THE BACKGROUND
From the parched land of Beed, which finds its name in the hundred most backward districts of India, comes a heartwarming story of an activist. Santosh Garje, who at the age of 18, single-handedly set up the Aai Foundation and an orphanage Balgram, the hope of providing shelter to destitute children in a small village called Georai, in Beed district.
Santosh Garje was the son of a cane-cutter from the drought-prone region of Beed, Maharashtra notorious for farmer suicides, lost his sister to domestic violence leaving her infant daughter as an orphan in Santosh’s care. This crucible not only changed Santosh’s life but also of many children who would later address him ‘Baba’. He quit his dream of becoming a school teacher and at a young age of 18, began an institution called Sahara Anathalay Pariwar later renamed Balgram with a vow to provide a better future to those innocent children who had faced similar destinies as his niece.
ABOUT ME
My name is Melvin Benn. I am 13 years old and in Grade 8 at the Bombay Scottish School, Powai.
I have undertaken this campaign because I think being able to impact the life of an Orphan child (who possibly is my age) by giving them education, a place to stay, food, medicines, and other skills for an entire year would be incredible. This will definitely transform their lives and help them have a better future. Through this campaign, I want to create the same opportunity for all those less fortunate children so that they get good food, a safe place to stay, and a great education.
The fact that just INR 2500 per month can make a difference in the life of a fellow student who is an orphan in a rural area made me realise that I must do something about it. Please support my campaign as we can together transform the lives of at least one and possibly more orphan children in rural Maharashtra.
IN THE NEWS
COST SHEET
CHILDREN AT BALGRAM
A VIDEO BY BALGRAM
LOCATION
TAX BENEFITS
Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as BALGRAM is a registered trust and you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT act. Foreign funding is also accepted.
FEEDBACK THAT YOU GET
To ensure that there is complete transparency I shall get a report from Balgram (this takes between 1 to 3 months usually after the funds are raised & transferred to them) telling me who benefitted from the funding. The details will then be posted on the UPDATES section of my campaign and will be in a format like the one below. As soon as I post an update, the platform will send an EMAIL alert to all the funders - i.e. to you. Click on the link on the email and you can read about which child benefitted. That's transparent right.
FAQs
When do I get the receipts?
The receipts will start getting processed about 4 to 6 weeks AFTER the campaign is closed and will be sent to you directly.
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding in India is a relatively new concept & is growing very quickly.
It’s a concept that allows a large number of funders (like you) to fund an idea or a cause or event by giving small amounts of money online. Fueladream.com is a crowdfunding platform in India that allows for such pooling of funds. You can fund innovations & ideas on FuelADream and be the first to get these products or make them come true. You can also do a good turn by funding charities and causes through crowdfunding. When you fund a charity it’s more like a donation & you get small innovative rewards like a shout-out on an FB page or a thank you email from the beneficiaries.
