The Hope Foundation’s mission statement is that it should never hurt to be a child. Since 1999 they have worked tirelessly in Calcutta to take children off the streets and give them food, care, education, and most importantly, a sense of love and worth.
The Hope Foundation is dedicated to promoting the protection of street and slum children in Calcutta and the most underprivileged in India. HOPE works to effect immediate and lasting change in their lives.
By extending support to children and their communities via 60 on the ground projects, HOPE provides sustainable holistic solutions to protection and development. By providing healthcare, counselling and education, HOPE ensures children in its care enter adulthood equipped with the tools and support they need to live healthy and happy lives.
The funds from last year’s Calcutta Run supported the following projects:
HIVE Emergency Response Unit: HIVE is an Emergency Unit that responds to crises on the streets of Kolkata 24 hours a day; including the rescue of abandoned children, trafficked children and women, victims of accidents and those suffering from physical and psychological issues. A key component in the HIVE Unit is our strong local rapport with communities, which assist in notifying us of dangerous situations throughout Kolkata.
Bhoruka Public Welfare Trust: The BPWT Protection Home provides care and support to HIV/AIDS infected and affected girls, ensuring they receive quality health and medical care, nutrition, counselling, family support, and formal education. Many of the girls have become orphans due to HIV/AIDS and often have become victims to the fatal disease themselves. Specialised counselling and therapies are provided to the girls on a needs-assessed basis.
To date HOPE has helped over 2.7 million people. The Calcutta Run is proud and excited to enter into our second year working with such a worthwhile charity.
For further information: www.hopefoundation.ie
Peter McVerry Trust marked their 35 year anniversary in 2019. The Trust provides a wide range of services, including homeless and housing services, drug treatment and detox services, and under-18 residential services to people experiencing homelessness in Dublin, Kildare, and Limerick.
The number of children recorded as experiencing homelessness in November 2019 is 3,752 (the total in Ireland including adults is 10,448). It is vital that we continue supporting Peter McVerry Trust to ensure those people experiencing homelessness are cared for and sustained as they move towards a home of their own.
Among the services provided by Peter McVerry Trust is the Residential Community Detox, where individuals can detox from methadone. The facility is extremely important in helping people move away from reliance on methadone to live a drug free life and is a vital step for many homeless people on their journey towards independent living.
This is among the facilities supported for many years by the Calcutta Run which has helped to purchase the building, refurbish it, and to pay for staff costs which includes nurses, a GP, psychologist counsellors, and a number of project workers. Peter McVerry Trust is extremely grateful for the support given by the Calcutta Run and run participants.
Further information: www.pmvtrust.ie