Will you help these Kids?
ManASVI
Status: Currently seeking Sponsors/Funding/Volunteers
These children are at the State Mercy Home on the outskirts of the city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, North India. Girls sitting from left: Ram Pyari 14, Soni 7, Puja 13, Shahnaz 13, Niketa 9, Fareen 8, Reshmi 13, the boy standing at the back in Ishu 14.
Abandoned or runaway children are found on the streets of all Indian cities. The cleverest survive, but those who fall ill or are not so clever are taken off the streets by the police and locked up in the Mercy Home. Here they will stay until a family member claims them. There is little chance any will be claimed. Some of these children have been transported up to 500 miles from where they were picked up (M.P. State is twice the size of England and Wales). Hair shorn and without hope these kids are trapped and their faces show they know it.
The State Mercy Home is the last refuge for the vulnerable and sick. This one in Gwalior is a high walled compound (once a farm) entered by a single set of steel gates. Here men, women, and children are locked up together, they will be fed, but little else. This is mercy in a country where extreme poverty is common. Many of the inmates are mentally handicapped. Supervision is poor. Women and children are at particular risk.
There is a way out of the Mercy Home - local charities who run orphanages and homes will rescue those trapped there.
Puja, aged 7, and her mother were rescued last year by Snehalaya Trust. ManASVI raises the money needed to support them both and give Puja the future that any kid deserves. £20/month will rescue another child.
Full sponsorship is a heavy and long term commitment for any individual, however group schemes at work or clubs are an ideal way of spreading the load. Annual reports, photos, and examples of school work are generally given to sponsors.
Snehalaya and other homes are open to visits from sponsors. If you wish you can arrange to meet the child and satisfy yourself about their welfare.
In the case of a sponsor having much needed skills to offer such as child care, education and medical/physiotherapy skills, volunteering is welcomed, even if only for a week or so. If you are interested please contact ManASVI.