Build a Home for 75 Street/Slum Children in India

Verna House, The El Shaddai Charitable Trust seventh home for an estimate of 75 children, has been started through your generous support. El Shaddai has been working in South Goa for many years; we had come across many children who need care and protection. After great effort, we managed to acquire a home, partially with the fund received from GlobalGiving Partners and renovate it. This home has been started for the purpose of rescuing children of sex workers in and around the slums of Verna to give them a new hope.

The Verna home primary beneficiaries are the children of commercial sex workers, street children and children from the slums. Our field workers from the Stepping Stones and Ashraya Community Centre had conducted regular consultations with the members of the slums and communities in this region of Zuarinagar, Varnapuri and Baina. This has formed the basis of assessing the need of the community and through it we have understood that setting up of a Children’s Home was the need of the hour to see a holistic change in the community and we El Shaddai set about to establish a home in Verna, south Goa.

Our main aim was to establish a Children’s Home in South Goa to care, support, counsel and accommodate children from street and especially those belonging to sex workers and other economically marginalized children by providing holistic and individualized care and quality of life. Presently there are 45 children housed in the home as the facilities are upgraded we will increase the intake of the children. There are many children going through the admission procedure. The children are admitted in a convent School name Our Lady of Succor Primary School Verna Goa, and  are studying in 1^st to 5^th class. As these children are coming from villages and from poor backgrounds they are learning to speak in English and Hindi. All the children have well settled in the home. The children are also finding the school work little challenging but with the help of extra coaching and continuous support from the staff they are slowly progressing. The neighbors have been very supportive and encouraging the work of El Shaddai Charitable Trust, they are happy to have Verna House children’s home in their neighborhood

The setting up of Verna home will see care, protection and education being given to children for their better future.

We At El Shaddai would like to sincerely thank all donors who have generously   donated through GlobalGiving to “The Build a Home for 75 slum/street children”

Thank you again for all you have done to help this cause.

With gratitude,
Archangel Pinheiro

Once upon a time, these children in Verna house had no hope in their poor deprived living conditions, in poverty and in hunger. They would have no proper clothes on them, no place to rest and not even a single healthy meal a day.  These children were living in the slum huts, on the road footpaths or on the railway stations; some of them just came from their poor villages in Karnataka and Maharastra where they did not go to school.

It has been like a heaven for them to come into a home like Verna house. They not only got a safe place to live, clothes to cover their naked body and hot nutritious meals to eat but also now they get to go to school, they are taken care by loving staff and have many friends to play various games and watch TV.  These little hearts are really grateful for your support and love. 

It was their first Christmas and New year celebration in the new home. The children loved the children's party and special food treats and not only that they also got their first Christmas gifts ever - which they loved. 

If you are visiting Goa, please do come and see the children in Verna House or follow the news on El Shaddai Charitable Trust social pages. We hope to have your continuous association and support. Thank you!

Links:

• Please visit the website for more info.