Giving the underprivileged hope, when none exists

 

A new chapter unfolded in their lives when HOPE Foundation volunteers met the three children in an activity hub and decided to provide them formal schooling. Today, Preeti, Priya and Pinky love going to school together. Preeti wants to become an IAS officer when she grows up, while Pinky wants to become a teacher and little Priya aspires to be a police officer so she can catch the bad guys!

 

The HOPE Foundation works towards bringing a change in the lives of children, youngsters and vulnerable individuals. The non-profit organisation educates children, provides healthcare and trains young people and women in skills for their livelihoods. Their team of 550 people, many volunteers and partners works in 26 cities across the country through their 100-plus programmes and community-based services.

 

“Our mission is to bring hope to those with none and change the lives of everyone we work with, including our staff, donors, volunteers and partners,” says a volunteer of HOPE. So far, close to 14,000 children are preparing for a better future at HOPE’s nursery and primary schools, non-formal schools and tuition centres in some of the most impoverished places. “Our school focuses on quality education and overall development of the child. We support a child through his/her education till Class 10, after which they can choose college or a vocation. We pay special attention to the education of girls,” says the volunteer.

 

The foundation has partnered with 17 government schools across 12 cities and towns and has an additional 16 schools. It also exclusively works for HIV/AIDS children and adults who have been abandoned by their families. Over a thousand abandoned children, elderly people and HIV/AIDS patients have found shelter and care at homes of HOPE. “We provide them with education, skills training, medical care, recreation and rehabilitation. The foundation has a hostel for street children in Bengaluru, a housing facility for flood-affected in Raichur, two orphanages in Delhi and Trichy, a home for HIV/AIDS afflicted in Chennai, a community care centre in Tirunelveli and an old age home in Kochi. We also work with a government home for the mentally-challenged in Delhi,” says the volunteer.

 

The foundation works through primary healthcare clinics and is extensively involved in tuberculosis eradication, cancer detection, leprosy clinics and rehabilitation, HIV/AIDS prevention, early childhood development and health education and counseling. “Infant mortality is a special focus of our work which we endeavour to combat through our maternal and child survival programmes. In 2006, our healthcare initiatives impacted the lives of two lakh people directly,” says another volunteer.

 

Apart from helping the needy in education and healthcare sectors, HOPE also provides basic and specialised healthcare to over two lakh poor and disadvantaged people every year. Most of these people live in urban slums and have little or no access to basic medical care. HOPE Foundation's vocational training programme strives to open new doors of opportunities for unemployed youth, students and women. Training programmes include computers (MS-Office, CorelDraw, PageMaker and Tally), retail, cellphone repair, masonry, plumbing, electrical work and tailoring.

 

“Our centres in five cities, towns and villages train 8,500 people every year. We aim to set up 25 more vocational training centres to train 15,000 children and youth over a three-year period,” says the volunteer. Also, thousands of poor people have turned into entrepreneurs with the help of foundation's microfinance programme. It provides zero-interest loans to people in need of seed money to start small businesses. Instead of providing cash, they are given raw materials and directly pay vendors to get the businesses off the ground. HOPE mainly runs on contributions made by donors and other donations. To make a donation, log into https://www.hopefoundation.org.in/donation.php.