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

“The abusers insert a candle or fingers in the vagina of children torture them. If the children don’t relent even then, the abusers 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 the Society for Participatory Integrated Development (SPID), while talking about many heart-rending stories of trafficked children in red-light areas. In over three decades, the team of SPID led by Lalitha, has saved over 3000 children from the red-light areas in Delhi, such as GB Road, and many from clutches of sex trafficking. While Lalitha has also helped many women escape the clutches of being forced into sex work, the SPID is focused on rescuing children and giving them a better life.Sadly, many more children need to be rescued and need a loving home. SPID needs your support to carry on the mission, to move out of the small shelters that are subject to arbitrary rental increases or landlords’ whims, to permanent locations where she can rescue more children and give them all the love they deserve. Your support will give these children the care and upbringing they need. 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).“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 Lalitha. 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 to this fundraiser for permanent premises through Give, India’s largest and most trusted online donation platform. Help Lalitha give hundreds of children rescued from brothels a life away from violence and abuse. Donate 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 to protect vulnerable children from trafficking by moving them to a safe and loving home

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 Ahilyanagar, 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

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 education. For the purpose of testing I will use the word EducationEducationEducationEducation.

Education

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

Children

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

Women Empowerment

Headstreams is an NGO based in Bengaluru. Initiated in 2008, it envisions a world with opportunities for every person to realize their inherent potential to live a positive, confident, purposeful and socially productive life. Over the past decade Headstreams has built its presence globally through networks in the fields of play pedagogy, promotion of 21st century life-skills and empowerment of individuals and communities. It has also earned a reputation as an advocate and facilitator of free play spaces that opens up opportunity for children and youth of marginalised socio-economic backgrounds to play, learn and change.

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

Naveen I. Thomas

Selena George

Elizabeth Johnson

Mary Sheela

Catherine 

Tarini Srinivas

Headstreams

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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Reports suggest that over 30% of poor children living across the world are found in India (<a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/in-child-poverty-india-next-only-to-sub-saharan-africa-report/article26196097.ece" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Ref</a>). Nearly ten crore children in India live in poverty-stricken conditions, where resources are a constraint. Studies show that positive childhood experiences and access to creative, fun avenues of non-directed play have an important role in shaping human development. Children living in under-served communities are deprived of these essential rescources. 
 Imagine having a box of excitement! That’s what the Anu Akka’s Children's Tackle Kit is. It’s a box of easy reading and fun learning materials, art supplies, craft materials, indoor games and outdoor sports equipment, and other materials designed to keep children meaningfully engaged for multiple hours a day after school. The idea of the program is to create within communities an opportunity for children from under-served communities to experience, for a short while every week, a physically and emotionally safe space where they can exercise freechoice to access the materials, and where intrinsic motivation is encouraged and self-directed learning is supported. <img src="https://cfstatic.give.do/da162ab2-ba1e-4ac4-926f-d506d0f5551f.jpg" />Through this program, children get access to a plethora of resources that they can then choose to engage with, at will. The beauty of the program lies in the fact that children from low-income and marginalized communities can choose what they want to play with, when they want to play, how they want to play, and who they want to play with. Playing with this kit helps improve a child’s cognitive skills, creative skills, and socio-emotional skills. This kit has been created in the loving memory of Anu, a person whose vision it was to bring a bit of joy into the lives of children everywhere. She coined the term 'Tackle' for the children's program of Headstreams, to symbolise how children from under-served communities tackled the challenges of everyday life and turned up to play and learn so joyfully at the Headstreams centres.How the program works:<ul><li>Young women volunteers in rural, under-served communities are trained as 'Open Learning Champions' (OLCs) to create and manage a safe, play and learning space for children in their communities </li><li>Free Anu Akka's Children'sTackle Kits are distributed to the OLCs in 33 under-served communities in Karnataka in 2021-22. The materials are replenished every month depending on the need of each centre</li><li>The Kit consists of easy reading and fun learning materials, art supplies, craft materials, indoor games and outdoor sports equipment, and other materials designed to keep children joyfully learning and meaningfully engaged </li><li>The OLCs set up and manage the play and learning space for children in their community, where children can either play with materials at that location or borrow materials to use and return (community resource bank concept) </li><li>The play and learning spaces are open for a minimum of 3 hours a week in each location</li></ul> 
 Objectives of the kit:<ul><li>Provide opportunities for children from under-served communities to explore multiple media such as literature, performing arts, visual arts, and games, to enhance self-awareness and self-confidence</li><li>Develop a social space where participants can explore and experience security, empathy and freedom through creative means and healthy social interactions.</li><li>Create a safe space for children to experience the healing and character strengthening power of play</li></ul>

Anu Akka's Children's Tackle Kit

At any point, there are officially close to 80,000 children are in need of care and protection and live in Government Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in India. These are children who have lost their way, run away from home, been abandoned or deserted, have been forcefully separated from their families in cases of child marriage or other abuse, have been caught committing a crime or has been begging on the streets. This section of the population is among the most powerless in India.Karnataka has the second highest number of government CCIs in the country, at 153. CCIs are envisioned as places where children have access to resources that enable wholesome growth. Unfortunately, due to several reasons including lack of awareness, stigmatisation, limited resources, lack of skilled personnel and the complexities of housing children in large groups, the CCIs tend to deteriorate into into less than ideal places for children to be in, and often leading to a long term impact on the social and emotional well-being. In such a situation, these children are in dire need of immediate and long-term social and emotional support. While in the CCIs, they are in situations they find overwhelming and often traumatic, involving serious lack of care, emotional connection, or neglect, including prolonged separation from caregivers, and often involving interpersonal violence or abuse. Ongoing trauma has been found to affect brain structure, decrease ability to learn and have deep negative impacts for future life outcomes.Further, once children turn 18 years old, they are not eligible to stay at the CCIs. Often they do not have the skills and confidence needed to navigate life as independent young adults. Aftercare options being few India, this creates a new cycle of vulnerability as young adults as they can become victim to systemic exploitation. 
 Headstreams sees itself as a collaborator for CCIs under the JJ system. We have facilitated sessions for children in CCIs since 2018, and were able to support them even through the COVID-19 lockdowns. Through our sessions, we introduce innovative skill building and life skilling opportunities, including experiential entrepreneurship workshops. Over the last year, we have piloted an aftercare program for young CCI Care Leavers, to empower them in being able to leverage skills so they can generate income for themselves. So under HOLA Tarang, we have two main points of intervention: At the CCIs and an Aftercare ProgramAt the CCIs, we have a team that visits and conducts these sessions for the children in three CCIs four days a week. Our sessions help the children find succor, while they are navigating the traumatic events they find themselves in. They are able to have access to a plethora of resources (art, craft, games) that help them both express themselves while also relax and process their trauma. In addition, studies on trauma processing are also showing that playing is the natural way children cope with trauma and related stress.<ul><li>Introduce children in multiple handcrafting and academic skills, in a manner that increases competence in these areas</li><li>Provide a space where children are able to learn tools to handle stress and negative emotions</li><li>Facilitate Experiential Entrepreneurship Workshops to inculcate entrepreneurial mindsets</li><li>Introduce a weekly digital media and play and learn space that will hone autonomy</li></ul>Our aftercare program is a Youth Internship Program. This 9-month long internship enable Care Leavers enrolled in the program to:<ul><li>Receive government certification in at least one handcrafting skill</li><li>Learn business skills to leverage this skill to generate income</li><li>Become digitally and financially literate</li><li>Be trained in various soft skills like Spoken English, personal grooming, etc.</li></ul> 
 Since the children themselves are in a highly vulnerable state and since many stay for short periods of time (a week to a month), showing lasting, life changing, transformative impact is almost impossible. The immediate need of the children is for access to people and resources that will enable play and healing, reassurance and hope, while they navigate their strange and traumatic reality. Having worked in the area of Child Development and Learning for more than a decade, we know that the tools, experiences and the play space we offer is critical for the survival of the children in the CCIs. Interventions like ours provide that much needed relief to the children, akin to releasing pressure from a heated pressure cooker. In just the last year, we have been able to support about 1166 children in the three CCIs through our sessions.The Youth Internship Program, being a longer term, full-time intervention, offers much promise. The interns of the pilot have successfully emerged as government certified terracotta artisans, have made and sold their products in multiple fora over the last year, attended sessions of digital literacy, financial literacy and spoken English, and themselves aver that they are confident of facing their futures. In the coming year, we hope to host a larger batch of interns, who will follow in these pathways with more certainty.HOLA Tarang can only survive and serve when supported by individual donors and generous benefactors, who are able to see the significance of what Headstreams is providing; individuals, families and communities that can value, that for a child in a difficult situation, the relief offered helps them learn that healing is possible.We invite you to partner with us, and contribute generously towards the well-being of the children who are part of the state-run Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in India.

HOLA TARANG

In India widespread unemployment and underemployment are in large part due to constraints on skilling and access to livelihood opportunities.<ul><li>One in three youth between the ages of 15-29 are classified as ‘Not in Employment, Education or Training’ (NEET), of which most (88.55%) are young women.</li><li>Many rural young women (in the age group of 18-35 years) out of work due to the economic impact of COVID-19.</li><li>Rural Young Women from marginalized backgrounds are unable to escape poverty because of their inability to leave immediate home surroundings due to unpaid care work, mobility restrictions or poor infrastructure.</li></ul> There is need to tackle the financial and time-related constraints against skilling as well as improve physical access to livelihood opportunities for youth, especially young women in India. 
 Headstreams will work with groups of rural women in the villages of Kolar District, Karnataka. Across our work areas, women have begun forming Aalamba self help groups. The objective of the internship program is to increase employment experience and connect young rural women from marginalised backgrounds with employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.  
 Through the Aalamba Women's Livelihood Internship Program, the members of these groups will be able to access:<ul><li>Employment experience and stipend (short-term financial asset strengthening) </li><li>Social support through the SHGs and subsequent increased status in community</li><li>Safe working space of Skill Development Centre close to their homes</li><li>New employable skills and other life skills</li><li>Techniques of processing local natural resources into saleable eco-friendly products</li></ul>The internship will offer training to the members to emerge as independent production units over a span of 3 years.

Aalamba Women's Livelihood Initiative

Madhavi*, a 28 year old girl from Kolar district in Karnataka had to dropout of college because her family could not afford her education. She was married and her dreams to complete her education and become financially independent shattered. This is the story of many rural girls and boys who are forced to dropout of the formal education system because they cannot afford the academic fee, forced to take up meager jobs to support their families, for gender and caste based discrimination or sometimes because they do not know what to do next .Under such circumstances, often talented and ambitious youth are forced to give up their dreams. They are left without any clue as to how to change their destiny, how to gain confidence, how to earn more and engage in occupation of their choice. Accelerating their educational skills, social skills and finding market relevant jobs becomes a distant dream as they are pushed to the margins both economically and socially.In order to help the rural youth accelerate their skills and live meaningful lives, Headstreams started the Jeevanam - Bachelor of Vocational Education (B.Voc.) program in Malur taluk of Kolar district, Karnataka in 2018.*name changed 
 Girls and boys like Madhavi, Naveen, Suresh, Maheshwari* and others whose aspirations to pursue higher studies after completing their schooling or pre-university remained unfulfilled, are given an opportunity to pursue a holistic vocational course through Headstreams’ Jeevanam - B.Voc. program in Software Development.It is a program certified by the prestigious School of Vocational Education (SVE), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Participants of this program are enrolled to a full-time three year course, beginning with Diploma, Advanced Diploma and leading to a Bachelor of Vocational Degree (B.Voc.).Murlidhara, a second year student wants to work as a software engineer after finishing the vocational degree. There are students who desire to explore opportunities in areas including Mobile Application Design, Web Design and some of them want to appear for competitive examinations or become entrepreneurs.The field exposure cum work integrated course exposes students to work in the communities to address social issues by providing tech solutions. Students also visit government schools and work with school children on technical projects.The program is conducted at Headstreams’ learning centre in Malur and is visited by reputed companies who provide trainings to students to upgrade their practical skills. *names changed 
 Rajini*, a 2nd year B.Voc. student believes that this program will help her to get a good job and help her family overcome their financial struggle. The program is expected to enhance lives and livelihoods of many such students and their families. There are industrial areas around Malur (Malur Industrial Area, Narsapura Industrial Area, Jakksandra Industrial Area) which are hubs for several IT companies, automobile and general industries. Such a program will increase the possibility of the youth from Malur, to find jobs near home, instead of being forced to relocate to other cities.Being a holistic program that integrates subjects like English and focuses on students personal grooming, our students are expected to get equipped in social and life-skills which will help them address challenges which individual otherwise find hard to deal with in their lives.In the long term, the Jeevanam –B.Voc. program will help its participants emerge as confident individuals who would be able to live socially meaningful lives. *name changed