See Your Impact Results: January 2013

If you're a friend of my blog in the last month, I want to tell you about a wonderful organization that exists. It's called See Your Impact. When you visit this page, you can choose to donate to hundreds of different causes. You can narrow your search by area of the world (Africa, Asia, South America, etc) or by cause itself (education, clean water, disability, etc). After you decide on what cause you want to donate, you put in a specific share of money. Your gift is combined with other people's gifts to fulfill that specific cause. When the gift is given, you get emailed a picture and a story of the exact person that you were able to help. It's truly amazing.

This month, I chose to donate money toward the organization Sahaara in India. This organization helps young people who have gotten themselves into tough circumstances, in some manner, and need help to get back on track. Here is the story I received today:

Dear Kayla and Raja,

Sahaara believes that every person has a dream and their work focuses on ensuring that marginalized persons are able to articulate and work towards achieving that dream. Children in observation homes are one of the most marginalized populations in Mumbai, India. On discharge, these children are forced to deal with poverty and social stigma, which often results in them returning to a life a petty crime. The Sahaara tracking program of children released from observation/children's homes help children get a start that will help them break out of the poverty cycle and fulfill their dreams of a stable future.

Sahaara staff procures addresses of discharged children from the home authorities. The trackers then traverse through labyrinthine gullies of Mumbai slums searching for the children's residences. Through such home visits, networking with local schools, and providing books and materials, Sahaara officials help children begin to receive formal education, thereby paving the way to a bright future.

Rajendra is a 17 year-old boy studying in the 10th standard. His family is extremely poor and he was involved in a neighborhood brawl that caused someone to file a police complaint against him. As a result, he was sent to an observation home. Sahaara personnel met him there and learned he was unwilling to continue his studies as a result of the trauma and the embarrassment caused by his stay there. The school authorities were reluctant to re-admit Rajendra because of the break in the academic year. His parents had resigned themselves to the inevitable -- discontinuation of his studies. However, after Sahaara employees met with Rajendra, his parents and school authorities, he was re-admitted to school. He cleared his tenth standard and, with Sahaara's help and guidance, he joined the 11th standard at a college in Elphinstone. He is currently continuing his studies in school and he looks forward to attending junior college and making friends.

Your generous donations, Kayla and Raja, enabled Sahaara to provide support and the educational expenses necessary for Rajendra to continue with his education!

Thank you so much for your gift to Rajendra!