Educate and Shelter Children in Red Light District

Dear Donors,

New Light is a nonprofit charitable trust that protects and educates young girls, children and women who are at high risk in their community by providing safe shelters, educational opportunities, recreational facilities, social enterprises, healthcare and legal aid.

Thank you for your  donations in the past and even small sums of money can make a big difference in the lives of victims of traffiking, vulnerable women forced into prostitution and their at-risk children.  Village Volunteers is the fiscal agent for New Light through the Half the Sky Foundaiton.

Through the important work that is being done for girls with a night shelter for the little ones, and three safe homes for girls and young women where they go to school, the need to help the boys was appartent. These young men roam the streets of the red light district and have no hope for the future. Recently they opened  Khela-Ghar, a residential home for boys.

New Light Boys’ Home, Khela-Ghar, is a part of New Light’s efforts to provide young boys of women who are in prostitution, the opportunity to grow up in a safe and secure environment and realize their full potential. The boys’ home will help remove the male children from the violence filled environment of Kalighat, primarily, where they are exposed to crimes and other socially undesirable practices.

The Home’s aim is to bring and retain as many children and young adults as possible into the mainstream by providing formal education; job oriented training and different vocational activities so that they can choose a life with dignity.

Thank you for all your assistance.  

Shana

Dear Donor,

Since a program like New Light needs ongoing funds to support the children in the shelter and in school, they try to set up social enterprises that help women to make an income to support their children. The newest progject that will be scheduled to be set up in January of 2015 will provide income to women and the profits should be able to provide the funds to educate 12 girls a year. The project is called "Empowering Women Period" and is a Village Volunteers' Initiative..

The project will give them the opportunity to make sanitary pads from an invasive species, water hyacinth. This pad is fully biodegradable and will be provided to girls in school who have no means to buy pads themselves. In India, one in four girls drops out of school when they begin menstruating due to many factors. 

We thank you for your continual support and welcome any inquieries to this new project that will be a boost to educating and sheltering children in the red light district in Kolcata.

Thank you,

Shana Greene

Links:

• Sanitary Pad Project