Hunger and malnutrition have become a reality for thousands of elderly parents abandoned by their own children, in villages and slums across India. Seeing the rampant distress among the elderly, a team of selfless heroes from our NGO partner Mitti Cafe, though disabled themselves, have taken up the responsibility of providing cooked meals and dry rations to over 5,000 elderly in urgent need of support. Setting aside their own struggles, Mitti Cafe’s team, led by Ayesha Alam has been relentlessly fighting to free elderly from hunger and malnutrition through its Karuna Meals initiative. The need for nutrition support is growing with each passing day and Mitti Cafe is struggling to fulfill this enormous need. With your support, the NGO and its team of persons with disability can put food on the plates of hundreds of more elderly parents. Donate generously.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). Elderly deserve love, not neglect and hunger“There have been countless senior citizens, in extremely backward villages of the Sundarbans in West Bengal, who had not had a proper meal in days when we found them. We have seen people picking food from the garbage out of extreme hunger.”, recalls Ayesha of Mitti Cafe, while talking about the extent of hunger faced by senior citizens. According to Ayesha, there are thousands of elderly who have been either chucked out of their homes or have been left behind in villages by their children. “Our elderly don't deserve this life and it is our responsibility to come to their aid. If we come together we can ease the suffering of hundreds of people battling hunger and starvation. Donate now Our heroes’ war against hungerPersons with disability who were once discriminated against by society are today at the forefront of the fight to save abandoned elderly and children from hunger. The Karuna Meals team, comprising only of persons with disability has been able to cook and serve over 10 lakh meals. They have also distributed over 1 lakh packets of dry rations. ”They overlook their own struggles and suffering just to reach the elderly and provide them with the food they need,” says Ayesh. But their job is not yet done. “There are still many villages which have many malnourished and hungry seniors and we have not been able to reach them. But with your support, we can collectively end starvation,” she says. Donate now. Donate to this fundraiser by Give, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform, to help the elderly fight hunger and malnutrition.

Support Mitti Cafe’s team of disabled heroes end hunger and malnutrition for thousands. Donate now

“A blind child is seen as a curse or as a burden to the family. These children are left on the street. I have picked up children from roadsides myself. I also lost my eyesight as a child but today I am a senior officer in a public sector company. What would I have done, had I not been taken care of?” asks Veena Mehta Verma who was once a beneficiary of National Association for the Blind, Delhi (NAB) and now works with the NGO to protect and care for blind children like herself.Today, hundreds of blind children supported by NAB, Delhi have found something that they never had before–hope for a better tomorrow. Without Veena and NAB, many of these children would be at the risk of going back to the streets or spend a life of neglect and even abuse. Your support to the NGO is crucial. This Christmas, you can help her children get warm clothes and other essentials. Donate generouslyDonate 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 life of uncertainty &amp; sufferingEven if a blind child is not abandoned they are often trapped in their homes deprived of education or any way of making a living. According to the nonprofit leader, “For a blind kid, employment is impossible without education. The (blind) kids need to learn Braille or they need ‘talking computer’ aids. Many of these kids are deprived of such facilities”.  Illuminating young lives ﻿“At NAB Delhi there are around 200-250 blind kids. There are around 180 kids in the hostel of NAB. We teach Braille, we teach arithmetic Taylor frames. To work towards a brighter future for the blind, we need your support. Please come forward and donate towards our mission”, says Veena. Students for whom NAB Delhi has cared for are today placed in some of the most prestigious organisations across the world. While some have gone on to make a name for themselves in the corporate world, others have taken up art and music as a profession too. Many blind children are bright, academically gifted, and waiting to shine, all they need is an opportunity. And your donation can give them just that.Donate to this fundraiser on Give.do, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform, to help the blind children get shelter, education, care and a shot at a future full of opportunities.

Loving mother to 180 blind kids, visually impaired Veena needs your support in caring for them

e“A blind child is often seen as a curse or a burden to the family, leading to abandonment. I’ve picked up children from roadsides myself. I too lost my sight as a child, but today I’m a senior officer thanks to the National Association for the Blind, Delhi (NAB). What would I have done without their help?” asks Veena Mehta Verma, a beneficiary turned advocate for NAB and its mission to protect and care for blind children like herself.The state of young blind girls abandoned by their families and without education is even worse. “Blind girls have no future without education. Education is crucial to their future. Without it, they face neglect and limited opportunities, ignored not just by their families, but by society at large. What I am today is only because of the education I received. But sadly, every blind girl is not as fortunate. Most visually impaired girls are deprived of any care and even something as basic as education, leading to a difficult life,” says Asha Bhola, President, Blind Welfare Society (BWS).Both NAB and BWS work for the welfare of blind children and young girls by providing them with shelter, education, and care. This Diwali, they need your support to help many more youngsters in need.Donate easily through UPI, all debit/credit cards and net banking. Charitable donations to this fundraising campaign are tax-exempt under 80G of the Income Tax Act (India).A life of uncertainty &amp; sufferingEven if a blind child or young girl is not abandoned, they are often trapped in their homes deprived of education or any way of making a living. “For a blind kid, employment is impossible without education. They need to learn Braille or use ‘talking computer’ aids. Many of these children are deprived of such facilities,” says Veena.Young kids and girls for whom NAB and BWS have cared for are today placed in some of the most prestigious organisations across the world. While some have gone on to make a name for themselves in the corporate world, others have taken up art and music as a profession too.But many blind children who are bright, academically gifted, and waiting to shine, are often neglected or abandoned by their own families. And with your donation, NAB and BWS can give them the future they deserve.As we celebrate the festival of lights, donate to this fundraiser on Give.do, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform, to help blind children and young girls get shelter, education and care and a shot at a bright future.

This Diwali, help to brighten the lives of abandoned blind kids and young girls by giving them shelter and education

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 Differently Abled. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Differently AbledDifferently AbledDifferently AbledDifferently Abled.

Differently Abled

This is a sample description for differently abled

differently abled

Diya Foundation was born out of the need to provide adults with Intellectual challenges life experiences, training and a safe environment where they could be prepared to meet life’s challenges with dignity and positivity.Maria Santamaria, a special educator, began this venture with 3 adults and one staff. Supported by family and friends and an initial investment of Rs. 3000/- Diya Foundation was registered in Bangalore, Karnataka, as a charitable Trust in March 1999. Diya Foundation (DIYA) is a Vocational Training Center in Bangalore providing training and employment to adults with intellectual challenges. Founded in 1999, DIYA is a registered charitable Trust. The idea for the center grew out of a growing need for vocational training once basic schooling is completed. At Diya training is provided in Daily Living Skills, Self determination and interpersonal-Social skills, Communication Skills, employability skills.The need of the hour is to tap the potential of a workforce that has so far been greatly ignored. The focus at Diya is on Vocational Education and Livelihood training for the differently abled.In the last 25 years Diya has impacted over 250 adults with intellectual challenges and touched and made life altering changes in over 1000 lives. The work skills training imparted is put to use in the "hands on” training internship at our Social Enterprise Diya Innovations in completing orders for Diya’s product line from individuals and corporates. Diya’s aim and goal is to empower differently abled individuals to work, earn and live a life of respect and love.Individuals with an intellectual challenge have had life altering changes in their self esteem, self dependence and productivity through systematic and consistent training in the Diya training program. They have learnt personal grooming skills, household management, work skills, communication skills and are then given 'hands on' internships which may result in job opportunities either in Supported employment or Competitive employment. Recently we also started customised employment and prevocational training, as we were getting more students from the 15-17 age group. This way the foundational training begins earlier and later the students are able to focus on domain training. Our focus is also on internships and placements of our students. Over the years, Diya has been working with only adults in the age group from 18 and above, some do join the program without any basic foundational skills and hence, the journey to self-dependence for them takes much longer. Diya feels it is the need of the hour to start reaching out to the youngsters (14 -17 years) and start early on developing the foundational skills required through pre- vocational training programs before they can be transitioned into the Vocational training program. This training will contain the foundation level of Daily living skills and Personal social skills. So that when they reach 18 years, their capacity can be built for employability skills that will prepare them for the world outside. By then we have set the mindsets for work and productivity and their interests can then be mapped to job profiles that will match their strengths and interests. Pre- vocational training is linked to building the person towards an employable pool in society. With a suitable job, they become contributing members in their family, earn respect and live a life with dignity. Our Vision and Mission: Objective 1 - To enhance self-awareness, build self-esteem and independence of adults who are intellectually challenged by training in Daily Living Skills and Personal Social Skills;Objective 2 - To develop potential to engage in productive work by Pre-Vocational Skills training, vocational skills training, occupational guidance and employment;Objective 3 - To build community awareness about the work potential of the intellectually challenged by engaging with schools, Colleges, Corporate CSR Initiatives and Individual volunteersObjective 4 – To build support systems for the families of the intellectually challenged by forming Parent Support Groups and networking with similar NGOs Our USPCreating Futures, Communicating Hope, Celebrating Life

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

Donations through Give Foundation, Inc. a registered US 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, are tax-deductible.

Donations through GIVE, a registered charity in UK, are covered under Gift Aid

Maria S. Santamaria

Finance

Ruby Roy

Diya Foundation, Bangalore

Deepika, a 16-year old girl was diagnosed with borderline retardation and now has been employed by Diya Innovations Pvt Ltd, a social enterprise set up as a sustainability plan to employ and market the products of the foundation. Her confidence escalated after she was trained to make candles, for which she received earnest praises. With the guidance of her trainers, she learned how to work responsibly and  make a mark for herself.

Diya Foundation has not only given her an opportunity to look forward in life but she happily engages herself in the work she has been assigned.

There are a lot of achievers in this foundation working up the ladder to get more and more responsible work. One such achiever is Prithviraj Babu, who now inserts rivets in 35 paper bags in one day. It’s not just Deepika and Pritviraj Babu, who have added colors to their lives, making paper bowls is now a cakewalk for Shafiq. The trainers of these people take immense pride on their commendable initiative.

In a world where differently-abled are kept away from the contours of education or any work, Diya Foundation has taken a brilliant step forward in improving their condition.

Making the world a better place for the differently-abled

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.

Vidya Joanna Stephen

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India Philanthropy Day, 20th July 2023 "Dreams Unleashed: Empowering Lives - Support Diya Foundation's Trainees!"

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India has over 50 million physically and mentally disabled people. The challenge is that infrastructure is not compatible to the needs of the disabled and the vocational education system is such that adults with intellectual challenges have very few places to go where their potential to work and their right to a dignified, self dependent life is recognized. 
 Diya Foundation offers a Life Centered Career Education program that focuses on Life skills and Employablity skills geared towards independent/assisted living for the future. The training offered is Daily Living Skills in the areas of Personal management, household management, financial management, personal social skills building; The Employability skills training encompasses training in the areas of Clerical, Retail, Housekeeping, Hospitality and Production - where 'hands on' training is provided in Chocolate making and wrapping, candle making/packaging, paper recycling; Gardening skills and Computer data entry/Multimedia training are also offered in addition to Work readiness skills and Occupational guidance. 
 We train 65 adults with intellectual challenges every year who, by the end of the training, are ready for either paid/unpaid productive work either at home or in the Community. Adults going through the training are self confident, self dependent adults who are looking to gain employment and maintain a living. We have to date, 18 adults placed in employment. Our next project is a pilot for independent living to teach adults with intellectual challenges real life time budgeting and practical living.

Sponsor skill-building workshops for the disabled

The road to the Diya foundation is inaccessible and terrible for people with wheelchairs, and the main mud road is uneven and difficult to walk on. The training rooms in the existing building have to be fabricated, and the spaces are small, with insufficient space for people to move around. There is little greenery outside the building and no open space for people to sit outside and enjoy the serenity of nature. We are looking at expanding as there are new parents interested in enrolling in the training program, due to insufficiency we need to accommodate only a few young adults. We’ve been paying a peak rent of 1 lakh monthly, which has become unsustainable. Our land/ premises will give us a sense of belonging and permanence in the community. 
 We have raised one crore towards our goal, but we need three crores to acquire land and construct the building. To achieve our goal we are appealing to Bangalore-based companies and individual volunteers to run for Diya at the TCS World 10k Run 2023. We are also connecting with our past supporters, volunteers, and interns. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Diya for the silver jubilee we would like to showcase quarterly our varied training programs, also display our coffee table book, share engaging stories of change, and celebrate our trainee's journey. 
 The aim is to improve the training program, focusing on designing spacious training rooms that are conducive to learning, and skilling. Getting our premises can help accommodate young adults and help interested parents work together. The vision is to impact 500 more students with intellectual disabilities with vocational training and support them in finding employment. Our vision is also to create a pool of 250 employable adults who are ready to meet the job market as they get skilled. Together we can celebrate their path of change.

Sponsor skill-building workshops for the disabled

Provide Diya Foundation the space to nurture and train people with intellectual disabilities

Support Mitti Cafe’s team of disabled heroes end hunger and malnutrition for thousands. Donate now

Loving mother to 180 blind kids, visually impaired Veena needs your support in caring for them

This Diwali, help to brighten the lives of abandoned blind kids and young girls by giving them shelter and education

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