Harshida is five years old and lives in a very poor area of Mumbai, India. Her father works as a manual laborer and her mother is a maid. Her parents struggle to support Harshida and her two sisters. Because of their poor economic state, they cannot afford for Harshida to attend school.

Sahaara uses funds from supporters like you, Milind, to support underprivileged children like Harshida and her sisters. Children from Mumbai slums face educational deprivation in terms of generational illiteracy, physical access to education and quality of education. At Sahaara’s pre-primary school, Harshida learns her English and Hindi alphabets, basic math skills, and much more.

Sahaara believes education is critical to better the lives of children in these disadvantaged neighborhoods. Thank you, Milind, for supporting Harshida by providing funds for a year of education. This will keep her in safe hands while she improves her knowledge. Your donation will be appreciated for a life time.

Four year old Vaishnavi is from a slum in Mumbai, India. Her father polishes floors for a living while her mother stays at home to take care of Vaishnavi and her five siblings. Her parents are not eduated and therefore cannot earn enough to provide adequately for their large family.

Because of the family’s impoverished state, Vaishnavi requires additional financial aid to attend school. Sahaara, an organization formed to support children like Vaishnavi with their education, is able to help this child because of your generous support, Milind.

Vaishnavi happily attends pre-primary school, where she learns her English and Hindi alphabets in addition to other necessary lessons. She loves story time and going to school every day. Thank you, Milind, for giving Vaishnavi this opportunity to prepare for a life better than her parents could provide for her.

Namrata is a fourteen year old girl that struggled to stay in school. Her parents were not supportive of a return to school after a break during the academic year due to a stay at an observation home. Sadly, Namrata would likely enter child labor without external help.

Sahaara puts in extreme amounts of effort to help children like Namrata who have little financial and familial support. Sahaara believes that every child deserves a chance to pursue their dreams and that an education is necessary for them to do so.

Sahaara was able to seek out Namrata and help her return to school through counseling and support because of your donation, Butson Family. Thank you for giving Namrata a second chance so she can better her future. Soon, Namrata will complete the 9th grade and be back on course to complete her education.

Thank you, again, Butson Family, for your generous support.

Heman is a three year old from Gorai, Mumbai. His father works as a manual laborer and his mom is a housewife. Heman has three siblings that his parents struggle to support. Because of the father’s low paying job, Heman cannot attend pre-primary school without external financial aid.

Sahaara supports children like Heman because they acknowledge that school is not only a place of education, but a safe haven for children raised in slums. Sahaara provides education in poor areas of Mumbai so students like Heman can learn basic lessons like the alphabet and counting.

Heman loves the playtime activities at Sahaara’s school. Thanks to your donation, Subash, this child can enjoy himself in a supportive, welcoming setting. Heman loves to sing and listen to music, which he gets to do daily at Sahaara. Thank you, again, Subash, for brightening Heman’s future.

Three year old Gareema hails from Gorai, India, one of the innumerable poverty stricken slum pockets of Mumbai. Her father works as a rickshaw driver and her mother is a housewife. Sadly, her parents do not earn enough to support Gareema and her sister.

Children like Gareema are often neglected and do not have the option to attend school for various reasons. Sahaara provides education for children from impoverished regions so they can pursue their dreams that once seemed impossible. Sahaara has rural locations so that children do not have to worry about transportation costs or traveling through unsafe neighborhoods to reach the school.

Because of your donation, Jennie, Gareema happily attends school at one of Sahaara’s locations. Gareema is an intelligent student with a hunger to learn more. She is a good listener and hopes to continue her education. Thank you, Jennie, for allowing her to do so.

Five year old Nikita’s mother was a victim of the sex trade in Turbhe, a red light area in Mumbai. Because of her mother’s unfortunate position, Nikita often missed meals and was malnourished.

After acknowledging that Nikita shouldn’t live under such poor circumstances, her mother placed her at one of Sahaara’s homes for disadvantaged children. Now, Nikita does not have to live in the red light district, surrounded by exploitation and the sex trade.

Nikita is fed balanced meals 3 times a day with two additional snacks. She receives full time care and lives a healthier life. Thank you, Chris, for enabling Nikita to live a happier life. She can now go to bed without a grumbling stomach because you cared enough to make a difference. Sahaara appreciates your support as do we.

Sahaara believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams. The organization highly encourages and supports children in impoverished areas of India to attend school so they can better support their own families one day. Because Lakshmi’s father did not want to continue her education, Sahaara decided to counsel the family so that they could learn about the benefits of an education

Lakshmi is now enrolled in the 8^th grade and will go on to finish 9th grade next year before considering working again. Because of your support, Butson Family, Lakshmi was encouraged to attend school. Sahaara can support Lakshmi in her endeavors knowing that her family and community value her future. Thank you, Butson Family, for encouraging Lakshmi through Sahaara.

Children in red light areas live in severe physical and psychological peril and are vulnerable to abuse, trauma and second generation prostitution. Perishing in hunger, neglect, illiteracy and hopelessness, these daughters long for the day their childhood would be theirs again.

Six year-old Mridula*’s mother was a victim of the sex trade and worked inthe Bhandup red light area of Mumbai, India. Sahaara staff met the mother for the first time in around 2006 and counseled her to exit the trade and start a new life. In 2009, Mridula’s mother exited the trade with Sahaara’s help and was referred to a rehabilitation home in Pune. Simultaneously, Mridula was brought to Anandalay, ­ a shelter home run by Sahaara for daughters of trafficked women. At Anandalay, these children are brought up by house-parents in a loving and conducive family environment. Mridula was welcomed into Anandalay on 20^th March 2009.

Anandalay staff provide Mridula English medium schooling in one of the top schools in the locality, quality accommodation and wholesome nutrition within a loving family environment afforded by dedicated house parents.

Mridula was a slow learner, withdrawn and very passive by nature upon arrival. Over the years, there has been a turnaround in her social and academic skills; she has become expressive, smiling, talkative, and interactive. She has blossomed into an extrovert, is proactive in making friends, and has shown significant improvement in her grades.

Your generous donations will enable Sahaara to provide fresh and nutritious meals to Mridula, thereby ensuring that she remains healthy and continues doing well in her studies.

Sahaara believes that every person has a dream and their work focuses on ensuring that marginalized persons are able to articulate and work towards achieving that dream. Children in observation homes are one of the most marginalized populations in Mumbai, India. On discharge, these children are forced to deal with poverty and social stigma, which often results in them returning to a life a petty crime. The Sahaara tracking program of children released from observation/children’s homes help children get a start that will help them break out of the poverty cycle and fulfill their dreams of a stable future.

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, and providing books and materials, Sahaara officials help children begin to receive formal education, thereby paving the way to a bright future.

Rajendra is a 17 year-old boy studying in the 10th standard. His family is extremely poor and he was involved in a neighborhood brawl that caused someone to file a police complaint against him. As a result, he was sent to an observation home. Sahaara personnel met him there and learned he was unwilling to continue his studies as a result of the trauma and the embarrassment caused by his stay there. The school authorities were reluctant to re-admit Rajendra because of the break in the academic year. His parents had resigned themselves to the inevitable — discontinuation of his studies. However, after Sahaara employees met with Rajendra, his parents and school authorities, he was re-admitted to school. He cleared his tenth standard and, with Sahaara’s help and guidance, he joined the 11^th standard at a college in Elphinstone. He is currently continuing his studies in school and he looks forward to attending junior college and making friends.

Your generous donations, Kayla and Raja, enabled Sahaara to provide support and the educational expenses necessary for Rajendra to continue with his education!

Thank you so much for your gift to Rajendra!

The 2.8 million sex workers in India are highly marginalised, vulnerable and unreached due to the burden of severe stigma, the commoditization of personhood, forced poverty and debt bondage. Doubly disadvantaged, their children face even worse consequences in these red light areas, including physical danger, vulnerability to violence and sexual exploitation. Many of these children are kept drugged under the very beds upon which the trade is carried out. Also, as their mothers work through the night as sex workers, they wake up late in the afternoon and their children invariably miss meals and become malnourished. Perishing in hunger, neglect, illiteracy and hopelessness, these children long for the day their childhood would be theirs again.

Three year old Manisha hails from the Turbhe red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. Her father, Namdev, is a mason and her mother, Radha, is a trafficked woman. Manisha has one sister and neither of her parents are educated. Despite all of their sacrifices, Manisha’s parents barely earn enough to make ends meet.

Children like Manisha also face educational deprivation such as generational illiteracy, physical access to education and quality of education. Due to social stigma and poverty associated with red light areas, the children are not put in school, which further compounds their present and future challenges. Though Manisha hails from such a disadvantaged background, she can dream of a stable future with a good education because she studies at the Turbhe Study Center run by Sahaara. The foundational pre-primary teaching provided at Sahaara’s balwadis (Indian pre-school) enables Manisha to step into a bright future through enrollment in a good school.

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, and games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Manisha is a smart student who has a hunger to learn more and more. She has good recall skills and knows her numbers and alphabets. She loves singing nursery rhymes and performing action songs. She is sociable and enjoys sharing toys with the other children. She also loves to play indoor as well as outdoor games! Manisha especially enjoys dancing and loves taking part in programs conducted in the center.

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 Manisha a firm educational base that will help them break out of their vulnerable existence in the red light area and step into a safe and secure future.

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

Thank you so much, UBS and Paris, for your gift to Manisha!