In Vrindavan, thousands of elderly widow mothers face the harsh reality of abandonment and suffering. With no one to turn to, many are left begging on the streets, exposed to heat, cold and rain,Donate so that Maitri can provide shelter, food, clothes and medical support to abandoned elderly mothers now. Give generously.Winnie Singh has witnessed many cases of widow mothers being abandoned on the streets of Vrindavan, one of the holiest places in India. “Children leave their mothers as soon as they become widows. The children start feeling the burden. This has become a practice in today's society that money comes first and everything else later,” says Winnie whose Maitri India, rescues widowed mothers from the streets of Vrindavan.Many widowed elderly mothers often end up living a lonely life and begging to survive on the streets. And Maitri aspires to take care of every widow in need of help, but because of lack of funds, Winnie and Maitri are in a position to do it."Elderly widows don't have shelter. They sleep in cowsheds over sacks. They don't have a blanket. Nights are really difficult for them," shares Winnie Singh. <img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/1abfb906-563b-4747-85b8-8af2071a2856.jpg" />Maitri aims to:<ul><li>Provide shelter and nutritious 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 and engagement around the struggles of abandoned widow mothers</li></ul>Why donate to MaitriWinnie needs your support to help those in need of food, healthcare and well-being. “Maitri urgently needs your support to provide nutritious food, clothing and healthcare to sustain these widow mothers who are prone to more illnesses as they age,” appeals Winnie. “You can become the family they were denied. Hold their hands so they don't need to beg ever again,” she adds. Let’s rescue abandoned widows mothers from the streets of Vrindavan and give them a better future. Donate now.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.

Help provide shelter, food, clothes and medical support to abandoned widow mothers of Vrindavan. Donate now

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

“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.

Help ex-IAF officer rescue abandoned women and provide them with food and shelter

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 Disaster Relief. For the purpose of testing I will use the wordDisaster ReliefDisaster ReliefDisaster Relief.

Disaster Relief

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

Education

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

Healthcare

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

Lighthouse Communities Foundation is a Section 8, non-profit company that provides a platform for collaboration between corporates, Municipal Corporations, NGOs, and citizens. The organisation works under 2 divisions: Sustainable Livelihood and Education.Partners till date: Municipal Corporations of Pune, Aurangabad, KDMC, Delhi, Odisha and Hyderabad. 35+ donor partners, 100+ implementation partners and 7000+ placement companies.

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

Rasika Panse

Ishani Das

Pune City Connect (A Lighthouse Communities Initiative)

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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One year later since the COVID19 pandemic hit the world, India stands struggling to fight the novel mutated coronavirus. With reference to a report published by the World Health Organization on 21st April 2021, five states, namely, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are contributing almost 55% of total cases in the country. The city of Pune has emerged as one of the most affected by COVID-19. Information as received from the municipal corporation showcases total number of covid positive cases at 4,02,655, number of active cases at 47,420 and critical cases at 1371.The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating. The impact is extensive and with far reaching consequences in the Economic, Social and most adversely Healthcare. Several challenges in healthcare have arisen - challenges in diagnosis, quarantine and treatment of suspected or confirmed cases, high burden of functioning of the existing medical system, patients with other disease and health problems are getting neglected, there is an overload on the frontline workers - doctors and other healthcare professionals, overloading of medical shops, requirement for high protection, disruption of medical supply chain and unavailability of basic healthcare and treatment facilities such as beds, oxygen, medicines etc. being some of them. 
 Hospital Equipment for Government COVID hospitals: Given 10,000+ active cases per day across PMC, there is a shortage of critical equipment such as fowler beds, ventilators, oxygen concentrators and digital BP machines. Lighthouse Communities will purchase this material and make them available to select Government COVID hospitals/centers such as COEP Jumbo Hospital; DCH Hospital, Baner; Dalvi Hospital, ShivajiNagar; Dr. Naidu Hospital; Late Laigude Hospital Dhayri; Late Khedekar Hospital, Bopodi;ESIC Hospital Bibwewadi; Ganesh Kala Krida Swargate. 
 Pune Municipal Corporation and Pune City Connect (A Lighthouse Communities Initiative) have come together to work towards supporting the Government COVID hospitals with critical medical equipment such that more than 7000 people are served per equipment purchased for a year.

Support Hospitals with Critical Lifesaving Equipment

Internet-literacy has become critical post the pandemic. Housewives in low-income households are the worst off, because even when there is a smart phone in the household, they do not know how to use it and hence do not have access to it either. 
 Lighthouse Communities Foundation has a 40-hour curriculum honed over the last 5 years, which enables housewives to be: 1. Digital Citizens: create their identity (mail id and social media accounts), learn about internet security, interface with the Government and apply for schemes and programs 2. Digital Customers: learn and practice cashless transactions, learn and practice the availing of online services such as banking, bill payments, shopping, ticket booking, applying for Aadhar cards and suchlike 3. Digital Learners: practice how to access information and 'self-learn' through Google, Wikipedia and YouTube.For women who would like to go still further and earn money with the support of the internet, there is an additional curriculum that enables them to be Digital Earners. We expect atleast 50 women of the 300, to go for this option.Earlier this week, we pitched for funding support to the Dolphin Tank - Living My Promise initiative (<a href="https://livingmypromise.in/dolphin-tank-livingmypromise-daanutsav-celebrations-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">https://livingmypromise.in/dolphin-tank-livingmypromise-daanutsav-celebrations-2/</a>) and have secured a promise of Rs. 2.5 Lakhs as 'matching funds'. Hence, every rupee that you donate will be matched by the Dolphin Tank, upto an amount of Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. The total amount required for digital empowerment for 300 housewives, is Rs. 5 Lakhs.Please donate to support atleast one housewife to become digitally empowered. The cost per person is as low as Rs. 1600. 
 300 low income women in Pune, multiplied effect. Digital empowerment for Pune

Digital Empowerment for women  from Low-Income Communities

During the COVID pandemic lock-down (Apr-May 2020), Pune City Connect (PCC), in collaboration with Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Connecting NGO (a suicide prevention helpline) operated a COVID Helpline for the marginalised/low income communities. This helpline was managed by community youth for 6 weeks and had approximately 7000 callers. A survey conducted therein showed that apart from food, anxiety and helplessness was expressed in the area of livelihood. Approximately 59% of the respondents also reported loss of income source. 
 The Youthline Program will run as a collaborative action program between the youth, NGOs, Social Organisations, PMC, Corporates, Citizens &amp; skilling organisations. It is sought to be uniquely designed to leverage the leadership potential of the community youth to run the ‘YouthLine’ and to build and participate in specific deliverables of the support ecosystem, wherever possible. In an ever-evolving situation in the COVID context, the ‘YouthLine’ Program also envisages a complete and constant looping back of insights that emerge as it operationalises and scales up. This will result in building robustness and continued salience of the program in the developing situation through 2020-21. A collaborative ‘Working Group’ will ensure that the voices of all relevant partners are incorporated as well as the Program stays pivoted to its core purpose. 
 No. of beneficiaries of Youthline who either (approx):<ul><li>are in sustainable livelihood options (jobs, self employment/entrepreneurship) = 2000</li><li>Pursuing skilling courses that enable livelihood = 5000</li></ul>

YouthLine

Pune is one of the cities most affected by COVID-19 (69 micro containment zones declared) with low-income communities being the most impacted segment. In end-March, Pune City Connect (PCC) conducted a listening exercise with 200+ families across over 30 communities. The top 3 concerns raised by communities were: Food (groceries, vegetables and LPG), Finances (lack of money) and Uncertainty (normalcy of life and livelihood). 
 In order to address these issues, a helpline was set up. Awareness of COVID-19, reasons for lockdown, do’s and don’ts, addressing fake news and misinformation, dissemination of information on Government initiatives, understanding health-related and other concerns were some of the initial objectives. The helpline was run by Pune City Connect (PCC) with support from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Connecting (a distress support NGO). PCC staff and student/Corporate volunteers manned the helpline. Over the last 6 weeks, 6932 calls have been received with 98% callers reporting need for groceries and dry ration. Through the financial support provided by individual and corporate donors, PCC initiated a Food distribution relief program to support these callers. Out of 6932 helpline callers, 3037 have been provided with the essentials kit*; leaving ~ 3500 callers awaiting support.*Essential groceries single kit contains (5 Kg Rice, 5 Kg Atta, 1 Lt Oil, 1 Kg Dal, ½ Kg Besan, ½ Kg peanuts, ½ kg Matki, Tea powder, Chilli powder, Sugar and 1 Bathing Soap). One kit can support a family of 4 members, for 2 weeks. 
 People to have access to food and therefore restore dignity and ability to think about livelihood

Support Hospitals with Critical Lifesaving Equipment

Digital Empowerment for women from Low-Income Communities

YouthLine

6,00,000 meals for 3500 vulnerable Families in Pune

Help provide shelter, food, clothes and medical support to abandoned widow mothers of Vrindavan. Donate now

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

Help ex-IAF officer rescue abandoned women and provide them with food and shelter

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