“The one who loves
all intensely begins perceiving in all living beings a part of himself. He
becomes a lover of all, a part and parcel of the Universal Joy. He flows with
the stream of happiness and is enriched by each soul,” says a hymn in the Yajur
Veda.
In that
holistic spirit, the 'Sponsor a Child' program seeks to provide education, cultural
training, and opportunities to improve their health and wellbeing to
underprivileged children.
Since 2009,
we have supported education for underprivileged children in grades 4-10 in
India and Nepal. Beneficiaries in this program are children from low-income
families.
The project
that started in Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) is currently
operating in several areas in India and Nepal.
A journey
starts with a small step. 'Sponsor A Child' also got started with baby steps taken
by a few committed volunteers.
In 2009, a
few volunteers of Sewa International decided to support the education of
underprivileged students in India. They formed a team in the US, identified a
few non-profits in India, and offered support to a few children.
In 2011, we
worked with two of our partner non-profits, Vidyachetana
in Bengaluru, and Vidyadaan in
Hyderabad. Sewa supporters were very enthusiastic of these two programs, and the
number of beneficiaries increased. Respecting the commitment of volunteers and the
enthusiasm and support of donors Sewa USA launched its project Sponsor a
Child in 2013
In 2015 we launched
a dedicated low-cost website for donors to select the children they sought to
support and view their academic progress. The technological intervention helped
us reach over 1,000 children in a short period and energized us to hire
dedicated personnel for donor relations and remote operations. By 2018, we were
supporting over 1,300 students with the help of 500+ donors. Since its
inception, we have facilitated more than 6,000 annual student sponsorships.
About Sewa International
Sewa
International is a Hindu faith-based non-profit charity registered under the
Internal Revenue Code 501 (c) (3) in the United States since 2004. All
donations in the US are tax-deductible. Sewa International has 38 chapters
across major metros in the US. The mission of Sewa is threefold: serve humanity
in distress, aid local communities, and promote volunteerism.
Starting in
India in 1989, the Sewa International movement is active in 20 countries including
Australia, Canada, Guyana, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the UK.