Delhi Council for Child Welfare was established in the year 1952 by a group of 10 women. The Council first started its work among children who had been displaced, lost, or abandoned in the riots surrounding the partition of India in 1948 by providing them with mid-day meals and recreational activities. Over the years, they…
How it began at Operation Shanti
“I came to India in 2003 from USA to learn Yoga,” says Tracy, who is the founder of Operation Shanti. After earning degrees from both Harvard and the University of Chicago, and after a brief stint as a computer programmer, Tracy had spent eight years as an investment banker on Wall Street in New York…
Asha Kiran works for the ‘untouchables’ of Harijanwada
One of the areas that Asha Kiran does invaluable work in is Harijanwada. Here there are no proper roads, just small lanes with cacti on either sides, huts made of dried grass, exposed to the heat and open drainage. I was taken into a small hut, with just one room which served as a kitchen,…
How it began at Asha Kiran
The mission of my trip was to see firsthand the wonderful work that Mr. Prakash of Asha Kiran was doing for the underprivileged. I was so eager to reach my destination that I was standing by the door of the moving train. It was around eight in the morning. The fresh breeze invigorated me. In…
Giving Children Hope
“From rags to riches” is a common phrase. But at The Hope House, everyone is “rich” in love and care. Driving to The Hope House (THH) even the sun’s rays feel welcoming and loving. There were no houses along the road, just an oasis of trees and colorful flowers. The old red building is the only one in…
How it all began at The Hope House
Raised in a Christian family, Mr. Ruby Nakka, who started the The Hope House, trusted his intuition and staunchly believed in his calling. “I used to live in a hut in Adilabad, Andhra Pradesh. The roof used to leak when it rained, and we had no electricity, no money. I had three sisters. My grandmother…
This NGO aims for ‘irreversibility’, so that the people they help will never be able to go back to how they lived before
Vatsalya is a highly ambitious NGO, whose work currently focuses around five programs. The flagship and biggest of these is Vatsalya Udayan which is the residential child care program for orphans and abandoned children. As I chatted with co-founder Hitesh Gupta, I couldn’t help but notice the pride he took in his work. Hitesh candidly…
How it began at Vatsalya, Jaipur
Vatsalya is a Sanskrit word which means ‘unconditional motherly love’; the organisation was registered as a charity in 1995. Mrs. Jaimala Gupta grew up in a well off family and it was a childhood dream of hers to work with street children and improve the quality of their lives. Her husband Hitesh also shared this…
Giving a childhood to children who never had one
No matter what I put down here, my words will not do justice to my visit to El Shaddai. The Kurians extended their welcome to me by inviting me to stay at their old Children’s Home, which is where El Shaddai volunteers now stay. On my first day, I visited Shanti Niketan, which is a…
How it began at El Shaddai Charitable Trust
El Shaddai was founded by two individuals from very different backgrounds. They lived on opposite sides of the world but shared the same idea. One of them is Anita Edgar , a grandmother, who lives in Devon, UK. In December 1996, she took a last minute holiday to India to rejuvinate from her long working…