"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.

This Navratri, save abandoned, elderly widow mothers of Vrindavan from begging on streets

For a mother who has spent her entire life loving and raising her child, being beaten and mercilessly thrown out onto the streets by her own son is too heartbreaking to overcome. But this is a common story among the elderly residents of the Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram. “I’ve seen mothers in old and torn clothes, their bodies smelling and their hands and feet rotting and covered in maggots,” shares Dr. G.P. Bhagat, founder of the ashram. These abandoned elderly men and women lay starving on the streets hoping for someone to rescue them from their suffering. But most people walk past them without a second glance. “Like this”, Dr. Bhagat explains, “many elders die on the roads.”Since 2003, SHEOWS (Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society) has rescued over 10,000 elderly people from the streets and given them a home with care and support. The elderly staying at the ashram have all been abandoned by their families and have nowhere else to live. Your support can give them comfort after their abandonment. 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). Safe and loving homeFor 20 years, SHEOWS has been providing free shelter, nutritious food three times a day, clothing, medical care, recreation activities and emotional support to abused and disabled elderly people rescued from the streets of Delhi. The Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram has a dedicated rescue team that saves the elderly from the streets and gives them immediate medical care upon their arrival at the home. To tend to the multiple health complications of the seniors, the home has a medical facility with doctors and nurses, a physiotherapy unit, a pathology lab, a digital X-ray monitoring machine and a pharmacy to provide 24-hour care to older adults anytime they require assistance, even during emergencies. Dr. Bhagat prioritizes the health of the seniors and ensures that they receive three balanced meals a day based on their precise health requirements. Need for the fundraiserThe humanitarian mission of SHEOWS is making an impact in the area, as more and more people are being rescued and brought to Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram. To meet the financial costs of running the home, SHEOWS needs support to continue providing the residents with all the facilities that they need. This includes constant care and round-the-clock medical attention, nutritious food and maintaining a hygienic environment to keep the seniors in comfort and good health. Dr. Bhagat explains that as the number of residents is increasing, SHEOWS needs support for food and medicines. “I request you to help these elderly parents lead a peaceful life.”Donate now to help Dr. Bhagat continue caring for the 500 destitute elderly and giving them shelter, food, medical care and the will to carry on living despite their tragic abandonment by their families. Your support will enable SHEOWS to keep serving abandoned senior citizens and help them recover from the trauma of abandonment and life on the streets. “I have been serving these elderly as if they were my own parents”, shares Dr. Bhagat. “I want only one thing - their tears should vanish and they should have a smile on their faces.” To help Dr. Bhagat achieve this dream, your support is critical. Donate now to help SHEOWS care for more abandoned elderly. Donate to this fundraiser by Give, India’s largest online donation platform, to support SHEOWS in their mission to rescue the abandoned elderly from the streets and give them shelter, food, medical care, recreational activities and emotional support.

Help Dr. Bhagat care for 500+ elderly parents rescued from abuse and homelessness

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

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Population First (PF) is a social impact organization that works on health and population issues from a gender and social development perspective. It focuses women empowerment, gender equality and community mobilization.It was registered in March 2002 under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950.Population First’s field initiative AMCHI ( Action for Mobilization of Community Health Initiatives ) focuses on;a)  Mobilizing community participation in population, health and social development programmesb)  Building Public-Private Partnerships for programme and policy development and implementation.Till date we have worked in more than 200 villages. Our programme focused on livelihood initiatives for women (Vermi-composting and Poultry), Malnutrition, Adolescent Health, Mother and Child Health and WASH practices. Strengthening the local committees/ institutions, enhancing community and women participation in development programmes at village level and supporting government service providers are the strategies adopted to reach quality services to people with greater transparency and accountability. Nearly 5 crore rupees of government funds are mobilized by the village committees every year for village development initiatives. Currently, post COVID-19 we are working in 14 villages especially focusing on livelihood initiatives among women and promoting vermicomposting and poultry as alternatives. And are awaiting an extension of our project in 29 villages. We also helped rebuild sheds of 15 vermicomposting groups whose sheds were destroyed during the Cyclone Nisarga through crowdfunding.The Laadli Media Advocacy campaign focuses on;a) The gendered mindsets which undermine the value of girls and women, promote discrimination against them and justify gender-based violence.Laadli works closely with media advertising and film fraternity to change the way women are portrayed and projected and leverage the power and influence of the media to challenge gender stereotypes and create conversations around gender discrimination and violence. The campaign builds gender sensitivity in the communicators through workshops/training programmes and fellowships, creates a supportive eco-system for change by engaging with the thought leaders and influences and rewards positive change through one of its kind awards in the world given exclusively for gender sensitivity - the Laadli Media and Advertising Awards.For over more than a decade, we have gained immense support from and collaborated with various corporates, institutions and prominent individuals of considerable influence as reflected in the profile of our Board Members.We continue to receive tremendous support from leaders from the fields of business, media and academia for carrying out our work in advancing gender sensitivity and gender equality across the board, especially in Media and Rural Health &amp; Development.

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

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Dr A L Sharada

Swathi Chaganty

Population First

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.

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Human resources are key for advocacy and behaviour change. Personnel who are trained in community mobilization are crucial for successful implementation of the projects. It is not just about the field staff but we also need people who are savvy with social media, documentation, accounting and interacting with the donors, mobilizing more resources and getting more projects to the organization.Unfortunately, increasingly, donors are not willing to allocate more than 5-6 percent towards administrative and institutional charges — which does not even meet our very minimalistic administrative expenses. The new FCRA rules have further curtailed the availability of funds for administrative and personnel costs.During the pandemic despite stalled projects, we kept working, provided basic services to beneficiaries did not leave our field team in lurch, retained the staff and paid salaries from our corpus thus depleting our reserves. Therefore, this project is marked as COVID-19 support project. We need a strong team at the head office for resource mobilization, fund raising, documentation, accounts, HRD and communication and programme management to support the field staff and advocacy initiatives and for the survival of the organization.Therefore, there is a need now, like never before, for us to raise money for the corpus and also for administrative and personnel costs.  
 The impact of the pandemic on our funding was quite drastic. In spite of that in 2020 we established an in-house, successful pilot poultry and nutrition project in four villages. Linking the poultry project with the Amrut Aahar Yojana ensured that children in remote villages received their daily quota of eggs and the poor tribal families which sold the eggs had enough money to survive the loss of jobs and income from other sources.The pandemic also introduced us to online platforms like Zoom, and data collection apps like Survey Monkey helping us reach out to a large number of youth and service providers.We have also over the years witnessed the importance of strengthening panchayat level institutions and capacity building of service providers, PRI members as well as common villagers in bringing about transparency and overall development. We wish to further strengthen Panchayati level Institutions and especially build capacities of women and youth in order to actively participate in their communities’ development, expand the poultry initiative in other tribal villages and intensively engage with the women and the children thus, bringing about a holistic change in their health.Similarly, we want to restart our youth-based intervention and innovative campaigns so that the issues of gender sensitivity and equality continue to inform the attitudes of our future generations.  
 We strongly believe that, if we want change, we need to invest in committed change makers and change leaders who believe in a better future.If supported, our team can bring about transformative change through our project activities.<ol><li>Come up with innovative strategies to link livelihood initiatives with nutrition and mother and child health initiatives, thus initiating sustainable change processes at village level</li><li>Bring about greater transparency and accountability in government programmes through micro-planning and community participation at Gram Panchayat level</li><li>Raise sufficient funds for the organization through a dedicated team for fund raising and resource mobilization to engage in advocacy for gender equality</li><li>Innovate and also expand our successful strategies to create more impact, thus empowering youth, women and community leaders to be the change agents.</li></ol>

Administrative Support for the NGO

“These last two years, children from my village and wadi did not have access to school books. As a result, even if we were interested, we could not study and suffered greatly. Therefore, we would really like your help in our education,” said Hemangi and Vipul from Pendhergol.“I was in 5th standard when the lockdown was announced. It has been two years since and our school has not started. I want to continue studying and my parents are willing to support me. But I do not have access to study material and books. I believe, if we received a course or study material, it will help me greatly, said Yadnya More from Alyani. Additionally, a pilot study by Population First, conducted to understand the issues of the students during the pandemic, identified that despite having mobiles, 78% of 572 students surveyed did not attend the online classes because 45% of those students did not have timely access to mobiles, 19% faced network issues, and 12% children found it difficult to grasp concepts during online classes. Therefore, PF aims to provide access to education and holistic development to students under the context of COVID-19 pandemic in remote villages. 
 Objectives:<ol><li>To provide class appropriate education for children from classes of 1st to 7th irrespective of existing facilities and amenities and lack thereof</li><li>To provide employment opportunity to youth returning to their villages as a result of reverse migration</li><li>To mobilize the parents, teachers and the community to involve in their children’s education and development.</li></ol>Strategies:A)     Workbooks/Adhyay books will be developed for the classes 1st to 7th that will assist the students to easily understand concepts and undertake self-studyB)     Mobilization and Training of Youth who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic to become paid teachers for these children. They will be trained by the Zilla Parishad school teachers. C)     Mobilization of parents on continuation of children’s education, mobilization of community members like Gram Panchayat and School Management Committee (SMC) members on provision of infrastructure and space for the classes, monitoring of the classes, and maintenance of COVID-19 protocols. Similarly, Zilla Parishad teachers will aid in developing workbooks for the children. D)  Holistic Education with focus on WaSH, health, hygiene will be extremely necessary post pandemic. Therefore, the students will be trained in these topics in addition to COVID-19 precaution and response. 
 The risk of increase in dropout rates among students from remote and tribal villages is higher due to the lack of amenities such as electricity, internet and consequently online education.Therefore, this project aims to empower students by providing access to education:a)      in the form of self-study workbooksb)     ‘bridge’ classes conducted by educated and employable youthc)      These classes will act as a bridge between the school and the students in:<ul><li>villages where schools have not opened up yet</li><li>villages where schools have opened up but are irregular due to the ongoing pandemic like situation</li></ul>d)     These classes will act as a complementary facility for students to continue with their studiese)     In addition, to normal school curriculum, the students will also gain knowledge about Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene practices, all of which are extremely crucial to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This project also provides an employment opportunity for employable youth who have lost their source of income during the pandemic. A total of twenty-five villages, 1,250 school students, 25 youth trained as teachers, at least 2,500 parents and 500 other stakeholders will be actively be part of this project

Continuation of Education and Holistic Development of School Children

Population First has continued to adapt to the changes the pandemic has presented. However, while our offices have moved into our homes for the majority of us, that is not the case for all, such as our Administrative &amp; Accounts team, or our Field team, who visit field areas, especially those which are not project-based, to ensure that our beneficiaries are supported. Additionally, organizations such as ours have to continue to pay for upkeep of their offices and establishments. A strong administrative support, financial and human resources are the foundation for any good organization and these expenses are borne by the organization’s savings and corpus funds. Population First for years participated in fundraising campaigns like Mumbai Marathon, hosted its own fundraiser 'Legends for Laadli' that got us sponsorships that shored up our funds and helped us run our organization.Unfortunately, with the current pandemic situation, we were unable to host fundraisers or make use of largescale fundraising opportunities like Mumbai Marathon. Increasingly CSR funding is not allocating more than 5-6% towards administrative and institutional charges — which does not even meet our basic administrative expenses.Since April 2020, despite stalled projects, we continued to support our beneficiaries, retained the staff (head office and field team) and paid salaries from our corpus thus depleting our reserves. We need a strong team at the head office for resource mobilization, and programme management to support the field staff and advocacy initiatives. Therefore, the need to raise money for administrative and personnel costs continues. 
 In February, last year, we were able to raise approximately, Rs. 1,99,000/- worth donations for supporting our organization. Through those donations we were able to <ul><li>support our field team in continuing their work with our in-house livelihood and nutrition project – poultry farming in tribal villages. </li><li>help Administrative and Accounts team in taking care of administrative expenses in running our offices smoothly. </li><li>absorb additional costs that we incurred during implementation of on-field nutrition and livelihood projects and also supported our projects till the time reimbursements from the CSR partners were received.</li></ul>Despite the goodwill and support, there is still a long way to go in ensuring a safety net for our organization. Therefore, this year, we wish to raise close to Rs. 15,00,000/- through your support!This support will enable us to support above mentioned expenses as well as following additional objectives: <ul><li>continue supporting our in-house poultry farming intervention for tribal villages, further streamlining the project and expanding it in many more hamlets</li><li>contribute in retaining the human resource and create an opportunity for vacant posts to be filled at our organization </li><li>strengthen Panchayati level Institutions and especially build capacities of women and youth in order to actively participate in their communities’ development</li><li>intensively engage with the women and the children thus, bringing about a holistic change in their health, especially haemoglobin levels restart our urban youth-based intervention and innovative campaigns so that the issues of gender sensitivity and equality continue to inform the attitudes of our future generations</li></ul> 
 At Population First, we invest in change makers and change leaders from the grassroots level to our head office in Thane who want to better their communities.If supported, our team can bring about transformative change through our project activities.<ol><li>Come up with interventions that focus on holistically improving the health of women, adolescent girls and boys, especially those who were left behind due to the pandemic</li><li>Support our rural businesswomen in expanding their market reach through technological inputs</li><li>Bring about greater transparency and accountability in government programmes through micro-planning and community participation at Gram Panchayat level</li><li>Raise sufficient funds for the organization through a dedicated team for fund raising and resource mobilization to engage in advocacy for gender equality</li><li>Innovate and also expand our successful strategies to create more impact, thus empowering youth, women and community leaders to be the change agents.</li></ol>

Human Resource & Administrative Support for Population First

Population First realizes that the human resource is the most important resource in our work as our team is the medium of bringing the change in society. However, infrastructural support is essential to make our work faster and more effective. In an effort to ensure that our clients in community – children, adolescent girls, youth and women, have every educational and social advantage necessary to excel as productive members of community we need office and field equipment. We seek your support in procuring the items described in the table below for our office in Shahapur and for our field team. 
 Our field team collects a lot of data from the communities which needs to be digitalised which is then analysed for measuring outcomes and impact. They also need to take pictures and videos of field activities for documentation. The data and documentation is further used to refine our interventions and make better impact on communities. In the intervention of malnutrition we need to use good quality weighing scales on an ongoing basis 
 •	Reached out to 37379 people across 91 villages including•	245 women in livelihood initiatives and 1040 school children in sanitation and hygiene initiatives•	Formed 25 youth groups and 51 adolescent groups and 250 Self Help GroupsEngagement with Government Service Providers through informational and motivational trainings and workshops•	30 Medical Officers•	55 ANMs•	80 Anganwadi WorkersRepresentative of AMCHI on Government’s Monitoring Committee on Health Services at Block Level•	Attendance of children at Anganwadi increased to 90% (excluding migrated children)•	Number of children consistently growing in weight: 90%•	Decrease in incidence of diseases: By 75%•	Number of children given food more frequently by parents: 350•	Number of children stopped eating outside/junk food: 385•	Number of children washing hands before eating: 325•	Number of parents washing hands before cooking/feeding: 325•	Number of anganwadis following hand washing practice for children: 11•	Attendance of parents in weighing of children at anganwadi centre: 85%•	Number of anganwadis using toilets and keeping them clean: 9