Anand Charity: "Building a better India, slum by slum"

Anand Charity is an Non-Profit Organization based in California which "aims to identify and provide need based financial support to organizations involved with health care, primary education and disaster management in India." In the short span of 2 years, they have been able to donate over $32,000 for charitable causes across India.

We've been mentioned in this quarter's "News @ Anand," a quarterly publication by Anand Charity. You can download the pdf by clicking the link above, and you can also read the full interview (not included in the newsletter) here.

Passing by a slum or a group of poor children in soiled clothes playing on the streets is an everyday sight in almost every city in India. So common, that we tend to ignore it. But for two NRIs who had come to Chennai to study Medicine, this plight could not be overlooked. Just a few months into college, they decided to start Sangam India, a charity organization, with an aim to reach the underprivileged sections of the society. Since its inception in early 2008, they have been working with the Ramavaram slums, around River Adyar in Chennai. They have ameliorated the slum conditions by providing nutritious meals, sponsoring education and medical camps for its residents.


What inspired you to start Sangam India?
It is very easy to turn a blind eye to the injustices and inequalities that we encounter in day-to-day life, but we have a responsibility to those around us. Sangam India started out of a desire that we, as medical students, should do at least something small for the underprivileged. We started out as a small group giving out food and are now growing into a larger organization, taking on health care and education initiatives in addition to our original aims.

Click here to read the full interview and click here to read the newsletter (pdf).

Thanks to writer Mrinalini Daran for taking the time to write about us and for helping to raise some awareness about the work that needs to be done in Chennai.