I know that a lot of people are interested in giving but it’s often difficult to decide where to donate. You’re never quite sure if your money will reach the people and what your impact will be. Here are two organizations in India that we’ve personally witnessed having a positive impact on children in India.
BIG DISCLAIMER - these organizations do not have 501(c)3 status in the US so you will not be able to deduct your donation from your taxes. For those of you at Microsoft, you will not be able to obtain a match from MS.
Parmarth Niketan
website: http://www.parmarth.com/gurukul.html , http://www.parmarth.com/how_you_can_help.html
Parmarth operates an orphanage /gurukul in Rishikesh where 100 young boys live and study. These are children that have been abandoned by their parents, found roaming the streets and have been taken in by the ashram. We’ve personally witnessed these children running around the ashram, bright-eyed and filled with purpose.
Project Why
website: http://www.projectwhy.org/support.htm , http://projectwhy.blogspot.com
We’ve written quite a bit about Project Why already. It’s a New Delhi based non-profit organization engaged in education support and life skill enhancement of slum children and their families. We’ve visited all of the classrooms and the women’s center and have seen the many women and children who have been positively impacted by this organization.
I read an article by Vimala Thakar the other day which struck me as still being relevant.. here’s an excerpt:
“The world today forces us to accept, at least intellectually, our oneness, our interrelatedness. And more and more people are awakening to the urgency of arresting the accelerating madness around us. As yet, however, our ways of responding are superficial, unequal to the complexities of the challenge. We do not take or even consider actions that threaten our security or alter our habitual ways of drifting through life. If we continue to live carelessly, indifferently, emphasizing private gain and personal indulgence, we are essentially opting for the suicide of humanity.”
Have a wonderful day 
