Santvana Children’s Home is run by Dr. Lalita Edwards and provides residential care and education to 25 children affected with HIV. Forty percent of the children who live in the home are true orphans; the rest come from single parents or situations where AIDS and HIV have affected the family as well as children whose parents work in the Red Light Area (RLA) in Pune. In conjunction with the Santvana Children’s Home, the crèche was estabilished to provide evening care to the children of workers in the RLA.
There are approximately 35 children at the crèche from 5 pm to 10 pm, during which time they get to play, receive basic Bible teaching and enjoy learning and singing choruses as well as a snack. As a result of the crèche, two young girls have been rescued from the RLA and have found shelter at the Santvana Children’s Home. In an effort to provide a home to 15 more children, renovations will soon be underway at Santvana Children’s Home. Dr. Edwards, who is well connected to the local government offices related to childcare, has been encouraged to apply for the FCRA approval from the government which will enable her to receive funding more easily in the future as the Home expands its ministry.
2009 Updates
You Can Get Involved
Travel on a Mission Trip
Your commitment to travel with Orphan Outreach allows the children we serve to know they are not forgotten. In ministering to these children you become the hands and feet of Christ and profoundly impact their lives as well as your own.
Your financial gifts to Orphan Outreach will help meet the physical, spiritual, and educational needs of children living in orphanages and substandard situations around the world.
Current Leader - Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh
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Compulsory Education - 6 to 14 years
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Literacy - 73% (male); 48% (female)
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Religion - Hindu (80%), Muslim (14%),
Christian (2%), other (6%)
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India is located in Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan.
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Although India occupies only 2.4% of the world's land area, it supports over 15% of the world's population. Only China has a larger population.
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There are an estimated 35 million orphans (all of sub-Saharan Africa has 43 million). 9% of all children in India are orphans.
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No country can rival India’s children in need. Of India’s nearly 400 million under 18, over 70 million are child laborers, 10 million are bonded laborers (a form of slavery to pay off family debts), 13 million are homeless, 2 million are street children without families.
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There is widespread child abuse, and there is a deficit of 40 million girls because of female feticide — over 20,000 ultrasound clinics thrive on this illegal practice. There are 575,000 child prostitutes and there is a massive trade in Bangladeshi and Nepali girls sold into prostitution.
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Malnutrition affects nearly half of all children under age five.
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The adult literacy rate has a wide discrepancy between males – 73%, and females – 48% (2000-2004).
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Only 59 percent of boys and 47 percent of girls attend Secondary school (1996-2005).
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AIDS has spread rapidly in India and some estimates have said that by 2020 there could be 200 million carrying HIV.
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