Help children's home in India

Dear family and friends,

I hope everyone is well and is enjoying the summer.

The reason why I writing you is because I’d like to ask for your help on behalf of the children’s home in India I used to live in when I was young.

As you all know, little Usha came to the Netherlands when she was 2,5 years old and was welcomed in the most caring and loving family she could wish for.

Without this golden ticket, my life wouldn’t have been the same and I am very grateful for the founders of this children’s home. The owners, Sunilla and Amal De, have passed on the work to their eldest son, Jim De. To be straight to the point, I am raising money to pay for new supplies and to provide financial relief. But, before diving into that, let me share some background information with you.

The children's home Shishu Sangopan Griha (SSG) was originally founded in New Delhi 35 years ago by the couple Sunilla and Amal De. Between 1979 and 2014, more than a thousand children came to the Netherlands from this children's home and were adopted by Dutch parents.

In the house now live children who were given up for adoption, but due to circumstances could not be adopted. Due to the current policy of the Indian government, Indian children are being adopted in India itself, rather than being adopted to the Netherlands, however, children with disabilities are unfortunately not yet accepted in Indian society and therefore are not being adopted.

The house is now called 'Karuna' which means 'caring with compassion'. Karuna tries to give children with disabilities the best possible life and to allow them to participate in society as much as possible. And, to give the children's home a chance at raising more stable funds, the Children's Karuna Jabalpur Foundation was established to collect donations.

Both the care and the livelihood of the children cost money. In addition, a unique approach for India is pursued to allow children with disabilities to participate in society. The Netherlands is seen as an example country. In the Netherlands there are many different workplaces and activities where people with disabilities are offered a daytime activity or workplace. This is what Karuna is trying to achieve.

What is urgently needed?

I have been in contact with Jim and their most urgent need is to replace their 15 years old washing machine, water purify filters and a little oven for the kids to be creative during these hard times. However, more financial resources are most welcome.

How can you help?

If you like to support this cause, I have created a Gofundme page where you can donate the amount you like to give. Since my visit to India in 2019, I have shared my experience with you and many of you have asked how you could help. Therefore, I simply wanted to bring this to the attention of my closest friends so they would have the opportunity to support a cause so dear to me. If you wish, you can also support anonymously. It is totally up to you and you are of course free to choose if you want to participate or not!

I’d like to donate the money as soon as possible which I why I will close the fundraising Sunday the 11th of July.

After sharing with you the amount that has been raised, I'll close the fundraising and the money from GoFundMe will be transferred to my Dutch account from which I will transfer it to the official foundation SKKJ. SKKJ will be the one who donates the money on our behalf.

I know that I am asking for your trust and will be transparent during the process.

On behalf of the Children's Karuna Jabalpur Foundation,

Thank you.

Hugs and love,

Usha

I am resident in Switzerland which is a country that GoFundMe supports