Giving for Aarti Girls

https://www.aartiforgirls.org/ 

Twenty years ago, Aarti began as a shelter for abandoned children. In its time, Aarti has seen 1000 children pass through its doors and it has become a sanctuary for children who have suffered abuse, trafficking, and abandonment. Those at Aarti and Sandhya, the founder, quickly realized and learned that 90% of the children abandoned in India are girls.

A girl is abandoned, killed (before or after birth), or abused, every minute in India. There is a cultural context and historical reasoning to India’s attitude towards girls. The age-old dowry system still persists in most of India; giving birth to a girl instantaneously means needing to pay a large sum for her marriage. The cost of dowries in India have been increasingly more costly and more so, any investment in a girl is viewed as futile - when a woman marries, she is transferred from her birth family to her husband’s family. Therefore, she cannot do anything for her family, so they do not view her as worthy of investment. 

This is the story of millions of killed and abandoned girls, as families, trapped by this social norm, do not want them, cannot afford them, or are forced to give them up.

Aarti believes in “helping girls help themselves.” At its core, Aarti and those who work here, foster and support abandoned children in the Kadapa district by providing them with a home and education - opportunity. What started off as a home for abandoned children has transformed into a grassroots effort to empower girls and women on all fronts. Aarti believes in ending gender-based discrimination, ensuring a safe upbringing and education for every child by offering education for all children and a safe learning environment, and in empowering women economically, socially, and politically through training, employment opportunities, and awareness of rights. Aarti’s work is born out of compassion for those who do not have access to the opportunities and resources to live fulfilling and safe lives. Built into the school and home is the desire to create a society where a girl child receives all the opportunities her male counterparts receive, where women themselves believe they are worthy of fair treatment and able of economic independence and success.

Aarti is made up of two parts: the school and the home. The home is a shelter for abandoned children, generally girls, taking them in with open arms and compassion. The home currently houses 120 girls. Aarti home does not run as an institution, but as a real home, focused on the idea of developing a family unit. Aarti school is opened to all children in Kadapa and strives to give all kids a high-quality education, regardless of their economic background. At the school, the students are taught a wide range of subject to prepare them for success and to cater to all ranges of interests, including computer science and the English language. The school ensures a student leaves feeling and doing better than when they came; struggling and students in need are provided a uniform, breakfast and lunch, textbooks, and tuition at no cost to the family.  Most students come from impoverished backgrounds and pay limited or no school fees. Today, Aarti English Medium High School has over 500 students. The school’s goal is to bridge the gap between students’ current education level and their age while providing impoverished children with the attention and resources they need in the classroom.

At Aarti E.M School, Bindu is currently a computer science teacher.. She also works to help maintain the computer labs. She came to Aarti Home after struggling with and facing on and off bouts of depression. She credits Sandyha and Aarti for helping her find her light and leading her onto the right path. She now works at Aarti as a way of giving back and helping the place that helped her. This is the long-lasting positive effect Aarti has.

Aarti Home and School for Girls run entirely on donations and sponsorships. Contribute to help keep a wonderful program like Aarti going, and to change the world, one grassroots, one country at a time. And if you cannot donate, share Aarti's story.