Rupa
"I found a sponsor!"
Roopa is a 32 year old mentally challenged, epileptic lady with speech impairment. She is mother of Menu Jr. , since Sept. 08 with us having come from Mercy home. She helps in kitchen work and coping well now without Menu going to school. She enjoys dressing up, lives happily with Menu & other girls in cottage 4.
Sponsor A Child In India
Your support can change a childs life!
Little breaks a heart faster than a child's smile. It may be a smile of anticipation...a smile of pure joy...a smile of longing ... a smile that says "thank you" (’Dhan’yavada ’ in Hindi ) that means much more than words in any language.
In "Snehalaya" there are more than 63 (the number grows daily) smiling faces. These are the children that have escaped the hard, menial, and monotonous future of living on the streets of India...and have come to a place where they are treated with dignity and all their needs are met.
"Snehalaya", meaning "the home with love" in Hindi, is a care home for disabled children, homeless women and the aged, where they live together as a family in individual cottages, with aims to help make them independent and live with dignity.
It is our aim for Snehalaya to become completely self sufficient. We have drilled bore holes to provide fresh drinking water, cultivated 15 acres of land and we rear dairy cows and poultry to provide food. We are making good progress but we are a long way off from being 100% self-sufficient, with electricity production being our biggest and most costly hurdle.
The Gwalior Children's Charity does not receive any government support from India, despite operating in one of it's poorest and most needy areas. Because of this we rely solely on donations from around the world. 
All running costs are met thorugh the kindness of our donors. Nothing is deducted for administration costs with 100% of funds going directly to help the children.
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THE DOCTOR’S DREAM FOR OTHERS
Over the years, doctors at Gwalior Childrens Hospital, visiting health professionals and even volunteers expressed concern at the quality of care they saw at many of the conventionally run institutions in the Gwalior region.
| Dr. B.K. Sharma, founder of the Gwalior Childrens Hospital organisation, resolved to take positive action. He devised a radically different concept. Instead of institutionalised 'care' in the conventional way -- poor, destitute and disabled children would be looked after in a 'Care Home' where their educational, health and personal development needs would be met. Wherever possible they would live as family together in separate units with adult residents including homeless women and the aged as their parent heads. The Snehalaya organisation would provide the care including educational, nursing and medical facilities to those in need(or those who cannot care for themselves).
Land was donated by Dr Sharma in memory of Dr. Meena Sharma. Located near Sikroda, work was started at the end of 2004 and the concept became reality in 2006. |  |
Read more about the Dr Meena Sharma Memorial Foundation here ...
It has its own hospital. But building still proceeds. More cottages are required to house residents and work has just been completed on the new school. The current focus is on running the new school - not only for residents , but for children from the surrounding villages. It’s all about being part of the local community.
WE AIM TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT...
.. and we are trying our best to do so, but we still need your help. Our farms, over 15 acres under cultivation, make a substantial contribution to our table. Already we have a herd of 20 cows in our Gaushala (cow shed) as well as small poultry.This allows us to have milk, eggs and other nutritious food for our children. We are developing our own kitchen garden and orchard. In addition, these provide opportunities for vocational training for our children and young adults . We useorganic methods for farming. We have our own water resources with four bore wells in place. One major problem we face is non-availability of electricity most of the time. There is plenty of sun or wind that can be used as an alternative energy source but this needs major capital investment and we need help for completing this project.
Our Gaushala (cowshed)
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View of our farm
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We have already started using solar energy to supplement our electricity requirements in this way. Street lights were installed in December 2010 and an order has been placed for installing a power pack using solar energy for our cottages, volunteers quarters and community hall as well as the special needs school. We hope it will be installed within the next three to six months.
Our target is complete self-sufficiency. That way we'll no longer have to rely on government run electricity or water. That way we can put all our financial effort towards supporting our children!
A WORD ABOUT OUR FINANCES
Although we operate in one of the poorest and most needy parts of India, the Gwalior Childrens Charity receives no government support. Not from local authorities. Not from regional or state sources. Not from central government. So we are forced to rely on the generosity of people around the world, like you. Any contribution, however small, is very much appreciated.
If you would care to know more about our finances – click here to see a financial statement.
Profile of one of our major supporters
The Devonshire House School
Devonshire House Preparatory School is situated in the heart of  Hampstead. The School provides education of high quality for both boys and girls, not only to nurture ability in the traditional subjects but also to foster a variety of talents so that each individual child can reach his or her full potential.
The school undertakes to support various charities each year. The children hold book sales, cake sales and run competitions fundraisers . The whole School community enjoys events such as the Winter Fair, Quiz night and the Summer Fair, as well as the Leavers' Gala Night. For many years, they have raised funds for the less fortunate boys and girls of “Snehalaya”.
With help and recommendations by Dr. Neil Sikka and Nicola (their children study in Devonshire School), the school accepted Gwalior Childrens Charity with Snehalaya as their sponsored charity in 2009. The children and the School, supported by the parents’ Fundraising Committee raised £13020.50 in that year providing for all meals, food, fruits, milk etc. for all the children of Snehalaya for a whole year. Thereafter accepting our bid they have agreed to raise the £50,000 over next three years, that is required to build 5 new cottages at Snehalaya. The children and the School, supported by the parents’ Fundraising Committee will be holding a number of events over the three year period to raise £50000 and more to help us build these cottages to accommodate and provide for more children in Snehalaya. In 2010, thanks to the efforts by every one at Devonshire School, £29073.69 has been raised and we are sure that the same or even more will be raised in 2011 and 2012, providing the required funds to build not only five cottages but also to build a new kitchen and dining hall as required with the increase in the number of children in Snehalaya. Thanks to every one in Devonshire School, Dr. Neil Sikka, Nicola and all the children there.
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The 2011 Souvenir book is available to read online and for download, with all the latest news about Snehalaya and Gwalior Childrens Charity.
Click here...
The Gwalior Children's Charity does not receive any government support from India, despite operating in one of it's poorest and most needy areas. Because of this we rely solely on donations from around the world.
All running costs are met thorugh the kindness of our donors. Nothing is deducted for administration costs with 100% of funds going directly to help the children.
The Gwalior Children's Charity raises money to help poor and destitute people in Gwalior, India. Although our main focus is on the children of Gwalior, our work also extends to women and the elderly.
Our projects aim to give the children of Gwalior, and where possible their families, independence by providing the skills, education and healthcare required to break their cycle of poverty and live a better life.
New School The school will provide education for residents of Snehalaya with special needs plus 500 children from surrounding villages. This is one of the important services provided free of charge, with the help of GCC supporters.
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