N.J. woman who dropped everything to open an orphanage in India hosting fundraiser this week
Courtney Deacon Lalotra of Brick took a trip to India more than a decade ago when she was 23 years old. It was supposed to last a month. Instead she moved there to help orphaned children.
The group she founded, One Life to Love, is a home for abandoned and orphaned kids with special needs.
She is back home, but not for long. Deacon Lalotra will host a fundraiser in New Jersey Thursday.
“This event could not come at a better time. The impact of One Life to Love’s work is far-reaching, as these rescued children become future leaders of their communities and countries,” she said. “With your help, together we can make a difference and create a brighter future for all.”
NJ Advance Media first met Deacon Lalotra of Brick in 2019 when Gov. Phil Murphy made a trade mission to the country.
After she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2010, she joined a small research team of alumni and professors who traveled to India to research a type of wool fabric manufactured in the country.
But after seeing the slums outside of New Delhi, Deacon Lalotra was “heartbroken” and decided to live live in the slums. The slums are massive and are “just like layers, layers of people, layers of buildings, layers of color,” Deacon Lalotra said at the time. “It was a rag-picking community, which is with people who actually pick through garbage to pull out recyclables.”
She told NJ Advance Media: “It’s a slum on top of a mountain of garbage,” describing how the dump zone for two cities inhabited by millions of people let off an unimaginable stench in the summer heat.
She quickly fell ill while living there and said she was inspired to start her organization because of the two young children who cared for her while she was sick.
An orphaned girl, Farida, about 10 years old at the time, checked Atnon her daily. Farida gave her food and water.
“She basically nursed me back to health. I asked her when I got better, ‘Why did you spend so much time doing that?’” Deacon Lalotra recalled in 2019. “She said that when she gets sick that there was nobody there to take care of her, so she didn’t want me to feel that same loneliness.”
And by all accounts, One Life to Love has kept busy since that interview.
“Right after your visit to India, COVID happened, in which we saved thousands of stranded migrant families from starvation. We continue to rescue hundreds of children off the streets every day, providing them shelter, safety, education, and nutrition,” she told NJ Advance Media in an email.
“We have a library and computer lab for at-risk girls, preparing them for college and professional work while sponsoring the education of over 400 at-risk girls. We also introduced a sports program for underprivileged youth,” he said.
The fundraiser will include a 3-course dinner and live Bollywood entertainment. Proceeds from the event will go to build an orphanage for the children she and the group care for. Currently, they operate out of a rented facility in Delhi, Deacon Lalotra said.
“Guests can expect an inspirational evening,” she said. “I will be giving a presentation on the incredible work we have accomplished over the years and sharing heartfelt testimonies from our beneficiaries,” she said.
Deacon Lalotra plans to return to India later this month.
The event will be held at The Renaissance in Ocean Township at 6 p.m. People can purchase tickets online.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
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