Humanitarian Aid in India - SOFOSH
Humanitarian Aid in India - SOFOSH
OUR WORK IN INDIA
SOFOSH
Family Service Center
Child Sponsorship
Since 1964, the Society of Friends of the Sassoon Hospitals, or SOFOSH, has supported poor patients in the city of Pune by providing supplementary medicines, counseling, and legal assistance. Thousands of patients, many of whom are children, continue to benefit from the aid of this dedicated group.
In 1974, SOFOSH established Shreevasta, a child care center on the premises of the Sassoon Hospital, to house children who were orphaned, abandoned, or whose parents could no longer care for them. Shreevasta works to find permanent homes for children through domestic and international adoption. To date, they have placed more than 2,200 children with forever families.
There is, however, a population of physically and/or mentally challenged children in Shreevasta who are not considered adoptable. These children cannot care for themselves and will likely spend their whole lives depending on the workers at Shreevasta for their basic survival. In 1999, SOFOSH established Preetanjali, a facility to house their special needs children, ages 1-14 years. The space quickly became insufficient and lacked the equipment necessary for the specialized needs of this group.
The SOFOSH Tara Center
The Tara Center is a newly constructed long-temr housing and care facility for orphaned and abandoned children with special needs and has the capacity to house up to 100 children. Its doors opened on May 14, when the special needs children from Preetanjali and their caregivers were moved to the Tara Center. It was built on two acres of wilderness land located in the outskirts of Pune where the fresh air and large grassy area allows the children to spend more time outside. The center, SOFOSH staff emphasize, is meant to be "a home — not an institution" for the children. The caregivers understand this and provide the children with exceptional care. It is equipped with resources to provide children with physical therapy and hydrotherapy, comfortable living conditions, and adequate medical and nutritional care. SOFOSH covers transportation and school fees for children who have the capacity to attend. It is only fitting for the children who will be living at the new facility that the word "tara" means "star." Last year, WHFC contributed funds toward the purchase of equipment for the Tara Center. In the coming year, WHFC will provide SOFOSH with funds to help defray operating costs and further equip the Tara Center. These costs are estimated at $142,000.