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Who does Baal Dan help?

Children in need. Street children. Orphans. Children who are malnourished, ill or dying. There are over 18 million street children in India alone. And over 100 million children who do not go to school worldwide. Baal Dan will help children in India and Africa to start with, however as the fund grows so will our ability to help children in need in all parts of the world.

What does Baal Dan do?

Baal Dan helps children in need by researching, finding, and evaluating organizations that serve street children and orphans in India and Africa. We then work with those organizations to determine how best to help the kids with things they might need, e.g. clothing, school supplies etc. We're working with schools, orphanages, NGO's and even churches to help street children.

What is a street child?

Street children are those for whom the street (in the widest sense of the word, i.e. unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) more than their family has become their real home, a situation in which there is no protection, supervision, or direction from responsible adults.

Source: Unicef definition of street children as cited by Nandana Reddy, "Street Children of Bangalore: A Situational Analysis", NOIDA: Government of India, 1992, p. 2

Street children or orphans can be divided into three main categories:
1. Children on the Street
Forming the largest category, these are children who have homes; most return to their families at the end of the day. Most earn a living for themselves and their families by begging or working.
2. Children of the Street
These children are a group who have chosen the street as their home and it is there that they seek shelter, livelihood, and companionship. They have occasional contacts with their families.
3. Abandoned Children
These children have severed all ties with their families. They are entirely on their own, not only for material survival but also psychologically.

Source: "Police Abuse and Killings of Street Children in India", Human Rights Watch, Children's Rights Project, November 1996