Bring Clothes From Your Home to “Our Home”

Please consider bringing back some clothes from home to donate to raise funds for a great cause:

Looking to do a little spring cleaning?  Bring any unwanted clothes back to campus to participate in a clothing swap whose proceeds will be donated to Amcha Ghar, an Indian non-profit dedicated to providing a safe home for young girls living in the red light districts of Mumbai. 

Amcha Ghar, which means Our Home, is a local Non Governmental Organization located in the farthest most suburb of Mumbai, India.  Its overall mission is to provide a safe home for orphaned or semi-orphaned girls from the streets of Mumbai and to get them off the streets, where many of them are or have been sexually exploited.  Women often bring their daughters to the organization when they feel they cannot adequately protect their daughters from street life.  Not only is Amcha Ghar a welcoming home for girls, but the organization’s founders Susheela Singh and Anthony Dias have also started a school for the girls as well as one for the community at large.  They strive to get the girls off the streets at an early age as well as educate them and in still in them a sense of self worth and confidence.  Many of the older girls have gone on to get jobs and assume positions of responsibility, providing them with the financial independence they need to succeed and decide their own fate.  Amcha Ghar is a strong example of the innovative nature of local initiatives on the ground.  It responded to a need – a home for semi-orphaned girls – and has grown to become a central institution in the community they serve.  They can take up to around 30 girls and unlike an orphanage; the organization is run as one big family.  The girls have responsibilities in the home, but receive the love, dedicate and care that they need to believe in themselves and their capabilities.    They also have an extension house for the older girls pursuing higher studies, enabling them to focus on their work and their goals.  This organization greatly depends on outside funding to sustain their invaluable work to the community. 

Any clothing you are willing to donate are appreciated.  The drop off boxes will be placed at strategic locations around campus to be disclosed at a later date. 

Thanks and we appreciate all of your help!

The Students of Soc. Forum 420