Three and a half year old, Vaishnavi hails from Dharavi, arguably the largest and most populated slum pocket in Asia. Her father,Vaibhav, works as an assistant in a shop and her mother, Surekha, is a housewife. Her parents are not educated beyond the tenth standard, but they understand the importance of education and want to ensure that their children receive the kind of education, they were deprived of.

Vaishnavi is enrolled in the pre-primary education center, run by Sahaara in Dharavi. Sahaara’s early childhood education program gives children like Vaishnavi, get a start which will help him break out of the poverty cycle.

Despite the background she comes from, Vaishnavi can dream of a great future but she can only do this with a solid foundation of education!

She is a happy and quiet child who is a very obedient student in class. Her hidden talent surfaces during the singing and dancing sessions when Vaishnavi transforms into an enthusiastic performer as she totally loves music and dancing!

Your generous donation, Laurent, will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Vaishnavi.

Thank you for gifting dreams of a self-reliant and beautiful future to a vulnerable child like Vaishnavi!

Four year old Asif hails from Dharavi, arguably the largest and most populated slum pocket in Asia. His father, Hasan, works as a Jari worker (jari work is a form of traditional embroidery using gold threads, and jari work is one of the largest employers in the informal sector in Dharavi) and his mother, Ramiza, is a housewife. The total monthly income of the family is roughly Rs 4200 ($93), which is barely enough to meet the basic needs of Asif, his sister and their parents.

Asif is enrolled in the pre-primary education center run by Sahaara in Dharavi. He is a keen student who has always been eager to attend the study center. He is mischievous by nature yet an alert and enthusiastic student as well!  Asif’s playful naughtiness, innocent eyes and the passion with which he builds structures with building blocks 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 Asif get a start which will help him break out of the poverty cycle.

Asif’s favourite activity is building complex structures using building blocks. Watching him create beautiful buildings, it is not hard to imagine him as an architect in the future. While a dream of that magnitude would have been unthinkable for a child of his background, with the early start that Asif is getting, the dream may well be attainable.

Your generous donations, Laurent, Kowsilliya (x2) and Craig will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Asif.

Thank you for gifting dreams of a self-reliant and beautiful future to a vulnerable slum child like Asif!

Renuka hails from North East India and had been staying at a temporary accommodation for blind women for four years. With temporary accommodation, she was uncertain about the duration for which she would be allowed to stay there and was worried about her safety and future, if she was asked to vacate the place, someday. Going back to her hometown was not a viable option since there are no job opportunities for blind women in her hometown. She was visibly weak, destitute and vulnerable when the Sahaara staff met her and needed much counselling.

Renuka has been staying at the Jyoti Home, a residential home run by Sahaara for vulnerable and blind women, for a little over three years. She is well looked after by a house parent and a maid who take care of her needs in an environment where she receives love and personal care. She is starting to come to terms with the horrors of her past, and is starting to believe that her life is not the curse that she thought it was.

Sahaara has empowered Renuka to train as a masseur, and she has now started working. She will, however, continue to need financial support till she is able to establish herself in her profession.

Your generous donations, Kowsilliya, Cindy, Rick and Beth, Tom, Callie and Laurent, will enable Sahaara to give Renuka three meals a day for six months.

Thank you so much, for gifting safety and security to Renuka.

Dear Natasha, Cindy, Bill, and George,

Four year old Agasthika hails from Dharavi, arguably the largest and most populated slum pocket in Asia. Despite having parents who have not studied beyond the eighth grade, Agasthika dares to dream of a great future!

Agasthika studies at the Dharavi study center run by Sahaara. She is a keen student who has been eager to attend the study center right from day one. She is a natural leader who loves to take on the class representative role. She also thoroughly enjoys painting as she loves colors!

Agasthika has one sister, Her father, Chinadurai, works as a driver and her mother, Ramlaxmi, is a housewife. Agasthika dreams of becoming a teacher one day but both she and her parents realize she can only do with if she has a good education.

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 Agasthika get a start which will help her break out of the poverty cycle.

Your generous donations, Natasha, Cindy, Bill and George will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Agasthika.

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