India
ADRA India
Serving the local population since 1992
Since 1992, ADRA India has implemented more than 130 projects, many of which have demanded immediate action. This high level of preparedness and training has led ADRA India to specialize in emergency management and disaster risk reduction, among crosscutting sectors such as WASH and food security. With more than 170 staff and 300 volunteers, ADRA India continues to provide skilled and timely relief.
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Santhash’s Story
India
Ramesh’s Story
India
Santhash’s Story
India
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Santhash’s Story
Santhash, a 13-year-old living in Chennai, India, used to skip school every day to pick fights and roam the streets of his native Anna Nagar slum with his friends. His mother, Vellin, was resigned to a life of poverty for herself and her son.
ADRA’s childhood development project in India provides academic support, creative learning opportunities, and medical checkups for children like Santhash.
Through after-school clubs at a local community center in Anna Nagar, ADRA gives children the confidence to think creatively and the encouragement to reach their full potential. The clubs teach dance and debate, tutor children in math and reading, and provide medical checkups and nutritional support.
Now that Santhash has discovered ADRA’s club, he has stopped talking back to Vellin. He no longer skips school to play on the beach and scrounge for coal to sell. Instead, he spends hours building a science project for the ADRA summer camp and has declared his favorite subject at school to be English. He brings home recipes for new dishes for Vellin to make, and he regularly shares meals with his entire family.
With no encouraging learning environment, children like Santhash remain trapped in the cycle of poverty. ADRA has started four after-school clubs in slums in Chennai, which have helped more than 2,000 children. With your support, ADRA can continue its efforts to use education as a key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Now children like Santhash can unleash their potential and dream of a brighter future.
Ramesh’s Story
India
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Ramesh’s Story
Ramesh began drinking alcohol at 18, but it escalated to a more serious problem after he married. “He started to fight with me every night,” his wife, Angala, said. “He always wanted money to buy alcohol.”
Though he had a job as a day laborer, a common job in India, Ramesh never seemed to have enough money. He would harass his wife for the paycheck she made working at a gas station, which she needed to support their children.
Ramesh began beating his wife and children to the extent that they no longer set foot inside the house if he had been drinking. The neighbors complained to the police, but he was consistently let go with just a warning.
ADRA heard about his case and sent representatives to invite him to their addiction treatment center. He refused, insulting them as they left.
His regression continued as he turned to the bottle, always drinking, demanding money from his family, and beating them if they refused him.
One night, he finally drank too much. He was alone in the house when his daughter walked in the door. He told her to give him money, and she said she had none. He started yelling at her, demanding that she hand over her money. When she repeated that she had none, he grabbed a knife from the counter and stabbed her in the neck. The neighbors heard the screams and rushed her to the hospital.
Only then, after 22 years of addiction, did Ramesh realize he needed help.
Once he was sure that his daughter would make a full recovery, Ramesh contacted the ADRA representatives and signed himself into their care for addiction treatment and rehabilitation.
That night was nearly two years ago, and Ramesh hasn’t had a single drink of alcohol since.
“I lost 22 years of my life to alcohol,” he said. “I am trying to make it up to my children and wife.”
Sober and employed, Ramesh now has only one goal: to save money for his daughter’s wedding.
“I am grateful to ADRA for their de-addiction treatment support,” Ramesh said. “I now enjoy every minute with my family.”
Addiction is a problem all over the world, destroying lives and pulling families apart. ADRA works to help people recover and to find an alternative to substance abuse.
India Office
Rafael Garcia, Country Director
Gurgaon, Haryana
+91(0)124-4056634
Additional Information
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Capacity Statement Overview
In response to the frequent and devastating natural disasters, ADRA India has developed a comprehensive approach to disaster mitigation, response, and recovery. One unique component is their School Disaster Management Plan, a program that equips schoolchildren with the skills and resources to form student task forces. In rural schools across the country, ADRA India teaches first aid and search and rescue courses, enabling students to mobilize during an emergency and provide immediate relief. Ultimately, these youth are given the opportunity to be called upon as rescuers, rather than suffer as victims.
Our Capacity Statement further highlights the projects, programs, and people of ADRA India.
Download the ADRA India Capacity Statement -
Country Overview
With more than 1 billion people, India struggles to control overpopulation and abject poverty. Social policies do little to reduce the crushing socioeconomic crisis, and instead augment the conflict. Amid the many natural disasters, widespread hunger, and acts of violence, ADRA India has established a network of support to provide relief.