Thank you for providing three months of meals to Caleb.

In 1999, Caleb, then four years old, was destitute due to difficult circumstances. Living in poverty, he did not have the opportunity of a stable future. Caleb was welcomed into Mahima Home – a rehabilitation centre run by Sahaara for destitute children and children of terminally ill parents.

Caleb came into Mahima Home, malnourished. With wholesome food and consistent care, his health has improved tremendously and he enjoys a normal childhood today.

At Mahima Home, Caleb is looked after by house parents and a maid, who help him develop holistically through a family environment. He also enjoys excellent accommodation, access to English medium education, good clothing, wholesome nutrition, health care and emotional care.

Caleb is an energetic and skilled football player today and plays for the school football team. In January 2010 he was selected for the Under-15 Air India Team! His weight and health status are that of a normal child. He is a good student in his English medium school. He enjoys public speaking and is chosen to give morning talks in school. He also wins prizes in athletics every year! Above all, he is a secure child, not fearing, but facing his future with physical and mental strength and vitality.

His future is secure with Mahima Home and he dares to dream of becoming a soldier.

He has now built up his confidence and hopes to dream of a future vastly different from that of the generations before him!

Your generous donations,, will enable Sahaara to provide three nutritious meals to Caleb for three months, thereby ensuring that he remains healthy and continues excelling in school and extra-curricular activities.

Thank you all, for your support to Caleb!

Thank you for coming together to send little Monica to school for six months.

Four year old Monica’s mother is a victim of the sex trade and is forced to ply her trade in the Ghatkopar red light area in Mumbai. Monica was born in a red light area, where she was vulnerable to abuse, trauma and second generation prostitution. She would have been one more statistic, if not for the fact that the social workers from Sahaara were successful convincing her mother to release her to their care.

Monica has been living in Anandalaya, the rehabilitation home for the daughters of trafficked women run by Sahaara since October 2011. She has settled down well, and is starting to enjoy going to school.

Currently Monica is enrolled in Nursery in one of the quality educational institutions in the locality and looks forward to a bright future afforded by education. Your generous donations will cover the cost of Monica’s education, thereby paving the way towards a self-reliant and bright future!

Thank you for coming together to provide a year of education for Shabnam.

Three year old Shabnam Vishwakarma lives in the Gorai slum community in Mumbai. Her father, Ganesham Vishwakarma is a taxi driver and her mother, Shama, is a housewife. Shabnam has two brothers. The family hails from Uttar Pradesh. The family is poor and struggles to make ends meet, and they find it very difficult to cope with medical emergencies. Despite their poor economic condition, Shabnam’s parents realize the value of a good education, and ensure that she goes to Sahaara’s balwadi every day.

Sahaara’s balwadi has a systematic curriculum wherein children are equipped in the following subjects over the period of a year: English and Hindi: alphabets and poems, writing skills, general knowledge (colours, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Shabnam is a quiet child who has a hunger to learn more and more from her teachers.  She is an obedient child and is very good at following directions. She enjoys playing with other children and loves sharing her toys with her other friends.

Thanks to your generous donations Shabnam would be able to attend school for an entire year.

Thank you for enabling Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Hasina.

Three year old Hasina Javed Sheikh hails from Turbhe red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. Her father, Javed Sheikh, is a driver and her mother, Ruksana, is a trafficked woman working in Turbhe red light area. Neither of her parents is educated, and between them they make barely enough money to make both ends meet.

Hasina’s mother often drugs her and lets her sleep below the bed where she carries out her trade. Since she is up all night, Ruksana often wakes up only at noon, which results in Hasina not getting her meals on time. Hasina has never known a normal childhood, and she would have got inducted into the sex-trade at a very young age, if not for your timely gift.

She is now enrolled at the Turbhe study center, run by Sahaara.  The foundational pre-primary teaching that she gets will enable Hasina to get admission into a good school, and thereby secure her future.

Hasina is a quiet child who has a hunger to learn more and more. She loves singing nursery rhymes and performing action songs. She knows her alphabets and numbers as well! She is sociable and enjoys sharing toys with the other children. She loves to play indoor as well as outdoor games!

Thank you for providing comprehensive counseling and support to Jignesha.

Fourteen year old Jignesha Fofandi was in the observation home when Sahaara personnel met her. She was unwilling to continue her studies as a result of the trauma and the embarrassment caused due to the stay in the observations home. The school authorities were reluctant to re-admit Jignesha because of the break in the academic year. The parents were also tending to resign themselves to the inevitable and discontinue her studies. However after counsel to Jignesha and her parents and an explanation of the background to the school authorities, she was re-admitted in school. She is currently studying in Grade 9 and back on course to complete her education.

Children in observation homes are one of the most marginalized populations in Mumbai. Sahaara staff procures addresses of discharged children from the home authorities. The trackers then traverse through labyrinthine gullies of Mumbai slums searching for the children’s residences. Through such home visits, networking with local schools, facilitating assistance in books and materials, the child is facilitated entry into formal education paving the way to a bright future.

Your generous donation will enable Sahaara to provide the educational expenses necessary for Jignesha to continue with her education! She will, hopefully, put her past behind her and make a new life for herself.

Thank you for sending little Rehan to pre-primary school for an entire year.

Four year old Rehan Sheikh hails from Ghatkopar red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. His father, Samir, and his mother, Muskan, are not educated. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet. Though the parents are not connected with the sex-trade, the are subject to social stigma and poverty associated with the red-light areas, and children like Rehan do not get admission into schools.

Rehan can, however, dream of breaking out of poverty, since he is now receiving pre-primary education at the balwadi run by Sahaara at Ghatkopar. Sahaara’s balwadi has a systematic curriculum wherein children are equipped in the following subjects over the period of a year: English and Hindi: alphabets and poems, writing skills, general knowledge (colors, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), coloring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Rehan is very expressive and is always with bubbling with enthusiasm! He loves to play and thoroughly enjoys physical activities like running and hopping! He enjoys playing with toys and is good at reciting nursery rhymes. He is very sociable and enjoys sharing his toys and things with other children.

Your generous donation will ensure that Rehan gets a good pre-primary education, which will then enable him to get admission into a primary school. Thank you for helping him to a better future.

Daughters of women in prostitution live in severe physical and psychological danger. Perishing in hunger, neglect, illiteracy and hopelessness, these daughters long for the day their childhood would be theirs again.

Five year old Mamta’s mother was a victim of the sex trade in Ghatkopar red light area in Mumbai, and since she wanted a better future for her daughter, she admitted her into Anandalay, a home for daughters of victims of the sex trade, in June 2009. At Anandalaya, the children receive wholesome food, excellent accommodation and quality education under the care of committed house-parents.

Mamta feels at home in Anandalay and being the youngest, she enjoys the pampering and love showered by the others! Anandalay has indeed restored to Mamta the joy of her childhood, protecting her innocence and nurturing her in love.

Your generous donation, Tanu, will enable Sahaara to provide fresh and nutritious meals to Mamta for three months. In addition to a nutritious breakfast, lunch and dinner, Mamta also gets two mid-day snacks, and a glass of milk every day. This ensures that she remains healthy and strong and is able to concentrate on her studies.

Thank you for coming together to provide a year of pre-primary education Naazir.

The 2.8 million sex workers’ population in India is highly marginalized, vulnerable and unreached due to the burden of severe stigma, the commoditisation of personhood, forced poverty and debt bondage. Being doubly disadvantaged, the children residing in red light areas face worse consequences. They face physical danger, vulnerability to violence and sexual exploitation.

Five year old Naazir Wasim Sheikh hails from Ghatkopar red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. His father, Wasim, is a fruit vendor and his mother, Saira, is a housewife. Both his parents are not educated. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet. Though neither parent is directly connected with the sex trade, the fact that they live in a red light area means children like Naazir face social stigma which results in their not being able to get admission into schools.

Thanks to your donation, however, Naazir can dream of a stable future with a good education because he studies at the Ghatkopar study center, run by Sahaara. The foundational pre-primary teaching provided at Sahaara’s balwadis enables him to step into a bright future through enrolment in a good school.

Naazir is a quiet child but has a hunger to learn more and more from the teacher. He loves to play with toys and has fun during the colouring and drawing sessions. He is very sociable and enjoys sharing his toys and things with other children.

Three year old, Pratik Babar hails from Mankhurd, from one of the innumerable poverty-stricken slum pockets in Mumbai. His father, Popat Babar, works as a salesman and his mother, Usha, is a housewife. He has one sister. Though his parents have not studied beyond the tenth grade, Pratik can dream of a stable future with a good education.

Children like Pratik, from Mumbai slums, face educational deprivation in terms of generational illiteracy, physical access to education and quality of education as well. Though Pratik hails from such a disadvantaged background he can dream of a stable future with a good education because he studies at the Mankhurd study center, run by Sahaara. Being close to Pratik’s house, the balwadi is a potent vehicle for transforming his future through quality education.

Sahaara’s balwadi has a systematic curriculum wherein children are equipped in the following subjects over the period of a year: English and Hindi: alphabets and poems, writing skills, general knowledge (colours, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Pratik is a keen student who has always been eager to attend the study center. He is quiet by nature and his favourite activity is playing with his toys! He enjoys writing exercises and has a peaceful demeanor. To any first time visitor, Pratik’s cheerful nature belies his background and family’s utter poverty.

Sahaara Charitable Society believes that every person has a dream, and their work centers around ensuring that marginalized persons are able to articulate and work towards achieving their dream. Sahaara’s early childhood education program gives children like Pratik get a start which will help him break out of the poverty cycle.

Your generous donations, Steve and Ravi (x3) will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Pratik.

Thank you so much for gifting a dream to a vulnerable slum child like Pratik, thereby paving the way to a self-reliant and brighter future!

Thank you for providing education to little Sania for an entire year.

Four year old Sania hails from Ghatkopar red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. Her parents, Shakil Sheikh and Samima, are both uneducated, and they struggle to make ends meet. Though neither of them is directly connected with the sex-trade, the fact that they reside in a red-light area means that they are subject to the same stigma as people actually working in the trade. Because of where she lives, children like Sania face educational deprivation in terms of generational illiteracy, physical access to education and quality of education.

Sania is enrolled at the Ghatkopar balwadi run by Sahaara, where she receives pre-primary education through a systematic curriculum wherein children are equipped in the following subjects over the period of a year: English and Hindi: alphabets and poems, writing skills, general knowledge (colors, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Sania is a bright child who is good in academics and is physically very active. She loves to do the actions whenever nursery rhymes are taught and also enjoys playing with her toys. She enjoys singing and dancing and immensely enjoys the drawing and colouring exercises.

Thank you for ensuring a secure future for Sania by providing a year of pre-primary education.