Working to better the lives of people living in the slums of Pune, India
Child marriage is still common in India: 43 percent of young Indian women are married before age 18. Child marriage has severe consequences for girls, often cutting short their education, compelling early child bearing, and increasing their vulnerability to domestic violence and HIV/AIDS infection.
Undernutrition is widespread among children living in Pune's slums, increasing risk of infectious disease and impaired behavioral, motor, and language development. Deep Griha provides daily nutritious meals and medical care to children who otherwisewould go without it. Crowded living conditions, poor sanitation and hygiene, and a lack of nutritious food increase vulnerability to illnesses like tuberculosis and pneumonia, especially among children. Deep Griha's medical clinics provide treatment and medication at nominal or no cost. India has the third largest number of people living with HIV in the world. Low levels of knowledge about the virus and its transmission facilitate the spread of the disease and foster discrimination. Deep Griha works extensively to combat widespread ignorance and stigma regarding HIV/AIDS. Over 1.5 million Indian children die each year before reaching age 5, many from preventable causes. Deep Griha targets a number of the root problems underlying child mortality, including inadequate health care and poor nutrition.
In Pune's slum communities, school drop-outs are as young as six years old. Girls are especially likely to leave school, as social norms place less value on educating girls. Deep Griha provides these children with literacy and tutoring classes, putting them back on the path to educational achivement.