Global Education Fund is working with nine orphanages in India. One of these organizations is Balika Mukti Ashram
Nestled in the outskirts of Delhi, Balika Mukti Ashram is a home for children who have been victims of bonded labor. The home provides shelter, food, medical care, rehabilitation and nurturing for thirty-five children between the ages of seven and fifteen.
In April 2006, GEF Executive Director Eliza Woloson had the opportunity to spend the day with the children of the Ashram and she met a very spirited eight-year old named Devali.
Devali was born and raised in a stone quarry in Haryana, India. She was paid thirty-three cents a week to carry stones on her head to a waiting truck. This work severely stunted her growth. When Devali began to suffer from neck pain and swollen legs, her family had to borrow money from the quarry owner. This one visit to the doctor left her family with an insurmountable debt.
When the Indian authorities found out about Devali and the sixty other children living at the stone quarry they were rescued and brought to Balika Mukti Ashram. Devali and the others had never been to school. They had never seen a book
In partnership with Rotary International and the American Women Association in Delhi, GEF is building a new bilingual library and classroom as well as providing ongoing literacy support for these very deserving children.
Watch the video clip of interviews conducted in 2006 at Mukti Ashram in the outskirts of Delhi, India.