Vision Builders Inc

SEEING WHAT'S POSSIBLE | MAKING IT HAPPEN

Forty percent of Varanasi’s population lives in the slums. That's 40% of 1.3 million people.

When Dr. Ashish learned this, he began visiting the city’s worst areas with the intent to help children addicted to heroin and inhalants. These abandoned or orphaned children often sleep in the railway station. One boy’s father died falling in front of a train; one girl’s mother was bitten by a cobra; many are children of prostitutes and drug-dealers. In response, Dr. Ashish rented a building and began a day clinic and childcare program to give the children a safe, drug-free environment. But at night children would return to the streets; there was no way to keep track of them. Dr. Ashish realized that a residential care program would best serve the children.

Dr. Ashish Kumar Singh (physician) and his wife Puja (social worker), both Indian nationals, quit the security of their salaried jobs, left their conventional life, and moved into the slum full-time. The clinic then became a shelter-house, which they called 'Kutumb' (Hindi word for 'family'). By founding this non-profit organization, Dr. Ashish and Puja have significantly improved the lives of this community by providing health care, education, nutrition and a loving shelter for homeless and drug-addicted children. They have developed strong ties with the community and have worked tirelessly to provide services with limited funds and supports. The Kutumb shelter provides for anyone in need, without discrimination. Currently, Dr. Ashish and Puja help an average of 1,200 children a year through Kutumb’s outreach programs. Vision Builders has partnered with Kutumb (kutumbfamily.org), and is assisting with programming funds.

The Kutumb Project now faces a unique opportunity to expand its services by building a small campus near the slum in order to (1) house the growing number of orphans and abandoned children (2) expand medical services to more Nadesar residents, and (3) to improve educational and empowerment programs for women.

Vision Builders aims to raise $250,000 by 2014, in support of the Kutumb project. Please help us raise these funds!

Vision Builders is a U.S. based organization that carefully selects partners from around the world who are native to and living in their regions, and who have already started small humanitarian projects in the fields of health care, children’s education and job training for women. We work with these proven leaders to plan and fund next step expansion of their efforts to better meet the overwhelming needs of extremely impoverished communities.