About NGO:

Cheshire Homes India, Bangalore Unit was founded in 1961 by Group Captain Lord Leonard Cheshire to support and provide succour to disabled people.

Currently we have a home for children with disabilities at HAL Airport Road and an Old Age Home at Whitefield for elderly women from needy segment of society.

At the Homes we provide care and refuge for disabled girls and elderly needy women by :

• Board and lodging
• Education and medical care including corrective surgery at the best hospitals
• Impart training and opportunities for personal development
• Provide activities at Needle work centre, Craft training centre, Computer centre, Workshop and a Recreational centre
• Provide counselling, Soft skills training and focused industry and services training packages to equip disabled candidates to get selected in the corporate world
• Network with corporates, Government and public sector organisations to provide placement for the candidates from the Home and Resource Centre
• Provide a dignified living environment for the elderly women

All the above inputs and facilities are FREE for the residents which is made possible through generous donations from individuals and organisations including the Government of Karnataka and Indian corporates and MNCs.

Fund Usage:

Cheshire Homes Bangalore has a Home for elderly women in Whitefield. The Home provides shelter to destitute women over the age of sixty who come from the economically weaker section of society. Their boarding, lodging, food and medical expenses are provided absolutely free of cost.

Unfortunately the main cottage is in a dilapidated condition and we have taken upon ourselves the task of raising enough funds to replace it with a new building with facilities for housing 30 elderly women, creche for poor children and a training centre for the disabled. We target to raise Rs 1.00 crore for this project over the next year or two. We intend to use the contribution raised from the marathon to fund this project. (Attached brochure of this project).

Impact:

Saraswathi: 30 Years Old

Her paternal grandmother wanted her dead, or at least, abandoned to the streets, because who wanted the liability of a four year old female child with polio-affected legs? And so, Saraswathi's parents had to move out of their joint family because they refused to give her up. She was 5 when her parents discovered the Cheshire Home and brought her to it. She smiles as she recounts that her father never thought of her as disabled. She was old enough to remember that as they entered the Cheshire Home for the first time her father said, "My little daughter is normal and now she is in a place where everyone is normal"!

Once at the Cheshire Home she had the chance to go to the Seventh Day Adventist School and then to Mount Carmel College where she completed her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. She soon got a job at AOL and became financially independent. Her present job is with Aviva Insurance (WNS). Some years ago she re-encountered her old school mate with whom she had always got on well. She married him 6 years ago and has two young children now.

Saraswathi's real moment of triumph came when her paternal grandmother fell seriously sick. Saraswathi went to visit her in hospital and was horrified to see her ward and treatment conditions and the fact that none of the other relatives seemed to care. She immediately took charge and moved her into better premises and looked after her. Thus, in one of life's happier coincidences, the woman who had turned her back on her because of her disability ended up being cared for by her, thus realising her true worth and abilities!

Saraswathi's message : I learnt this at the Cheshire Home and want to share it with others - If you want something, you have to have the confidence to ask. Secondly, there are many wonderful things in life but Education is a person's best companion, so grab every chance to educate yourself.

Page Url :
http://www.unitedwaymumbai.org/ngo204_cheshirehomeblr.htm

Founded Year: 1961

Cause category: Disability

Our Supporters

• Vivek Ganesh Pai
• Nilima Vivek Pai
• Vivek Kudva