1) Orphan & Destitute Children Care Center
The state of Jammu and Kashmir is nestled in the Himalayan region bordered along India, Pakistan and China. The State is known for its pristine beauty and has been often referred as the heaven on earth. It has confronted and suffered terrorist violence and a proxy war with neighboring country for over three decades. The conflict has resulted in destruction, loss of life and displacement. Children are particularly vulnerable in this turmoil, especially those who have lost their parents.
The conflict in Jammu and Kashmir has received wide political attention from the national and international community. The focus, by and large, has been on devising ways to resolve the crises, whereas the affected population, especially children, have received the least attention. Government policies on appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration remain unclear. Institutional care has so far emerged as the only rehabilitative mechanism in the state.
A study by UK –based child rights organization, Save the Children, has revealed that estimated population of orphans in Jammu and Kashmir is 2,14,000 and 37 percent of them were orphaned due to the armed conflict. According to the report, the proportion of children orphaned due to conflict is highest in Anantnag district of South Kashmir (56%), followed by Ganderbal (48%), Baramulla (33%). There are 201 orphanages in J&K where 12,716 children are already enrolled. Government supports only 14, whereas 187 orphanages are mostly run through charities with uncertain income. The origin of these charities is local community members in several areas. As per the study conducted by Kashmir Foundation for Organization Research and Development (KFORD) in 2016, for Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice, Govt. of India, it has been found that none of these registered orphanages have received any kind of State support for their programs.
Considering the huge figures of orphan children (single orphan, double orphan and social orphans)in J&K and more particularly in Anantnag district it has become imperative to establish “Orphan & Destitute Children Care Center” for such children so that they grow into responsible, self sufficient and relatively emotionally stable human beings, coz, a sense of abandonment is a lifelong trauma many may live with, and in such circumstances are more prone to exploitation, sexual and psychological violence if not provided with proper care facilities.
HWF has since its inception carried out several activities for such children like providing scholarships to orphan children for pursuing their studies, educational support, distribution of educational material, food, clothing /uniforms along with medical checkups and medicines etc. HWF has already started the process of registration for establishment of residential “Orphan & Destitute Children Care Center”, which will take some time, however HWF has already begun the process of providing support to 35 orphan children and plan to provide residential support comprising of food, cloths, education, health care facilities to around 100 orphan children. HWF has infrastructure facilities which can accommodate 100 – 120 children.
HWF has already identified 640 orphan children through baseline survey and plans to provide support to around 100 orphan and destitute children from its operational area. HWF intends to make a difference to the lives of orphans living in poverty. Many of whom have been devastated by abandonment and abuse. We at HWF aim to bring compassion to those in needs by helping them develop and realize their physical, mental, emotional and true potential. Your generous donation will help us creating infrastructure for providing education support, upbringing, and care of an orphan child.
2) Health Services through Health Camps
The organization has experience of organizing health camps in convergence with health department machinery and has received tremendous response from the local community members. In line with this activity the organization has plans to start holding its own health camps throughout the interior and remote villages of J& K through a specialized built health van equipped with all the modern medical equipments accompanied by a team of doctors and health professionals. The organization has sent its senior team members to study similar kind of project being implemented in other States by NGOs through the CSR support and plans to implement similar kind of project in its operational area.
3) Establishment of Skill Development Institute
Establishment of State of the Art Skill development institute with all experts and equipments from all trades /vocations has long been a dream for HWF. HWF envisages starting skill development institute which would cater and provide all sorts of skill development and vocational training to youths from the valley so that they could not only acquire technical skills but shall also secure their livelihood independently and contribute their share in the nation building process. The organization has a pool of expert trainers and instructors along with long standing experience in the field of skill development and hopes to establish such a skill development institute in future.
4) Community RO Drinking Project
HWF has plans to install community owned RO /UV plant in villages where the quality of water is not suitable for drinking purpose. The organization has received representations from community members from certain villages from its operational area regarding the issue of drinking water from their respective villages. The villagers have complained that due to consumption of impure water they are suffering from several water borne diseases like diarrhea, skin diseases, stomach ache etc. Hence in such circumstances the organization has decided to implement a project on providing community RO plant to such villages through the support of corporate companies.