In 1999, Joshua, a seven year old boy, from a family in Mumbai slum was left destitute due to family tragedies. Mahima Home took him into their full-time care. Mahima Home is Sahaara’s initiative to rehabilitate hitherto orphan and semi orphan boys – children of terminally ill parent(s).  Here, Joshua is looked after by house parents and a maid, who help him develop holistically through a family environment. He also enjoys wholesome food, excellent accommodation and access to English medium education at Don Bosco School, one of the most prestigious English medium schools in the locality.

With medicines, supplements and wholesome meals, Joshua’s health picked up well! The nutrition-rich diet at Mahima Home provides him, in his crucial growing years, the much needed carbohydrates, vitamins, calcium, minerals, dietary fiber and protein inputs.

Being the eldest in the family, Joshua was accustomed to shouldering the responsibility of taking care of his younger siblings. But at Mahima, house parents lavished love and attention on him and he could become a child again.

Joshua’s leadership skills surfaced when he was selected Captain of primary school (Grades I To IV). Again, in his X grade, he was chosen Captain of the entire school!  Joshua has also represented his school in football in all the levels (right from 10 years to 16 years). He has given on-stage performances playing the electronic keyboard and has enjoyed playing lead roles in a couple of school plays.

Joshua is also good in athletics and won the coveted Championship Award in 2008-2009 as well! Championship Award is given to participants who score highest prizes across multiple athletic events. As a fitting crown to his achievements, he went on to win the Best Student Award in 2008-09!

It’s amazing to see the change in his whole life over the past years – and it§s not over! Our joy overflowed when he successfully cleared his 10th standard examinations with 78% and successfully completed 12th standard and has secured admission in Wilson College, one of the prominent colleges in Mumbai for Bachelors in Science specialising in Bio-Technology!

Your generous donation, will enable Sahaara to provide three nutritious meals to Joshua for three months, thereby ensuring that he remains healthy and continues doing well in school.

Thank you for supporting Joshua!

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.

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 donation 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.

Fifteen year old Aaron was a destitute boy hailing from difficult, poverty stricken circumstances. Living in the Mumbai slums, he did not have the opportunity of a stable future. Aaron’s parents were incapable of looking after him, which is how he found himself at Mahima Home, an orphanage run by Sahaara for destitute children and children of terminally ill parents.

At Mahima Home, Aaron is looked after by house parents and a maid, who helps 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.

Aaron is a very energetic and perseverant child by nature. He is a good student and a good sportsman. He enjoys his occasional soccer matches with his friends and also enjoys playing indoor games just as much. Besides this, he is also a talented artist and an avid reader. His future is secure with Mahima Home and he dares to dream of becoming a famous artist

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 Aaron for six months, thereby ensuring that he remains healthy and continues excelling in school and extra-curricular activities.

Thank you all for your support!

Thank you for gifting a year of education to Anjali.

Three year old Anjali Kamble hails from Turbhe red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. Her father, Ashok Kamble, is a driver and her mother, Kavita, is a trafficked woman working in Turbhe red light area. Both her parents are not educated. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet.

Children like Anjali, residing in red light areas, face educational deprivation in terms of 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 and this missing out on education further compounds the present and future challenges of children like Anjali. Though Anjali 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 enables Anjali to step into a bright future through enrolment 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 (colours, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Anjali is a live wire with full of energy and bubbling with enthusiasm. She has got good recall skills and knows the numbers and alphabets. She enjoys performing nursery rhymes and loves singing action songs. She is sociable and shares her toys with the other children. She listens attentively in class and enjoys drawing and painting exercises as well!

Thank you for providing a year of education to little Anjali.

Thank you for providing a year of education to Naresh.

Three year old, Naresh Dinesh Prajapati hails from Gorai, one of the innumerable poverty-stricken slum pockets in Mumbai. His father, Dinesh Prajapati, works as a shopkeeper and his mother, Darmidevi, is a housewife. He has two sisters as well. Though his parents have not studied much, Naresh can dream of a stable future with a good education.

Naresh studies at the Gorai study center run by Sahaara. He is a keen student who has always been eager to attend the study center. He is a very quiet child but has a hunger for learning more and more from the teachers. He loves to play with his toys.  He is very sociable and loves to share his toys with other children.

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.

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 Naresh get a start which will help him break out of the poverty cycle.

Your generous donations will enable Sahaara to provide a year of pre-primary education to Naresh.

Thank you for coming together to gift a year of education to Vineeta.

For three year old Vineeta Madan Prajapati living in Gorai slum, quality education is a dream-come-true thanks to Sahaara’s balwadi situated near her house. Little Vineeta’s father, Madan Prajapati is an electrician by profession and her mother, Vimla, is a housewife. Vineeta has two sisters. The family hails from Rajasthan. 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, Vineeta’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.

Vineeta is a bright child who is good in academics. She is a live wire bubbling with enthusiasm. She is very mischevious and enjoys playing with the other children. She loves colouring and drawing exercises and is sociable and enjoys sharing things with other children!

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

The 2.8 million sex workers’ population in India is highly marginalised, 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. Many of these children are kept drugged under the very beds upon which the trade is carried out. Also as the mothers are working through the night, they wake up late in the afternoon and the children invariably miss their meals. This leads to malnourishment of the children. Perishing in hunger, neglect, illiteracy and hopelessness, these children long for the day their childhood would be theirs again.

Four and half year old Samir Abir Sheikh hails from Turbhe red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. His father, Abir Sheikh, works as a person selling waste materials and his mother, Farida, is a housewife. He has one sister. Both his parents are not educated. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet.

Children like Samir, residing in red light areas, face educational deprivation in terms of 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 and this missing out on education further compounds the present and future challenges of children like Samir. Though Samir hails from such a disadvantaged background he can dream of a stable future with a good education because he studies at the Turbhe study center, run by Sahaara.  The foundational pre-primary teaching provided at Sahaara’s balwadis enables Samir to step into a bright future through enrolment 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 (colours, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Samir is a live wire full of energy. He is very attentive and knows the alphabets and numbers. He enjoys drawing and painting exercises and loves singing nursery rhymes and action songs. He is sociable and enjoys sharing his toys with the other children. He loves to play indoor as well as outdoor games as well!

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 Samir, get a start and a firm educational base which will help him break out of the 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 Samir.

Thank you so much for your gift to Samir!

Thank you for meeting the education expenses of Halima, and thereby enabling her to get a fresh start in life.

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.

Fifteen year old Halima Sheikh dropped out of school due to financial constraints and started working as a domestic worker in a family. She was accused of theft put in a juvenile observation home. Once she was discharged from there, social workers from Sahaara Charitable Society visited her home and met her family. Due to the stigma attached to being in an observation home, Halima was unwilling to continue her studies. However after counsel to Halima, she agreed to continue her studies. She is currently enrolled in grade 10, and after graduating from school is looking forward to pursuing higher studies in junior college!

Thank you for meeting all Halima’s educational expenses, to enable her to continue going to school.

Thank you for coming together to support Imran.

Four year old Imran hails from Ghatkopar red light area, one of the innumerable poverty stricken red light pockets in Mumbai. His father, Fayaz, is a mason by profession and his mother, Shahana, is a trafficked woman working in Ghatkopar red light area. Both his parents are not educated. The family income is barely enough to make both ends meet

Many of the children of trafficked women are kept drugged under the very beds upon which the trade is carried out. Also as the mothers are working through the night, they wake up late in the afternoon and the children invariably miss their meals. This leads to malnourishment of the children. Perishing in hunger, neglect, illiteracy and hopelessness, these children long for the day their childhood would be theirs again.

Children like Imran also face educational deprivation in terms of 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 and this missing out on education further compounds the present and future challenges of children like Imran. Though Imran hails from such a disadvantaged background he 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 Imran to step into a bright future through enrolment 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 (colours, animals, flowers, personal hygiene etc), colouring, games and activities such as counting and recognition.

Imran is a smart student who has good grasping and recall skills. He knows numbers 1-10 and the alphabets as well. He is a live wire who is energetic and lively in class! He is sociable and enjoys sharing his toys and things with other children. He loves listening to stories and enjoys colouring and drawing.

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 Imran, get a start and a firm educational base, which will help him break out of the 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 Imran. Thank you.

Thank you for coming together to provide meals to Mamta for three months.

Four year old Mamta’s mother is the victim of the sex trade, and works in the Ghatkopar red light area in Mumbai. Fearing that her daughter would also be forced into the sex trade, her mother admitted Mamta to Anandalay, a home run by Sahaara Charitable Society for daughters of victims of the sex trade.  The children receive wholesome food, excellent accommodation and quality education under the care of committed house-parents.

Mamta has been in Anandalay since 12^th June 2009.

She 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 donations, will enable Sahaara to provide breakfast, lunch, dinner and two midday snacks to Mamta for three months.

Thank you for coming together to support Mamta!