With hopes of a secure
future
“I want to become a doctor and help poor people" says 11-year-old Pooja. Pooja had
spent most of her life with threats and uncertainties, in a home that was little more than a plastic
sheet over her family’s possessions.
Instead of school, Pooja would go each day with her
mother to work, firstly cleaning offices, then ragpicking through garbage. “The broom used to be
very heavy, but my mother could not do that job alone,; she told me. “So I had to go.;
Her
father, a hand cart puller, lived with them but spent his income mostly on drinking and gambling.
What Pooja and her mother had earned during the day was spent each night on fuel for their fire and
food for their dinner.
Life on the streets was one of fear and uncertainty. With a shiver in
her voice, Pooja remembered nights on the street. “Sleeping on the streets is a big problem. Men
would come drinking and would fall on us. One night while we were sleeping a man came and slept next
to me. My mother saw this and beat him away.;
“Once a man, took a girl not much older than me
and walked out. The girl never came back. I was also scared that I would be taken.
There are
many children like Pooja living on city streets in India, vulnerable to violence, sexual
exploitation, drug abuse, malnutrition and diseases including HIV and AIDS.
All they need is
someone like YOU to let them know that there is hope for the future.
Through your support of Rs. 600/-, children living in such
conditions can aspire for a safe and secure future
You could be the one to change their lives
forever!
Act now! Sponsor a child today!
