So many children are in danger of homelessness because of the pandemic. But you can help ensure a safe place to sleep for children and their families.
Whether a makeshift shelter beside the garbage dump in Mongolia, a house with a rotted roof in Cambodia or crowded room in a slum building in India, so many children around the world don’t have a safe place to sleep.
But as the pandemic has exacerbated poverty around the world this year, children are in danger of even losing these homes, and ending up on the streets. Children like Guneet.
Guneet’s Story
Guneet lives in a shack in Delhi, India. He lives with his two siblings and his mother. His father recently passed away. Guneet’s mother works as a maid in a wealthy family’s home, but she doesn’t make enough to feed and support them all.
To try and support her children, Guneet’s mother learned how to sew and began selling what she made to earn a small additional income.
“This family is highly motivated toward positive development,” says Shishu Sangopan Griha (SSG), Holt’s partner organization in Delhi.
But even the most hardworking and inspiring families were devastated by the pandemic and resulting lockdowns in India.
Starting in March, all of India shut down in an enforced two-month lockdown.
“The medicine’s costs, the rent of the house they are living in, and the daily expenses have become a Herculean task for the mother to carry alone.”
During the lockdown all home workers, including maids like Guneet’s mom, suddenly lost their jobs — forced to stay home in order to prevent spread of the virus.
Suddenly, Guneet’s family had almost zero income. They didn’t have any money for food, let alone for rent.
They began to receive emergency food distributions from the government, but this poorly cooked food made Guneet seriously sick. His family had to purchase an expensive and lifesaving medicine for him.
“The medicine’s costs, the rent of the house they are living in, and the daily expenses have become a Herculean task for the mother to carry alone,” says SSG.
So now, Guneet and his family are about to be homeless. All four of them live in a shack, and they’re in danger of losing even that. Soon, they will be on the streets.
How You Can Help
When you give to the President’s Top Priority Fund Campaign for Children 2020, you will help provide the following (and more) to homeless children in India and children in need all around the world:
- Critical rent support for families on the brink of homelessness
- Emergency food distributions to hungry children and families
Give a Gift of Hope
Give a lifesaving or life-changing tangible gift to a child or family in need. And this holiday season, give in honor of a loved one and they’ll receive a free card!
