Adoption of Slums

Shahani Trust supports a school run by the Art of Living at Dharavi, the biggest slum in Mumbai, with the help of funds sent by donors like B1G1. The students of the Shahani Group of Institutes are encouraged to mentor the students of the slum schools with entrepreneurial and soft skills.

Geeta Nagar, a hub of sprawling hutments is situated on a prime land in the heart of South Mumbai and has a population of over 40,000 slum dwellers. Shahani Trust has been assisting Helping Hand in Service, a registered Trust with its primary focus of covering formal and non formal education, health care and vocational skills training for under privileged children and youth.

Two Hundreds Lives Saved

Paul Dunn, Chairman of Buy1Give1, helped to salvage the lives of 200 slum children whose school was in danger of closing down due to lack of funds. Geeta Nagar, a hub of sprawling hutments, is situated in the heart of south Mumbai and has a population of over 40,000 slum dwellers. Shahani Trust with the help of Helping Hands in Service, a registered Trust, takes care of the education, health and vocational training of the children and their families by adopting over a 100 families living there in subhuman conditions.

An SOS for Funds

With funds running dry in Geeta Nagar, SAGE sent out an SOS for raising funds in order to keep the school doors open for these hapless children. Paul came in like a knight in shinning armour and immediately donated US$ 10,000 from his company Envision Enterprises, through Buy1Give1.

Paul has a special corner in his heart for the Geeta Nagar slum dwellers. On one of their visits to Mumbai, Paul and Masami (Co-Founder of Buy1Give1) were taken by SAGE to see Geeta Nagar. They spent several hours with the children there and became part of their lives. Paul asked Rajesh, one of the slum children: “If there was one thing you would like to change in these slums, what would it be?” The little boy of nine, in all his wisdom, replied, “I would like to change the people” “And how would you change the people?” asked Paul “By educating them,” the little boy replied.

Thank you, Paul.  By donating  $10,000 you have helped Rajesh’s dream stay alive. (He is in this picture with Masami)

Thank you, Buy1Give1, for being the channel of JOY in the lives of hundreds of children. The sale of Masami’s book JOY helped SAGE to buy pencil and compass boxes for the children.

Dave Roger’s donation of $1,000 through Buy1Give1 to the Midday Meals scheme helped feed the children of Geeta Nagar slums for so many months. B1G1 sends donations every month through Shahani Trust for supporting slums in Mumbai.