India
India is the seventh largest and second-most populous country in South Asia and the most populous democracy in the world. It is a nation abounding with bustling markets, unique cuisine, historical monuments, picturesque landscapes, explosions of color, and vibrant cultural diversity. But it is also a place of widespread poverty, where many children face malnutrition, a lack of medical care, gender inequality, systemic discrimination, and isolation every day. That’s why our global community of Child Champions is here, working in the hard places to bring help and hope to children.
CHILD RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT IN India
CHALLENGES FOR KIDS AND HOW CHILD CHAMPIONS HELP
Lack of Access to Clean Water and Sanitation
Less than 50% of the population of India has access to safe drinking water, and nearly 600 million people don’t have toilets and have no choice but to defecate in the open. This leads to a greater likelihood of water contamination and diarrhea. Children who suffer with diarrhea are more susceptible to malnutrition and other illnesses, such as pneumonia.
How Child Champions Are Helping Children in Poverty in India
Kids enrolled at Hope Centers in India have access to clean water and also are taught good hygiene practices to avoid preventable illnesses. Hope Centers with clean, running water make it available not only to the kids, but to the community as well. Kids also have access to health care at their centers in the event they end up sick from drinking contaminated water.
Read this inspirational story: Much More Than a Birthday Gift
BE INSPIREDFood Insecurity and Malnutrition
More than a quarter of the population of India lives below the poverty line and don’t get enough to eat, and malnutrition affects nearly half of all children there. A contributor to food insecurity is climate change, which has produced uneven weather patterns and caused more droughts, adversely affecting food supplies.
How Child Champions Are Helping Children in Poverty in India
Through OneChild’s Children’s Crisis Fund, families in India receive disaster relief including emergency food relief supplies. Families who are struggling day-to-day receive vitamins, supplies, and food baskets. At their Hope Centers, children regularly receive nutritious meals and snacks, which helps them stay healthy and fights child hunger.
Read this inspirational story: Helping Kids Thrive in India
BE INSPIREDLack of Access to Health Care Services
In India, more than 75% of health care facilities are located in cities, where only 25% of the population lives. The rest of the population lives in rural areas, which lack even the most basic medical facilities. Most of the rural poor can’t afford to travel to or receive treatment in urban areas.
How Child Champions Are Helping Children in Poverty in India
Children at Hope Centers receive preventive medical checkups and immunizations to fight common diseases. In addition, kids are taught to take care of their bodies and protect themselves from illness through simple and effective hygiene habits.
Read this inspirational story: Healing in the Midst of Suffering
BE INSPIREDGender Inequality in India
Across India, gender inequality results in unequal opportunities. And while it affects the lives of both genders, statistically it is girls who are the most disadvantaged. Girls, who aren’t valued as much as boys, are more vulnerable to child marriage, teenage pregnancy, child labor, poor education, and sexual abuse and exploitation.
How Child Champions Are Helping Children in Poverty in India
Child Champions help give impoverished girls the opportunity to go to school and stay in school by working with the parents to educate them on the importance of an education. They also teach about equality in schools so that the boys’ and girls’ mindsets are changed through their education. They hold training sessions with caregivers to give them coping skills and connect children and their families to counselors and other resources. They intervene on behalf of their kids in cases where girls have been promised as brides to older men in exchange for a dowry.
Read this inspirational story: I Am Hope
BE INSPIREDTRAVEL TO India TO SEE ONECHILD’S WORK FIRSTHAND.
MEET A CHILD IN India
Read more stories from India
We are accountable to the children we serve AND to our donors.
Our accountability to our donors is one of our highest priorities. Our goal is to use the funds entrusted to us as wise stewards. To do this requires continued monitoring of our fund distribution. OneChild is also a member in good standing with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)
