"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.

“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.

After fighting for India, former Air Force officer is now fighting to save abandoned women. Help him, donate now

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

Women Empowerment

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 Community & Rural Development. For the purpose of testing I will use the word Community & Rural DevelopmentCommunity & Rural DevelopmentCommunity & Rural Development.

Community & Rural Development

PRADAN is one of India’s foremost agencies working on large scale rural poverty alleviation. Given the deep deprivation in rural pockets, particularly among tribal and vulnerable groups, we promote sustainable livelihoods, integrated with work on issues of gender, WASH, Health &amp; Nutrition, Climate Change, Education &amp; Skilling, and Governance &amp; access to rights and entitlements. Founded in 1983, PRADAN has been at the forefront of innovations in rural development. PRADAN has played a design improvement role in all major programs like the Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Swarnajayanti Gram SwarojgarYojana (SGSY), Nehru Rozgar Yojana (NRY), and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and MGNREGA to improve the field implementation of the Government of India’s (GoI) rural development programs. PRADAN is the National Support Organisation to NRLM, the flagship rural development programme. PRADAN has helped promote sectoral Institutions like Tasar Development Foundation (TDF) and National Smallholder Poultry Development Trust (NSPDT), for small landholders which are among the largest organized efforts in the country. PRADAN’s innovations are adopted by government and civil society organizations at the national, state and local levels. As of March 31, 2022, PRADAN works with 9,63,324 families in 9,127 villages spread across 40 districts, 115 Blocks in 7 States, ~65-70% of who belong to the most vulnerable groups such as dalits (SC/ST) and tribals and PVTGs (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups) (indigenous community). Along with this direct outreach, in collaboration with CSOs/Govt. dept., another 7,92,000 households were reached out to through various partnership projects. Our primary focus is to help people in marginalized communities (e.g. Small &amp; Marginal Farmers, Tribals &amp; Dalits, Minority Communities, Single Women, Widows, People Below Poverty Line, Women) develop their own skills and initiatives, instead of delivering services or solutions to them. We focus primarily on women because we believe that even people considered to be the most disadvantaged in society are capable of driving the change they need.

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Ankita Singh

Alaka Mohanty

Prakash Gupta

Prem Bhaskar

Disha Wahi

Barsha Mishra

Vijay Gupta

Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN)

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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75% of rural India survives on Rs 33 per day. India ranks 100 among 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Hunger and poverty are more pronounced in the rural landscape amongst small landholders and landless families. An intermingling of multiple phenomena has given rise to deep farming distress in the rural populace: including land fragmentation, limited technical skills resulting in traditional agricultural practices, lack of crop diversification as well as tapping existing opportunities in cash crops. Rising cost of agricultural inputs, non-existent market linkages, lack of irrigation infrastructure and institutional support for the most vulnerable farming and landless groups further fuels disempowerment. 
 PRADAN aims to overcome hunger and poverty through engagement on livelihoods in remote villages of India. When PRADAN started working through Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the village of Debgaon in Chhattisgarh four years back, lack of year-round food security and little income from agriculture were the most pertinent issue in this Adivasi village. Over a course of engagement with the women of the village, a new method of agriculture, System of Root Intensification (SRI), was introduced in all crops. There was initial scepticism in the village about abandoning the age-old traditional methods. But an exposure to another block where PRADAN was working on food security and new technologies in cash crops had convinced Kumari Bai. There was a way out of the farming malaise that had engulfed her and other families in the village. What started as one woman adopting new farming methods, soon picked up by everyone in the village. Integrating both the traditional knowledge of Indian farmers and modern technologies, SRI practice was also introduced through the use of traditional indigenous seeds which are resistant to pest and disease and have high nutrition value. SRI, trellis based creeper cultivation in the village and a strategy of mixed-multi tier cropping pattern ensured doubling of cereal production with farmers selling their vegetables in the nearby market and beyond. 
 Unsurprisingly, it was Kumari Bai who was the first woman in her village to venture into the market to sell vegetables - many barriers of patriarchy and entrenched social norms broke that day. Farmers like Kumari and others now earn more than Rs 30,000 through vegetable cultivation through the Machan system of agriculture. A woman farmer in this village led to this transformation. In its operations across India, PRADAN supports more than 370,000 women for their livelihood improvements through agriculture, market linkages, livestock rearing, and forest-based activities, promotion of enterprises and natural resource management. 270,000 farmers adopted improved production methods (SRI, DSR etc.) of paddy and 120,000 farmers’ intensified diversification to pulses, vegetables and oilseeds for food security, nutrition and combating effects of climate change.

Support Adivasi Women Farmers for Year Round Food Security and Enhanced Incomes

As per the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) survey (in 2011), about 80% of India’s poor live in rural areas, and livelihood of most of them is dependent directly or indirectly on the performance of agriculture. The rural farm and non-farm incomes are interdependent such that a strong non-farm rural economy requires a vibrant agricultural economy.The COVID-19 outbreak exacerbated the suffering of small marginal farmers (SMF) as there was an absolute collapse of the rural economy - crops were not being harvested or if harvested were sold at throwaway prices as local haats and mandis were not functional. The farming community ran low on food stock and there was a huge erosion of whatever meagre savings they had. Across Eastern and Central Indian remote rural pockets, farmers are now are running out of capital for seeds, fertiliser’s and other inputs to sow the next batch of crops which feed their own families and the country. In this scenario, PRADAN with its direct presence in 10,000 villages of India across seven states and 500 professionals engaged in the grass-roots is in a unique position to ameliorate the aftermath of pandemic. Reviving the agriculture and allied sectors is now relevant and critical more than ever! Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Agri-entrepreneurs (AEs) would be the key focus areas to promote and facilitate sustainable agriculture, thereby revitalizing the rural economy. 
 There is need to work with farmers with a ew paradigm. We would need to balance the need of immediate farm incomes by intensive chemical-based agriculture and on the other hand the need for adopting sustainable eco-friendly agriculture practices. PRADAN has the experience on both fronts and can help our farmers to move towards adopting sustainable agriculture. We would be working with 2,50,000 farmers over the next few years so that we can have a measurable impact at scale.With the loss of income and erosion of savings, SMFs, do not have sufficient capital to invest in the coming sowing season. FPOs or similar organized Farmer groups can play the role of providing inputs like seeds, fertilizers, ploughing and other land preparation services to start sowing/cropping process. PRADAN plans to help set up and support 100 such FPOs, who in turn would support around 4,00,000 SMFs through providing such inputs and services on credit. For the coming years, the focus would be on cultivation of cereals, oilseeds and pulses to ensure food security at the household level as well as contributing to the national food security. FPO’s can play an important role in mending the value chain and provide some market assurance to its farmers.PRADAN would also promote 5,000 AEs who would provide various services like custom-hiring centres for small farm implements, providing vegetable seedlings, para-vet services for small ruminants and poultry, and marketing services to the farmers of various commodities. Some of them would also produce organic manure and plant protection products to be sold to the SMFs to reduce their dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and reduce input costs. 
 We seek to garner support of INR 30 Lakh for the aforementioned 3 areas through this campaign. Your contribution will complement, fortify, and strengthen the assistance we are currently receiving from our other donor partners for these initiatives. Through these holistic efforts, farmers would be facilitated to attain gross annual Income level of ~INR 80,000 which will take them above the poverty line, leading to a virtuous cycle of growth. We look forward towards your support and contribution for facilitating the revitalization of rural lives.

Support Adivasi Women Farmers for Year Round Food Security and Enhanced Incomes

Rural Economy Revival Post COVID-19 - Focus on Livelihoods and Food Security

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.

After fighting for India, former Air Force officer is now fighting to save abandoned women. Help him, donate now

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