Divya Disha

Background
Divya Disha is an umbrella organization that runs a number of helplines and a shelter for street children in the city. For over 15 years now, Divya Disha has been working towards the holistic development of children and youth. Ensuring the rights of young people has been a priority for the NGO. It works towards rehabilitating the youth and children on the streets, providing primary education to children in slums, motivating domestic child workers to seek education, and empowering youth and children in slums.

Activities
Divya Disha is the organization behind Childline, a helpline for children in distress (1097). This helpline exists in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. The DD team is also responsible for the HIV AIDS helpline (1098), and for Balaniketan, a shelter for street children. Members of Balaniketan regularly participate in the "Rail Watch" project whereby they seek out children living in railway stations and try to counsel them. Street children between the ages of 7 and 18 are taken to either the boys' hostel in Alwal or the girls' hostel in Uppal. Currently (June 2005), Balaniketan houses 75 boys and 35 girls. These children are sent to government schools and also given vocational training.

The "Doorstep Schools" run by Divya Disha help children of construction labourers maintain continuity in their education. These are set up near construction sites and move with the children around the city so that the children are not forced to drop out of school due to their parents' mobile lifestyle. Divya Disha has also tried successfully to rehabilitate domestic child labour.

The organization also runs a "Child Rights Cell" that tries to make school students in the city aware of their rights.

Membership And Volunteer Opportunities
Divya Disha currently gets funding from corporates such as GE, Dell and ICICI. They do, however, encourage individuals to donate both in cash and kind.

While adopting a child might not be an option for everyone, it is an excellent way to make a real difference to a child's life. It is also possible to fund a child's education or his personal items such as clothes and toiletry. Other ways to help might be to donate used books and other school-related items such as stationery, bags and sports equipment. If you own a supermarket or a clothes store, think of donating old stock to Balaniketan.

A good service would be to help the street children find gainful employment. If you know of any small jobs that require either skilled or unskilled labourers, contact Mr. Ramesh of Divya Disha.

And if nothing else, you could always stop by at the children's home to spend some time playing with the kids. If you are skilled at art, music or dance, you could teach them informally. You could also donate an old TV or music system to Balaniketan.