CAUSES
Terre des Hommes CORE Trust – Tiruvannamalai Children’s Orphanage
Terre des Hommes CORE (Children’s Organisation for Relief and Education) Trust is a registered Indian NGO working for children in distress, for the rehabilitation of children with disabilities, and for children in need of care and protection.
TDH CORE currently looks after hundreds of children in need of care and protection who would otherwise be without food, shelter, medical attention or basic needs. TDH CORE runs 7 children’s homes providing alternative families and 5 centres for children with mental disabilities, autism and cerebral palsy. They also support thousands of children through educational sponsorship, community based rehabilitation, child labour elimination and Poonthaleer, a project rescuing female babies from infanticide.
TDH CORE is also working on a Tribal Children Educational Project in Jawadhu Hills for children who are in danger of child trafficking and exploitation. Find out more about TDH CORE Trust here.
SOULFREE – Spinal Cord Injury Prevention & Rehabilitation Charity
Soulfree is an inspiring charitable organisation that aims to prevent and rehabilitate spinal cord injuries by spreading awareness about what spinal cord injury is and how to prevent it among the youth of India. It aims to improve the quality of life for people living with this currently incurable condition through the provision of better opportunities in medical rehabilitation, education, employment, entrepreneurship, sports and social reintegration.
It was founded by Preethi Srinivasan and her mother, Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan, after Preethi herself suffered a spinal cord injury. She had grown up as a national level swimmer and a state level cricket player until an accident instantly changed her life from a bright young sportsperson to being in a wheelchair for over 20 years now.
Alongside a range of programs, Soulfree’s ultimate goal is to create a long-term rehabilitation and live-in center equipped to care for the severely disabled and offer support and training.
Mooji visited the site for INSPIRE, the first Integrated Spinal Rehabilitation Center in Tamil Nadu, India, with Preethi in January, 2020. A touching video can be found here as part of A Tribute to Tiru – Short Documentary of Mooji in India.
*UPDATE: Soulfree can now receive foreign currency donations and your support is very much welcome. You can make a donation or find out more about Soulfree here.
Re-food is an independent, citizen driven, 100% volunteer, eco-humanitarian community charity, working to eliminate food waste and hunger on a neighbourhood basis, in over 50 locations in Portugal.
People working in Re-food’s partner, such as restaurants, grocery shops etc., save good excess food in Re-food provided packages instead of throwing it away. Hundreds of Re-food volunteers give a few hours each week in food collection, packaging or distribution to those in need. Find out more about Re-food here.
Shanti Children Project helps underprivileged children with education, medical care and general well being in Tiruvannamalai, India. The project is based on the good will of Indian and western volunteers living in Tiruvannamalai who contribute their time and energy to project activities. Besides supporting the children individually, there are cultural programs, fun and educational days for the street children in the area.
The Shanti Children Project directly supports 50 poor children aged between 5 to 20 years, helping them with school fees, exam fees, notebooks, tuition fees and school-uniforms. They also help more than 80 children with their studies and extracurricular activities through their tuition centre. Find out more about Shanti Children Project here.
Big Kid Foundation is a youth charity in London, dedicated to seeing that no young people lose their lives or potential to youth violence. It equips young people at risk of social exclusion and youth violence to take control of their lives, and find, develop and act on their own potential. Through their Community Engagement, Mentoring and Leadership Programmes they offer young people opportunities to develop leadership skills and a vital sense of belonging. Find out more about Big Kid Foundation here.
Learn For Life Empowerment Project
Learn for Life Empowerment Project is an international confederation of non-profit organisations and social enterprises. They work together for the upliftment of disadvantaged people through welfare projects on education, livelihood, women empowerment and healthcare and creation of fair working conditions for everyone.
Learn For Life works along three interconnected lines:
1. Schooling – in Early Childhood Development and primary and secondary schooling at the Badi Asha School.
2. Vocational Training – in bakery, tailoring, hospitality and tourism services.
3. Connecting the two by offering training to students and young community members (computer skills, basic tailoring and English).
Find out more about Learn for Life here.
Ganga Prem Hospice is a spiritually orientated, non-profit hospice for terminally ill cancer patients in India.
The Hospice provides medical, social, emotional and spiritual support for patients—and their loved ones—as they face life threatening cancer and all of the challenging circumstances that come with such a diagnosis. The patients are treated in a holistic manner that respects their dignity as individuals while surrounding them with the best possible care environment.
Ganga Prem Hospice is a rare and valuable combination of both excellent medical care and skilled and loving spiritual support. Find out more about Ganga Prem Hospice here.
Some years ago, Mooji visited the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary in Tiruvannamalai and was deeply touched by the heart work that is taking place in service to the rescued animals brought to the centre almost on a daily basis. The team’s intense compassion, skill and loving care offered to the various animals was breathtaking. Mooji felt compelled to support the ongoing work of this remarkable centre.
Find out more about Arunachala Animal Sanctuary here.
Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home
Over twenty-five years ago, Papaji named this project on the banks of the Ganga, Ramana’s Garden. He said Ramana’s children will flower there, and by his grace so they have.
Ramana’s Garden is now home to over 60 at risk children and a free English medium school for over 160 students from Ramana’s Garden and local underprivileged families. The school provides classes from kindergarten to eighth grade. Every child that comes through Ramana’s gate is there because they would be at risk of either being seriously harmed, neglected, forced into prostitution, child labour or begging if they weren’t there.
After 8th grade the children are provided scholarships for higher education. Many have bloomed and are already working at their selected profession or in college. Ramana’s Garden’s vision is that every child in India, regardless of caste, creed, or social-economic background, has the right to quality education, proper nutrition and primary healthcare.
Find out more about Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home here.
In Spring 2017, some of the Mooji Team had the pleasure to meet the beautiful people from Karma Animal Trust and to see the great work they are undertaking with the dogs and other animals in the streets of Rishikesh. So, with Moojibaba’s blessing, we are very happy to share their work here and encourage you to check out their website and support them in their hearty endeavours. Karma Animal Trust are always interested in volunteers and it is possible to make a donation on their website below.
Find out more about Karma Animal Trust here
Our friends Madhan Mohan and Erika Jansen of Regenboog India offer medical care to the poor populations in remote and secluded areas of South India. In addition to their general medical day camps, they also organise and facilitate eye and dental camps and coordinate many programs concerning health education, nutrition, and hygiene. They also have an impressive new mobile clinic: a modern, multi-functional van that is equipped with everything needed to provide high-quality medical care to villagers. You can read more on their website about how they help those in need.
Find out more about Regenboog India here.
Mooji recalls that on his first visit to Tiruvannamalai over 20 years ago, Arunachala – the Holy Mountain – appeared to be a brown and barren hill. Now, an organisation called The Forest Way is bringing the mountain back to its natural ecosystem. The Forest Way has been working for many years to restore the varied ecosystems of the Holy Mountain Arunachala. Now it is clearly recovering its original beauty and power. We can imagine that much of its original wildlife may be roaming on its slopes again one day.
The Forest Way’s work includes planting 15,000 native saplings every year with the monsoon rains, protecting the regeneration process of the entire Hill from the hazard of fire, watershed management, and the implementation of an educational program where local school children are introduced to their own forest, allowing them to explore and plant the seeds of reconnection to the natural world.
PLACES
Avadhuta Foundation
The Avadhuta Foundation, a non-profit organization established to further the teachings of Sri H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)
Visit their website here.
Sri Ramanasramam
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, known as The Sage of Arunachala, is widely recognised as a unique sage of the 20th Century. His life was a perfect example of simplicity, purity, equality and equanimity, born from an unalterable experience of supreme peace and oneness. He was a rare, pure channel of Divine Grace, that purposely made itself available to all living beings twenty-four hours a day.
To visit the official website for Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi click here.
KataKata — Art Café and Créperie in Brixton, London
In the heart of Brixton lies a divine haven called KataKata. A favourite place of Moojibaba’s in Brixton, KataKata is an inspiring blend of art space, live acoustic music venue and cafe, all infused with creativity and openness. It promotes healthy living and serves tasty and delightful vegetarian/vegan gluten free foods and fresh pressed smoothies. More than just a cafe and venue though, KataKata is also a way of living and being…
“KataKata originates from the Cameroonian dialect of Douala, meaning to be creative in overcoming challenges in the face of difficulty. This is what KataKata represents, our culture and character all stem from this mindset, even down to our furniture, people donate and we give second-hand items new life. A healthy meal doesn’t need to break your bank account, it’s about being efficient and creative with the resources you have, this is KataKata. “A healthy attitude is contagious but don’t wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier” We champion a peaceful space for people of all backgrounds and faith. We love open discussion and celebrating different cultures by having an inclusive home for the world.”
To visit their website click here.