There are currently 12 million orphans in India, with many more being added each year. Open Arms currently supports more than 500 children in 9 orphanages, but there are more and more children arriving daily in need of a safe place to live and grow up with good care, food, education and opportunity for a brighter future.
Each child under Open Arms' care has need of a sponsor to assure him/her of ongoing support to meet their basic needs until they are able to provide for themselves. At any given time, there are many children awaiting sponsors like you. Unlike other sponsorship programs where children live with parents, and sponsor support pays for only part of the child’s needs, the Open Arms program provides EVERYTHING for the child – shelter, care, food, education, medical, clothing and enrichments that may include field trips, music classes and much more.
By sponsoring a child, you can provide EVERYTHING he or she needs 24/7, 365 days a year – a home, loving care, food, education, medical care, shelter, and a childhood – for just $35/month.
Open Arms supports five free schools – one in U.P., three in Bihar, and one in A.P. – that currently educate more than 1240 children. These students come from the slums and nearby villages and would otherwise never have the opportunity to attend school if not for the free education that we offer. Many of our children are the first in their family to ever be able to read, write or calculate.
With your monthly contribution of $50, you can assure 20-25 children of a good education, books, supplies, even a uniform.
One of the greatest needs in India is for clean, potable water. Most villagers in India only have stagnant pond water or polluted river water for their use. This water is used for drinking, cooking and bathing by the entire village of 1,000 or more, plus all of the village animals. The villagers have no choice but to wash themselves, and their children and clothes right there next to water buffalos and pigs in filthy water. When this water is used for drinking or cooking, they are exposed to many pollutants and disease causing germs. Much of the illness that plagues the country comes through bacteria-laden water.
To solve this problem, Open Arms has been actively involved in providing wells to villages with more than 200 already installed. Each well is fitted with a strong hand pump and a cement base to keep dirt out. These wells make a huge difference in the health and well being of the villagers. Also, this saves the village women from spending precious hours each day trekking miles to and from the village pond. With this valuable time saved, women can better care for the family and do work that brings an income to the household.
Your gift of a well is a beautiful way to honor or memorialize a special person in your life. The well you donate will carry a plaque stating the name of the honoree and donor. Donors will receive a photo of “their” well and the villagers benefitted.
Provide much needed water to an entire village for just $500.
Many of India’s poor attempt to make a living by providing transportation pulling rickshaws. Most are charged very high rental fees for their rickshaws, leaving them with very little to provide for themselves and their families. Ownership of their own rickshaw makes the difference for a puller’s family between near starvation existence and living a decent life. Just $150 can make this huge difference for an Indian family, as it will buy the entire rickshaw and set the family free of endless rental fees.
You can provide a source of income to a family by purchasing a rickshaw for only $150.
The widows of India have an extremely difficult existence. There is no social security, pensions, savings or other means of support for them. If there are no family members willing and able to house and support these women, they are often reduced to the deepest and dreariest levels of poverty, barely existing by begging and scrounging for food. To help these dear ladies, Open Arms provides blankets, saris, food and job training.
A truly lovely way to honor or memorialize a woman precious to you is by giving support to one of these dear Indian ladies who so desperately need someone to step forward, willing to help.
Give hope to India’s widows through a one time or monthly contribution of $30 for food, clothing, shelter.
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