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

“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.This Christmas, you can gift these kids, through your donations, books and warm clothes.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

Help Lalitha give children rescued from abuse in red-light areas a safe and loving home. Donate now.

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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What comes to mind when you think of Mumbai? For some it is a land of opportunity; for others, it is a place of despair.Many of those who migrate to the city do not experience the popular Mumbai of fashion, food, and opportunity that so many have come to love.Instead they know the slums, the demeaning work, and the faceless life of those whom society has ignored. Unseen they are easily abused and unable to rely on a social safety net, they settle into a life of degradation.Sahaara Charitable Society exists to serve and equip these marginalized people to grow into positive contributors of society.In November 1994, a group of concerned citizens banded together and decided to give themselves to work amongst the most disregarded people of Mumbai, pledging to go to the places where very few will go. At Sahaara Charitable Society, we seek to empower people to articulate their dreams and to support and equip them as they work to fulfill these dreams in their lifetime!With this view in mind, Sahaara Charitable Society was formed with the vision of “Fulfilling Dreams”.

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

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Rahul Thomas

Anand Suresh

Sahaara Charitable Society

Akshay Agarwal was born in the Turbhe red light area, on the outskirts of Mumbai, and had been staying with his mother for the last seven years. Due to the social stigma and poverty associated with red light areas, he was not put in school and thus was missing out on education.

While Akshay was enrolled in our Balwadi at Turbhe it was found out that his mother, who was HIV positive, was diagnosed to be suffering from brain tuberculosis. In spite of medical help being provided, her condition deteriorated and she passed away. Akshay, who was left orphaned, was taken into Mahima Home. Here he has been counselled to tide over his grief and is being trained to be integrated into the home, school and society.

Akshay now receives English medium schooling in one of the top schools in the locality, accommodation and nutrition within a loving family environment with a dedicated houseparent. He got an 'A' Grade in all subjects in the last year and now he has been promoted to Class II. He looks forward to a bright future!

Battling against all odds

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During this COVID-19 pandemic with many job losses and economic slowdown, a decent and sustainable livelihood for many have become a challenge. During this pandemic, red-light areas have emerged as the most severely impacted communities. With no-trade and no source of alternate livelihood thousands of Commercial Sex Workers are in desperate attempt to sustain themselves and their families.While these sex-workers also constitute to the large population of daily wage-earners, who have been battling the economic uncertainty and survival for themselves and their families. The plight of sex workers and their families are less heard of due to the stigma attached to their profession.Sahaara is committed in helping these victims of trafficking to experience freedom from various vicious cycles implanted to keep the women entrapped in the slavery cycle. Sahaara believes that along with the immediate interventions like providing food kits and hygiene products to these victims, it is important to invest in their empowerment and capacity building. Through these initiatives these women will have access to decent and sustainable employments that will keep them safe from the clutches of poverty. 
 Opportunities of decent and sustainable employment is the key factor in the empowerment of the victims of trafficking. This not only allows them to provide a safe and sustainable future for their children, but also allows them their basic human rights and the freedom to exercise choice, which is often lost in the sex trade.Sahaara believes a vocational-cum-production center for these victims is the need of the hour. For this reason, Sahaara aims at operating this center where the women will be involved in training in mask making, bags, jewellery, and scarves production. And will be able to harness their skills to produce these items for sale and earn a decent living through it.Through this model, the women will not only physically relocate from the red-light area and earn a decent living but will have opportunity to expand their skills into a small-business opportunity thereby being a source of job creation for others too. During this training period, these beneficiaries will receive support with housing facilities via provision of rent and grocery support to help in their relocation from the red-light area until they are financially stable enough to provide for themselves and their families. 
 Through this intervention, the Commercial Sex Workers will be unplugged from a setting that is brimming with violence and constant physical, emotional and verbal abuse. They will have access to a healthier atmosphere that initiates more control over their own situations like their finances, right to their own body, and are free from the risk of STDs and many other communicable diseases and experience psycho-social healing. This opportunity of decent livelihood will not only allow them to be empowered, but also become an inspiration to many other women in their community to become free of the abusive trade.

PARIVARTAN - Sahaara’s project in the red-light communities of Turbhe and Bhiwandi

The streets are a tough place to grow up in. Every year in Mumbai, thousands of children are left to fend for themselves as they live off the street. Poor or orphaned children are unable to get a chance to be educated. Those who go to school often drop out of school to earn livelihood for themselves or their family, even at an early age. Without an education, the children will be subject to a life of extreme poverty and, at times, may be forced into bonded labor. Those without families or any one to care for them could be exposed to the perils of substance abuse and negative influences. They are vulnerable and thus open to acts of physical violence and abuse. Lack of nutritious food could leave them malnourished and susceptible to health hazards. They face a bleak future on the streets and each day brings forth newer and bigger struggles of food, water, security and education. 
 Sahaara saw this need to house homeless children and began the Mahima Children's Home in July 1999 with just two boys. Today, the home is a haven for 8 boys between 6 and 18 years of age and 5 boys over 18 years of age, all either orphans or with terminally ill parents or children of trafficked women unable to care for them. Mahima provides these children with nutrition, accommodation and education. These boys, who are educated at English medium schools and colleges, actively participate in sports, school dramas and have been elected school leaders and captains.15 boys were cared for last year in Mahima Home. 
 In a family atmosphere these boys are nurtured and raised to believe in a dream that was once far away, but now within grasp!They are on the way to making their dreams a reality. And each child has bigger dream. These children will grow up to be reintegrated as responsible and positive contributors to society.

Provide underprivileged children with nutrition, accommodation and education

One of the invisible and powerless groups of people in the city of Mumbai are the thousands of under-trials languishing in prisons. Many of them do not have the knowledge of legal process or have access to resources to secure their release. In most cases, the families of these petty offenders face social stigma and lack basic provision. Unless issues of resettlement and reintegration are in place, there is high probability of them becoming habitual offenders. Azad reaches out to these marginalized men and women in prisons and released prisoners with various interventions.  
 Sahaara conducts various in-prison activities such as Legal Awareness, Functional Adult Literacy, Medical Camps and Prison Police Trainings. During our prison visits, there are many prisoners who approach us for help.Our Legal Aid Services help secure timely release of under trials. This is followed up by Recovery Based Rehabilitation which includes services such as counselling, mentoring and emergency support. Finally, Focused Reintegration develops Individual Reintegration Plans (IRPs) for each individual and ensures education support, skill development and job placement. Families of prisoners are also supported with needs of ration, rent, education, skill development and job placement with a view to build stable and secure families. Project Azad seeks to add value to their lives and thus successfully reintegrate them into society. 
 The vision of Project Azad is that under trials and released prisoners are living a life free from crime and are able to fulfil their dreams thereby becoming positive contributors to society.

Support Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Released Prisoners

One out of every three visually challenged people in the world live in India. Despite this staggering number, education, rehabilitation and employment for the visually impaired remains a huge challenge.Resources and policies that assist visually impaired people are almost non-existent in India, making it virtually impossible for them to get on with their lives. 42% of public buildings in the country are not properly facilitated to be accessible to the disabled. 
 We have a project called 'Prakash', meaning light in Hindi, where we reach out to visually impaired girls in need of assistance in Mumbai, Maharashtra.Our hostel, Jyoti Home, provides free of charge residential facilities, food, and a family environment to all its visually impaired residents. Also, we have assigned caregivers who offer round-the-clock assistance to all the girls who live here, such as chaperoning them when they travel long distances. Providing help in studies, training in employability skills, and assisting in their job search are just a few of the services we provide. 
 We have four new members in our Jyoti Home and we require funds to ensure proper care for them. A donation of Rs.3750 can ensure a safe and secure stay to one girl for a month.