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

For a mother who has spent her entire life loving and raising her child, being beaten and mercilessly thrown out onto the streets by her own son is too heartbreaking to overcome. But this is a common story among the elderly residents of the Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram. “I’ve seen mothers in old and torn clothes, their bodies smelling and their hands and feet rotting and covered in maggots,” shares Dr. G.P. Bhagat, founder of the ashram. These abandoned elderly men and women lay starving on the streets hoping for someone to rescue them from their suffering. But most people walk past them without a second glance. “Like this”, Dr. Bhagat explains, “many elders die on the roads.”Since 2003, SHEOWS (Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society) has rescued over 10,000 elderly people from the streets and given them a home with care and support. The elderly staying at the ashram have all been abandoned by their families and have nowhere else to live. Your support can give them comfort after their abandonment. 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). Safe and loving homeFor 20 years, SHEOWS has been providing free shelter, nutritious food three times a day, clothing, medical care, recreation activities and emotional support to abused and disabled elderly people rescued from the streets of Delhi. The Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram has a dedicated rescue team that saves the elderly from the streets and gives them immediate medical care upon their arrival at the home. To tend to the multiple health complications of the seniors, the home has a medical facility with doctors and nurses, a physiotherapy unit, a pathology lab, a digital X-ray monitoring machine and a pharmacy to provide 24-hour care to older adults anytime they require assistance, even during emergencies. Dr. Bhagat prioritizes the health of the seniors and ensures that they receive three balanced meals a day based on their precise health requirements. Need for the fundraiserThe humanitarian mission of SHEOWS is making an impact in the area, as more and more people are being rescued and brought to Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram. To meet the financial costs of running the home, SHEOWS needs support to continue providing the residents with all the facilities that they need. This includes constant care and round-the-clock medical attention, nutritious food and maintaining a hygienic environment to keep the seniors in comfort and good health. Dr. Bhagat explains that as the number of residents is increasing, SHEOWS needs support for food and medicines. “I request you to help these elderly parents lead a peaceful life.”Donate now to help Dr. Bhagat continue caring for the 500 destitute elderly and giving them shelter, food, medical care and the will to carry on living despite their tragic abandonment by their families. Your support will enable SHEOWS to keep serving abandoned senior citizens and help them recover from the trauma of abandonment and life on the streets. “I have been serving these elderly as if they were my own parents”, shares Dr. Bhagat. “I want only one thing - their tears should vanish and they should have a smile on their faces.” To help Dr. Bhagat achieve this dream, your support is critical. Donate now to help SHEOWS care for more abandoned elderly. Donate to this fundraiser by Give, India’s largest online donation platform, to support SHEOWS in their mission to rescue the abandoned elderly from the streets and give them shelter, food, medical care, recreational activities and emotional support.

Help Dr. Bhagat care for 500+ elderly parents rescued from abuse and homelessness

“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.

Help ex-IAF officer rescue abandoned women and provide them with food and shelter

This is a sample description for Disaster Relief. For the purpose of testing I will use the wordDisaster ReliefDisaster ReliefDisaster Relief.

Disaster Relief

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 Healthcare. For the purpose of testing I will use the word HealthcareHealthcareHealthcare.

Healthcare

This is a sample description for Art & Culture For the purpose of testing I will use the word Art & CultureArt & CultureArt & Culture

Art & Culture

Shreni Community Trust is a livelihood sector-based non-profit established in 2018, that is focused on developing sustainable livelihoods for informal sector based occupational communities. Our approach is focused on 3 Cs - Community building, Capacity building, and Commerce. We derive our philosophy from the ancient Indian socio-economic groups who were known as ‘shrenis’, or guilds and are trying to revive these ‘guilds’, by rekindling the same essence of autonomy, economic structure, and community sentiment that existed in ancient India. Our methodology is holistic and focuses on socio-economic and behavioural aspects while ensuring the development of trustworthy, equitable community relations that are cognisant of local knowledge systems and cultural practices.

Sudhir Kamath

Anupamaa Nayak

Shivani

Aashay Nigde 

Shreni Community Trust

Thank you for your support!  With your help, over the last two weeks, we have donated 62 sarees to 62 ASHA workers, Link workers, staff nurses, lab technicians, and doctors across Bangalore. You can see the images from these events attached below. We hope to see you support us all the way through. You can help in 3 ways: <ol><li>Donate to our GiveIndia Fundraiser [https://fundraisers.giveindia.org/campaigns/gift-a-little-help-a-lot]</li><li>Make bulk purchases (minimum set of 10 sarees, starting at INR 350 per saree up to INR 2000 per saree). Write to us at info@shrenis.com for more information about purchasing these gift bundles.</li><li>Share the campaign on your social media and participate in our #sareesuperhero movement.</li></ol> Be a #sareesuperhero  In collaboration with the #100sareepact movement, team Mission Vishwas with Shreni Community Trust bring you a new way to celebrate this festival season. About #100sareepactThe #100sareepact began as a pact to wear sarees one hundred times in 2015 and to tell their saree stories. It became a catalyst for many more people to join in, from all over the world, in showing the sarees they had some love. Soon a saree narrative began to emerge, one that through the medium of the saree began to weave stories of triumph &amp; stories of tribute.  The saree is now a medium to tell life’s stories. Be it an instance, a memory, something quirky, or just how you are feeling wearing it. Social media has played a significant role in taking the pact to the world using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr to hashtag our posts #100sareepact. This movement has celebrated life, relationships, our past, our heritage, memories, moments and connections through saree wearing. It helped us tell our saree story.  Today, the #100sareepact continues even beyond digital forums. Outside of Facebook posts and tweets, there is a community that shares a deep bond, formed on the pact. You can also be a become a part of the #100sareepact by becoming a #sareesuperhero. This festival season take a selfie every time you wear a saree and donate as little as Rs 100 (or as much as you like) to our Give a Little, Help a Lot Campaign. Share your selfie and your story on social media with the #sareesuperhero, and help bring some joy to our country’s Covid warriors who have been working relentlessly since March 2020.  So, take a selfie, donate a saree and become a #sareesuperhero this festival season. Join us, to #getindiagifting!

Be a #SareeSuperHero!

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Our country is struggling to deal with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic as rising cases are leading to curfews and lockdowns across India in a desperate attempt to curb the spread of the virus. These circumstances, coupled with a nationwide shortage of oxygen, medicines, and beds, have resulted in a rising mortality rate especially among underserved and disadvantaged populations such as weavers and artisans. It is increasingly clear that they cannot afford to fight this disease as they are losing their source of income.  
 Most fundraisers currently are focused on providing oxygen, medicines, or aid in kind (food packages, care packages, etc.). However, despite payment moratoriums announced by the government, the need of the hour is making direct funding available for distressed families to utilise as per their current socio-economic requirements. This is especially true for weavers and artisans, who have pending payments and loans from private moneylenders and traders, adding to the financial pressure they feel in the current atmosphere. We hope to relieve some of this pressure by directing transferring a stipulated amount into their accounts for them to use as they seem fit. 
 Last year to help our weavers and artisans battle the lockdown, we raised Rs 4,50,000 and provided direct cash transfers to 380 families. To help our weavers and artisans fight the second battle against the Covid-19 pandemic, we are raising funds for direct cash transfer once again. This time, we hope to raise Rs 5,75,000 to help 500 families. This will include:-        Direct cash transfer of Rs 1000-        Health insurance with a premium of Rs 150Given our extensive on-ground and online network, we have remote access to weavers and artisans across Karnataka (and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu). This allows us to work remotely without disrupting social distancing guidelines on our end, as well for the beneficiaries.

Shreni Relief Fund 2.0

The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic is most acutely felt by workers of the informal sector. As the crisis continues, weavers and artisans across the country have lost access to their daily wage as production sites and workshops have closed down.While the efforts being made by central and state governments vis-à-vis the PM CARE Fund or the CM Relief Fund (Karnataka) are important, there have been no sustained efforts to counter the plight of the weavers. Even fundraisers that are raising funds for essential goods, food, and medicine are largely focused on construction workers, daily wagers, house helps, etc.  
 Our efforts are to reach weavers and artisans who fall between the cracks of central and state government grants, as well as, informal-sector focused fundraisers.The Shreni Relief Fund (spearheaded by Shreni Community Trust) aims to provide direct monetary support to weavers and artisans. Our aim to help their lack of access to monetary capital. We hope to relieve some of this pressure by direct transfer of a stipulated amount into their accounts for them to use as they seem fit. This also allows us to work remotely without disrupting social distancing guidelines on our end, as well for the beneficiaries. 
 From the Shrenis network, we will identify the most vulnerable weaver and artisan families who will receive direct financial support to address their immediate needs such as food grains and medical supplies, as well as, to make credit and loan payments. , the need of the hour is making direct funding available for distressed families to utilise as per their current socio-economic requirements. This is especially true for weavers and artisans, who have pending payments and loans from private moneylenders and traders, adding to the financial pressure they feel in the current atmosphere.

Shreni Relief Fund

Kodiyala has long set a mark in Karnataka history, as one of the most important weaving clusters for the Royal Family of Mysore. It is famed  to be the home of the Padmashali weaving communities since the rule of Tipu Sultan, when over 160 weaving families are said to have migrated to Kodiyala, over three centuries ago. These communities are practising the profession even today. However, most of these weavers have shifted to working on the power loom. Despite largely engaging with power loom, most weavers have the knowledge and skill set that is prerequisite for handloom weaving. Kodiyala is also known for its cotton sarees. While it isn’t a highly distinct style, it has identifiable motifs and has the flexibility to allow design innovations. This would be a great point of departure for the revival program that aims to elevate the pre-existing design to help it align with current market demands.   
 The objectives of this project are to establish a full-fledged production site that will revive the tradition of handloom weaving and maintain continuous production of a varied product mix including Silk/Cotton sarees, running fabric, dupattas etc. Kodiyala has multiple access sites, along with a thriving market for sarees. However, most weavers here produce low quality power loom sarees. Shreni's Kodiyala Handloom revival unit will focus on aiding the skill development of these weavers, focusing on improving the quality of their weaving and producing rich hand woven sarees. The revival project will also focus on increasing productivity, eventually allowing for better price realisation and returns. 
 The revival project has been implemented in Kodiyala, where there are approximately a hundred or so weavers, largely running power looms. Almost all of them used to work on handlooms. Most weavers quoted lack of continuous, steady wage and low return on investment (time, energy, and money) as the reason for redirecting their energies into power loom. Most weavers need 2 days to weave a handloom saree, which is a strenuous process in itself, and receive an average of Rs. 2,500 for it. Whereas on a power loom, despite lower price obtained per piece, they have a larger output and hence earn marginally higher (approximately Rs 15,000 as compared to Rs. 8,000-10,000). By introducing better quality of raw materials, and design intervention, the rate of returns on the handloom sarees can be easily increased. Along with this, Shrenis has opened up more channels of market access that will ensure the same.The expected outcomes are reviving the tradition of handloom weaving in Kodiyala, and subsequently in nearby villages. The quality and skill level of weaving will increase, along with developing a working knowledge of supply, demand, and marketing. By generous donation for donors, continous production run and income generation for the weavers is plausible.

Shreni Relief Fund 2.0

Shreni Relief Fund

Kodiyala Weaving Community Heritage Preservance Fund

Help provide shelter, food, clothes and medical support to abandoned widow mothers of Vrindavan. Donate now

Help Dr. Bhagat care for 500+ elderly parents rescued from abuse and homelessness

Help ex-IAF officer rescue abandoned women and provide them with food and shelter

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