El Shaddai Charitable Trust

Working with these children in the Shelters, we realised the need to also transform their communities to create lasting change. That’s why we began Community Centres in the communities we work with. Through the Centres, we reach out to families living in slums and undeveloped rural areas. Here we conduct health and hygiene awareness camps, pre- and post-natal care, educate men and women on the importance of family planning. We also run slum schools for children unable to attend regular school. Women and youth can learn skills to help them set up their own micro-entrepreneurship in tailoring, beauty salons and other skills. We run Shelters and Community Centres in the major cities of Goa. Most of these families are migrants from neighbouring states, who come to Goa in search of employment and better futures. Seeing this, we felt the need to improve conditions in their villages, so families are not compelled to migrate. Our Community Centres in neighbouring states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala help local communities build better lives through primary education for the children and entrepreneurship and skills training especially for women. Through our Shelters and Community Centres, we integrate the children into society and help families break out of the cycle of poverty. Over the years, El Shaddai has reached out to thousands of children and families through these shelters and community centres.

Since the pandemic began last year, poverty has doubled in Goa. Underprivileged families with little social security had barely started earning again, when a devastating surge in COVID 19 cases has engulfed the country again. El Shaddai Charitable Trust has continued in getting involved in the COVID - 19 RELEIF projects: 1. Hot meals (Two meals per day for the street children and people) 2. Grocery kits (For the families of marginalized people in the slums with one months’ ration) From the onset of the pandemic El Shaddai have been serving hot meals to the children from the street, slums; marginalized people and families. Since the lockdown marginalized people in underprivileged communities are facing shortages of food and shelter, medicines and hygiene kits. One of the worst hit places is Goa alone affecting hundreds of vulnerable families, children and individuals. Since 30th March El Shaddai have been serving 400 – 500 meals per day to the children and the marginalized every day. A lot of these people have been rendered jobless due to the pandemic and are left with little or no means to provide for their families. The hot meals provided, came as a blessing in disguise to all the marginalized, street and slum dwellers in these challenging times. Each meal is a nutritional platter with healthy staples like rice, daal, egg and vegetables. Grocery kits contain rice, spices, sugar, flour, oil, tea powder, etc. Along with the hot meals, grocery kits, hygiene kits, stationeries and tarpaulin sheets are also distributed and delivered to the identified beneficiary group. Poverty has spiraled and the families are facing extreme hunger, and as we watch in horror, and to help with COVID relief we increased serving 2 hot meals for 700 people per day and rolled out the grocery kits distribution to 500 people.

EDUCATION IS THE KEY OUT OF POVERTY We all need colour in our lives. But when you are born into a life of abject poverty, your options are immediately very black and white. You have no choice and no voice. El Shaddai Charitable Trust is an NGO for Education in Goa, India, giving children in need a choice by offering them education and chance to a brighter more colourful tomorrow. Primary education is compulsory and free for all children in India. But the children we work with come from families where no member has seen a school. For these families, a child is another bread earner. In the cities, these children are used to begging on the streets or working as menial labour with unscrupulous business owners for a few cents a day. The children use the money earned to buy food for themselves and their families. In many cases, the money is used to buy drugs.

Medical awareness programs are conducted in all the shelters, centres and homes on vaccination, deworming, Vitamin A, awareness on reproduction, pregnancy, etc.

Every year to bring an awareness on Child abuse, El Shaddai organises Prevention of Child Abuse program where thousands of people from Both North and South district of Goa participate in the rally. Every year annula event, Christmas celebration is held for all the children.

Every year to bring an awareness on Child abuse, El Shaddai organises Prevention of Child Abuse program where thousands of people from Both North and South district of Goa participate in the rally. Every year annula event, Christmas celebration is held for all the children.