It is a heart-breaking sight-seeing children picking up rags and working, instead of being into school, enjoying their childhood, being loved and cared the way they should be. They are forced into work and a life not worth living just for the sake of surviving.
The question still lingers in my mind.
- Who is responsible for all this?
- Still nobody has even come up with a single answer.
People just debate over whose fault it is while the number of unprivileged children who are the future of India still rises.
As quoted by Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi-“If we are to teach real peace in this world and if we are to carry real war against war, we shall have to begin with children”
But wait, there is still some humanity left in this selfish and unjustified world.
The History
Hope foundation was setup in 1999 and is a registered Irish charity with its branches worldwide. It has 14 branches in Kolkata itself.
The idea behind setting up of HOPE in Kolkata is a couple tourist had come up to visit India but after witnessing such agony and the miserable condition of children they decided to set it up here. Initially HOPE provided night shelter for the children who spent their day at Howrah. Later on HOPE took over responsibility of funding home for 25 boys who wished to reside in the home with some basic amenities.
What does HOPE do?
There are in-numerous numbers of children who work in the most avoidable situations just to keep their stomachs filled.
Kolkata itself has around 2, 50,000 children who are forced to starve on the streets because they have nowhere to go, no proper guidance and no resources available. They suffer from diseases as they have no protection, they do not have clean water to drink, they don’t have roofs above their heads, they don’t have proper clothes to cover their body from the unforgiving weather circumstances.
HOPE takes initiative in providing the basic amenities and most important EDUCATION because if they are not aware and informed they might not know things that they should know then they become most vulnerable in this cut-throat world.
HOPE has carried out various foundation projects, like
- Child Protection- Many parents who can’t afford to feed their children leave them on the streets. On their destiny whether they survive or die in this who gives a damn world. HOPE reaches out to the kids and provides them with the care and guidance to become a better in this world. The NGO still runs this project and brings back the abandoned children to their care unit.
- Education- HOPE provides a decent education service to the slum and abandoned children. They teach them about awareness, to respect their rights about keeping themselves healthy and clean.
HOPE carries 3 areas of Educational Intervention
- Holistic Education Programme
- Nabadisha non-formal education centre with the co-operation of Kolkata police for slum and street children.
- 5 Education sponsorship projects around 500 children
- Health Care- The main aim of HOPE is to provide health care to slum children who cannot afford to have it.
Traditionally most of the times only the Upper class and middle class can avail health care services but HOPE aims to bring equality giving people chance to survive. It also has an emergency response team which surveys the town 365 days a year providing proper attention to children who would otherwise die without.
- Vocational Training and Income Generation- HOPE not only provides care for the children but for the adolescents even, it is currently running tailoring centres for the women and girls from the streets and slums to make them independent and to live a life with their heads high.
HOPE has proven to be a success in the past 12 years in Kolkata and is still trying to make it better so that the world becomes liveable and equal to all without any barriers.
“Love and Compassion are necessities not luxuries. Without them the humanity cannot survive”
-Dalai Lama
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