutrition to over 2,500 children. But his dream to provide safe shelter to children remains unrealized. “We do our best to keep these children safe during the day but sadly they are forced to go back to the red light areas at night as we don’t have a home for them. Your donation can help us build a safe home for children of sex workers and prevent them from being pulled into prostitution. Donate to make this dream a realityDonate 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).Life in red light areas“S*x workers use their homes which are barely 6 feet by 4 feet for their business. They invite customers in the presence of their children. Their children not only witness abuse but experience it too. Just imagine a child being told that all she can ever become in life is a pr*stitute”, Vinay shares as he explains the extent of abuse children face in red light areas.This is a life that thousands of children are forced to live behind closed doors where they suffer abuse and exploitation morning, noon and night.A ray of hopeVinay has been relentlessly trying to give children the care and education they deserve. He has provided quality English education to thousands of children, enabling them to secure a livelihood out of red-light areas. Several children taught by Vinay are today leading successful lives as professionals and Government employees. However the sad reality is that Vinay and his NGO, in the absence of a permanent shelter home, are unable to provide round the clock safety to these children, which is essential for their well-being.Your donations can enable SAI to build a shelter home for the children of sex workers and usher in a new tomorrow for them, away from the horrors of red-light areas.Donate to this fundraiser on Give.do, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform, to provide safe shelter for children of sex workers and save them from abuse and second generation pr*stitution.NGO's 80G number: AACTS0408EF20216NGO's 12A number: AACTS0408EE20028

Help Vinay bring children facing abuse in red-light areas to safety and protect them

“I used to be sexually abused repeatedly, and when I screamed in pain, they hit and threatened me with more violence,” says Priya (name changed), a rescued child sex worker. Priya was abducted by traffickers and sold into a red-light area house before she was rescued by Guria led by Manju. For over two decades, Manju has been rescuing young girls forced into prostitution across the country. She has been shaken to the core seeing some of the most horrifying crimes that young girls have to undergo. “You can’t imagine the state of girls forced into sex work. The girls are given electric shocks and burnt with cigarette butts just to get kicks out of it. And if they get pregnant, the "owners" kick them repeatedly in the womb so that the child inside dies…If you want to see hell, it is here on this planet where young girls are sexually abused,” says Manju.Manju needs your help to rescue more young girls from forced prostitution and reunite them with their families. Donate now.Guria’s work over the yearsBased out of Varanasi, inarguably the holiest place in India, Manju and her organisation Guria, fights the sexual exploitation of girls, especially minors, by taking on the traffickers head-on, and rescuing and rehabilitating them.Started in 1993, Guria has rescued over 5500 persons from slavery, sex trafficking, and child prostitution so far. It has also been instrumental in shutting down hundreds of places that housed trafficked girls and putting scores of traffickers out of business and in jail.For instance, in 2005, a Guria-led rescue operation in Varanasi's red-light area led to the freeing of 49 women and girls, including minors. Many of them were kept against their will. Some of the traffickers were also arrested and tried. Since then, Guria has rescued thousands of young girls.Manju and her husband, Ajeet Singh began rescuing girls from Varanasi’s red-light areas and then working to stop the sex-trafficking of young girls within Uttar Pradesh and outside. The organisation’s aim is to eliminate the sex trafficking of women, especially minor girls, end second-generation prostitution and child prostitution, and rehabilitate women and girls who are rescued from the trade. Manju has faced violent backlash from the traffickers and other vested interests, but it has not deterred her from carrying on rescuing young girls from trafficking. Rescue and rehabilitationBesides rescuing girls trafficked for sex, mostly from low-income families, from across the country, Guria fights on their behalf in courts and also provides education, food, vocational training, and other facilities until they are united with their families. But because of a lack of funds, Guria is finding it difficult to rescue more girls and also take care of them once they are away from the clutches of the traffickers. Take the case of Sameena (name changed), who was abducted from Uttar Pradesh all the way to Telangana. Guria took it upon itself to rescue the girl with the help of its own work and also the authorities. After months of rehabilitation, Sameena went back to her family and even completed her education. With your support, Manju can rescue many more young girls from trafficking and help them live the life of their dreams.

Help Manju rescue young sex trafficking victims. Donate now

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Education

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Livelihood

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education

Make A Difference is a youth driven, non-profit organisation working to ensure equitable outcomes for children in orphanages and street shelters. Registered as a non-profit in 2006, Make A Difference reaches out to over 3,460 children in 67 shelters across 23 cities in India, through a highly efficient 3,822 strong volunteer network. Volunteers commit a year and spend between 2 and 10 hours every week mentoring, teaching and interacting with children in order to ensure that they get the support and care they need during childhood.Our vision is that even the most vulnerable children in shelters are able to realize equitable outcomes. We understand the most vulnerable as children who either do not have a family to support them, or children whose families are unable to provide a safe space for them to grow up in. Many of these children end up in shelters, which struggle to address more than infrastructure and basic needs, so Make A Difference focuses on providing them with additional care and support systems to ensure that they flourish. These include emotional support, career counselling &amp; financial support for continuing their education once they leave the shelter till the age of 28. We do this to ensure they become financially &amp; emotionally capable of leading successful lives without falling back into the cycle of poverty.

Donations through Give Foundation, registered under section 80G of India's Income Tax Act, 1961 are tax-deductible.

Ananya Thaniyil

Akshay Anand

Surabhi Chatterjee

Saish Sarikonda

Make A Difference

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.

Irene Sunny

Within a larger block of approximately 172m children at risk, India is estimated to have nearly 35m children in need of care and protection. We understand the most vulnerable as children who either do not have a family to support them, or children whose families are unable to provide a safe space for them to grow up in. Their adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are often further compounded by the effects of institutionalization, with long term outcomes noticeably worse than their peers in family based poverty.

The problem

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According to UNICEF, India is home to an estimated 31 million orphans- the largest youth population in the world. Out of these nearly 176 million youth are considered to be in need of care and protection. Shelter Homes mostly are overloaded and focused more on basic needs than youth care or longer-term progression. The result is that both quality of life and adult outcomes for youth in this demographic are very poor, leading to cycles of poverty and abandonment. This is compounded by the fact that little useful data exists because it has historically been difficult to track what happens to children after they leave shelters. Make A Difference’s vision is that even the most vulnerable children in shelters are able to realize equitable outcomes. We are acutely aware that interventions when done in one sphere, like providing only education or monetary support, often fail to get the desired outcomes. What we do is run multiple interventions to ensure a child's all round development so that they transform into adults who are financially &amp; emotionally independent.We do this via three broad intervention strategies :1. Empower children through better emotional health, life skills, exposure, educational support, transition readiness and after care.2. Improve the ecosystem around them by driving better practices among the institutions that directly affect their lives; primarily shelters, schools, family, state and society.3. Enable the sector through better data, sharing knowledge and building coalitions and networks.It costs us Rs.18,000/- (1500/- per month) per child to implement these programs &amp; ensure they are able to break out of the cycle of poverty. We run three projects - Ed Support, Propel, and Dream Camp, which are interventions targeted to solve specific problems that the children face in shelter homes.92% of children in shelter homes typically drop out of school by the age of 18. However, we have reversed the trend for those who have been through our programs, and more than 90% of the children we work with have continued into higher education post 18.Percentage of children in our program who passed their 10th board exam - 96%91% of our youth leaving high school have been placed in colleges/jobs/vocational training.Read more about our impact at www.makeadiff.in

Help vulnerable children achieve a bright future

MAD works with children and youth from highly vulnerable families.Their background varies greatly from having no parents to having single parents who support them to having parents who are hostile to their well being. A year of pandemic has wiped out any savings they had and are now one crisis away from being destitute. We work with more than 3500 such children &amp; youth across the country for whom crisis can come in many ways.It could be parents or siblings falling sick or losing their job and having to drop out of college to support them. It could be hostels shutting down and having no place to go or developing symptoms and having no place to isolate. It could be the employer not paying them or losing their job and unable to find another. It could be them falling sick and unable to find a hospital to be treated in or unable to afford the treatment. It’s about feeling isolated and alone and not knowing what to do.  They need immediate financial and emotional support. They do not have a network to get support from. They need guidance to keep going and fighting to survive the pandemic. 
 Every case is different and each requires personalised support to understand what support they really need keeping their long term well being in mind. MAD has built a 23 city network of volunteers who are trained to build deep bonds with the children and youth, become an emotional support system through the year so that when crisis comes they have the context required to understand their need and the right support is provided. <ul><li>The support we provide ranges from:</li><li>Ration &amp; Rent support for the youth or their family </li><li>Paying for hospital expenses for children, youth or their family </li><li>Ration and sanitation support for child care institutions</li><li>Covid-19 medical insurance for youth working in high risk jobs </li><li>Quarantining facilities for children or youth with symptoms </li><li>Medical expenses including oximeters and thermometers for child care institutions and youth</li><li>Travel expense for children to come back to the shelter home </li><li>School fees for children to stay in school</li><li>College fees for youth to not drop out of education</li><li>Unemployment support including a stipend for living expenses</li><li>Laptops and internet to children and youth so that they don’t drop out of education</li><li>Mentoring and guidance for managing risk</li></ul> 
 We want to ensure the second wave doesn’t break the most vulnerable but makes them stronger. This is possible if they :<ol><li>Have an crisis emergency support someone to reach out when they are in a crisis and know they have their back no matter what. The support can be in the form of money, access to resources or decision making support. Have their basic needs taken care of while working their way out of a crisis</li><li>Being able to prioritise getting back on their feet instead of worrying about where their next meal would come from or how to pay the rent. The support can be in the form of living expenses, support with finding a job, counselling to deal with trauma etc.  are able to stay in the game and not get knocked off their life trajectory </li><li>Being able to continue their studies, stay in college, finish their internships etc. Not having to give up on their dreams because of the crisis so that one day they can stand on their own feet, support their family and live a life of dignity. The support can be in the form of school and college fees, living stipend, access to technology etc.</li></ol>

Urgent COVID Crisis Support Needed for Children without Family Support

In India, there are currently 60,000 vulnerable children growing up in 9,589 Child care Institutions, according to The Women and Child Development Ministry. Their families cannot provide them with the necessary support, and these children struggle to acquire the education, life skills, and financial &amp; emotional aid they require to succeed. The main reason for such a high number of children in need of care and protection in India is poverty and a lack of community support for those from underserved and underprivileged communities. Studies show that 60% of parents or guardians of these children are illiterate, and 72% of families earn less than INR 6,000 per month, putting them Below the Poverty Line (BPL). Consequently, the need to survive often supersedes other essential prerequisites, such as education, leading to low education permeability across these communities. Without adequate education, the ability to find a well-paying job and escape poverty is significantly reduced, perpetuating the cycle of poverty for generations to come. This leads them to take up menial jobs or, even worse, fall into the traps of alcoholism, violence, drug abuse, prostitution, and trafficking. Unfortunately, solutions to this issue are often one-dimensional and isolated.  
 Make A Difference (MAD) is committed to creating a community-powered social-protection system that provides comprehensive, long-term care for children in need. This includes After-School Support, College Placement, Scholarships, Stipends, Job Placements, Career Progression Support and Family Planning/Crisis Management Support.To ensure that our volunteers and community leaders (MAD Fellows) have the skills and knowledge to create self-sustaining communities, we are hosting two-day regional training conferences at 5 locations to equip over 300 leaders. This conference will produce high-potential leaders who will help shape the future of India's youth and foster positive social change. Our primary goal is to ensure that our Fellows have the necessary skills and knowledge to1. Feel a sense of connection to MAD and the cause2. Deliver MAD's interventions for the year, and3. Develop positive relationships with their peers.With this training, we are confident that our leaders will be well-equipped to make a meaningful impact on the lives of children in need. 
 Our organization has made great progress and is recognized globally for our impact model. Our primary focus is to build capacity at the community level so that children receive support without being institutionalized. We believe that our Leadership Circles are key to driving effective and enthusiastic delivery of our programs on ground. Therefore, we consciously measure their impact and establish continuous learning and improvement mechanisms.Our ultimate goal is to become scale-ready by building a robust tech platform and forming strategic partnerships so that we can help every child in need of care and protection.Our Leadership Circle is India's largest Youth Leadership Program, with over 350 young leaders from 23 cities participating each year. Our program focuses on seeding social change in the minds of the youth of India and includes induction, training, ongoing mentorship, and Leadership Circles (LCs). Our 3-day intensive residential training is based on Stanford’s Design Thinking principle, which encourages problem-solving and leadership skills in participants.We prioritize on-ground implementation over mere ideation. Our Fellows become solution drivers in their own ecosystems, leveraging the benefits of Learning by Doing.

Ignite Change in India's Youth: Fuel MAD's Leadership Circle

<img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/81d922c9-3895-4e1b-85d8-f3f779a13890.png" />Did you know it takes 7 generations for a child born into an ultra-poor family in India to break out of the cycle of poverty?Make A Difference since its inception back in the year 2006 has been working towards building a community powered social protection system which empowers children in need of care and protection to break the cycle of poverty in a single generation.Our programs are built in such a way that they enable holistic interventions to be supplied over a period of 18 year long intervention starting right from the Age of 10 years old which is when most of these underprivileged children are unable to grasp basic numeracy, literacy skills till the age of 28 years old which is when any such adult is capable of making independent decisions in career, financial and family arenas. 
 To build this community, we need your support- it takes only INR 12,000/- per month to support the beneficiary cost of every child who comes into the system. With your aid and contributions we can support over 3000+ children and youth who require financial assistance while trying to navigate out of the system of breaking the poverty cycle.This means, a monthly contribution of INR 1000/- could provide the support these children and youth are in need of. Any donation made to Make A Difference is tax exempted, which also results in all contributions to come under the umbrella protection of the 80 G Exemption as laid out under the Income Tax Act, 1961. 
 With your support and our interventions, we aim to provide high touch holistic interventions which are supplied to these beneficiaries over a long term period to ensure that there remains no such touchpoints which require support and to tighten the loose ends of any such gap areas which might surface later (external factors such as pandemic, recession etc.)The idea is to provide these beneficiaries with a safe and secure future with the comprehensive ability to navigate through life just like any of us are doing.Join us today and help #makeadifference in the lives of 3000+ children and youth in need of care and protection. Every denomination matters.

Help vulnerable children achieve a bright future

Urgent COVID Crisis Support Needed for Children without Family Support

Ignite Change in India's Youth: Fuel MAD's Leadership Circle

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

Help Vinay bring children facing abuse in red-light areas to safety & protect them

Help Manju rescue young sex trafficking victims. Donate now

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