"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

“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.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

This Navratri, help Lalitha give kids rescued from abuse in red-light areas a safe and loving home. Donate now.

“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

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 Environment For the purpose of testing I will use the word EnvironmentEnvironmentEnvironment.

Environment

This is a sample description for Women Empowerment. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Women EmpowermentWomen EmpowermentWomen Empowerment.

Women Empowerment

AARDE Foundation is a not-for-profit registered Trust (1243-05/2007). Actively involved in the promotion and conservation of Pulicat lagoon, which is the second largest water body in India covering an area of 759 sq.km and is located on the North of Chennai city. The organisation maintains Pulicat Museum at Pazhaverkadu and empowers more than 120 fisherwomen to earn income through palm-leaf traditional craft. We are an associate partner of UN-Habitat (WUC). Unlike western ghats, the south-eastern coast of India has only wetlands (lagoons) to attract rain clouds. Tamilnadu is the only State in India which depends on north-eastern monsoon. The lagoon attracts more than 80000 birds every winter around the world. The visit of the birds is an indicator of good rainfall in the following season and good income to the fishermen. Pulicat Lagoon is located at the middle of Buckingham Canal, which stretches from Kakinada (AP) to Marakanam (TN) for 798 km. This canal and lagoon act as a shock-absorber during any natural calamity. Tamilnadu Coast is a tropical, evergreen region which is completely a wetlands based eco-system. We, AARDE, are working towards the conservation of lagoons for better rainfall, since 2007.

Xavier Benedict

AARDE Foundation

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We are aware that our farmers are deprived of right sustainable income. The news of farmers' suicide is very common nowadays. But we should not just be blaming inadequate rainfall and hefty loans. The history gives an entirely different picture. Recently, through translation of archived documents, we have found that the region of Tamilnadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh were one of the largest producers of premium cotton in the world, especially, coromandel-cotton. The record states that more than 4500 ships visited this region to exchange gold for cotton. Currently, Tamil Nadu and coastal-Andhra Pradesh rank within top 10 producers in the country. But the question is how the farmers are not able to get sustainable income? Our finding says that during the post-independence period, the indigenous cotton was replaced with foreign-cotton-seeds systematically, which made the farmers fully dependent on foreign seeds and chemicals.Historically, coromandel cotton was called as Palaykat cotton and its by-product is Palaykat Lungi. The word Palaykat is still commonly used in Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Srilanka, Saudi Arabia and UAE. The lungi is common clothing product in Asia, and now it has become a fashion in the upscale European market. 
 We, AARDE, have established a sustainable income source for the fisherwomen of Pulicat through our palm-leaf craft marketing plan. Similarly, we would like to improve income for the farmers of the region. Pulicat region stretches from Kakinada (AP) to Marakanam (TN) through its lagoon and Buckingham canal. We are strategizing to revive the indigenous cotton through sustainable farming and scale up sales of its byproduct with the help of technology. Our strong presence in Pulicat and Chennai would help us to easily establish cotton by-product production and scale-up the income for the farmers through E-Commerce. The stages of our action plan are1) Identify farmers and weavers in Pulicat &amp; Buckingham canal region.2) Establishing indigenous cotton seeds bank through the help of agriculture universities.3) Providing adequate sources or micro-finance to the farmers to grow Indian cotton 4) Providing adequate financial support and raw-materials to the weavers for production of clothing material5) Tapping ASEAN and Gulf Countries market through the support of international NGOs for the sales. Developing direct marketing through E-Commerce in India6) Research and Development to improve production, design, and quality. This sustainable model will bring positive change to the conservation of Pulicat lagoon. 
 Our action plan is holistic and sustainable, and shall leave a positive impact on the Coromandel Coast. The revival of cotton-route will not only bring additional income to the farmers and weaver, it will re-establish the cultural-landscape which existed before independence. The impact of this strategy will bring some positive changes which are:1) Indigenous cotton seeds will come back to farmers2) Handloom will get boost and income of the weavers will improve3) Encouraging sustainable farming will revive the soil and boost earthworms4) Will stop the migration of weavers and farmers to cities5) Will improve village economy6) Bring new designs and products of Indian and Coromandel culture. 7) Farmers will have direct marketing channel to sell products to markets around the world.8) Farmers suicide will be contained9) Will revive ethnic lungi cloth culture.

Revival of COTTON ROUTE: For Sustainable Income Generation for Farmers & Weavers of Coromandel Coast

Palm Leaf Handicraft is a traditional craft supporting the livelihood of the coastal Lagoon fishermen for several centuries. Pulicat Lagoon is the second-largest water body in India covering an area of 759sq.km. There are around thirty-three villages on the coast of the lagoon that are depending on inland fishing and palm-leaf handicraft. During 2020 March Covid Lockdown onwards the community suffered to sustain their life due to the absence of any form of earning. The palm-leaf handicraft has huge demand around the country; however, the craftswomen are unable to produce due to a lack of revenue source to kick start the craft. The COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent economic slowdown made us understand the issue at the grassroots level. The community needs a source to procure raw materials for handicrafts. This fundraising project is to create a sustainable resource model for handicrafts women to procure raw materials without any burden or break throughout the year. The project will bring positive change to the tree climber, and craftswomen and their families. The RAW-MATERIAL BANK would procure the tender and mature Palmyra Tree leaves from tree-climbers, process and store it in the right condition for the palm leaf craftswomen to procure any time of the year. This would enhance the life of the women and their village. This would boost our Save Pulicat to Save Chennai campaign further. 
 Palmyra Tree Leaves Raw Material Bank would support be executed by creating a sustainable supply chain linking the tree-climber and craftswomen. Following steps are involved in the execution:<ol><li>Registering the tree-climbers and agreeing to their terms for regular supply of Palmyra Tree Leaf</li><li>Employing two craftswomen to sort, cut, dry and process the leaf for storage for the next twelve months. </li><li>Storing the processed raw material in the right condition at the AARDE Foundation Pulicat office. </li><li>The craftswomen would procure the raw material and pay for the material after a month. This would give them adequate time to sell and restart their redundant second-source of income activity without any further challenges. </li></ol>COVID-19 lockdown challenges will overcome through this sustainable model. The Raw Material Bank would sustain the income from the craftswomen raw-material purchase and will bring positive change to the villages of Pulicat Lagoon. 
 Palm Leaf Handicraft RAW MATERIAL Bank - Covid ReliefThe action would benefit more than 150 families in the Pulicat Lagoon region. The craftswomen will be empowered and kick start the redundant alternate source income for their family due to Covid Lockdown. The school dropouts would get reduced and women would get right encouraged to stand united for sustainable community life. The project will also empower women to earn their rights.

Revival of COTTON ROUTE: For Sustainable Income Generation for Farmers & Weavers of Coromandel Coast

Palm Leaf Handicraft RAW MATERIAL Bank - Covid Relief

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

This Navratri, help Lalitha give kids rescued from abuse in red-light areas a safe and loving home. Donate now.

Help Manju rescue young sex trafficking victims. Donate now

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