NGO in Ahmedabad, Shaksham Foundation, has become a beacon of light for orphans and underprivileged communities who have long been overlooked in the city’s fast-paced development. In an urban space where malls and high-rises flourish, the foundation works quietly but effectively in slum clusters, low-income neighborhoods, and neglected zones — transforming despair into hope, one life at a time.
Their mission is simple yet profound: every child deserves care, every individual deserves dignity, and every family deserves a future. Through education, nutrition, healthcare, shelter, and emotional healing, Shaksham Foundation creates a full-circle support system for those who have no one else to turn to.
The Silent Crisis: Orphans and the Urban Poor
In Ahmedabad, thousands of children have lost one or both parents to illness, poverty, or abandonment. Many live in temporary shelters, railway stations, or unsafe homes. They are often exposed to abuse, exploitation, hunger, and illiteracy. For the underprivileged population — including single mothers, daily wage workers, and elderly citizens without income — survival is a daily battle.
Government systems often fall short in addressing their unique needs, leaving a large gap that only dedicated organizations can fill. That’s where Shaksham Foundation comes in, with a mission not to rescue and forget, but to nurture, educate, and empower.
A Safe Haven for Orphans
The foundation runs child welfare programs specifically tailored for orphaned, abandoned, or highly at-risk children. These children are given more than just temporary relief — they are provided with structure, routine, emotional care, and long-term educational support.
Key services for orphans include:
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Shelter & Safety: Collaborating with child care institutions and foster networks to ensure safe living environments.
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Rehabilitation Support: Psychological counseling, trauma care, and confidence-building activities for children who have faced abandonment or abuse.
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Full-Time Schooling: Ensuring these children not only attend school but receive tutoring, materials, uniforms, and encouragement.
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Healthcare Access: Regular check-ups, vaccinations, and treatment through tie-ups with pediatricians and clinics.
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Mentorship Programs: Volunteer mentors are assigned to help each child discover their interests, passions, and career aspirations.
Shaksham Foundation stands out as a compassionate NGO in Ahmedabad because it treats orphaned children not as cases, but as individuals with dreams.
Education as a Lifeline for the Underprivileged
The foundation strongly believes that education is the most powerful weapon against poverty. Their underprivileged outreach program focuses on children and youth from low-income families, who often drop out of school due to financial or social pressure.
The foundation combats this with:
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Free Learning Centers: Located inside underserved neighborhoods to provide academic help, life skills training, and digital literacy.
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School Enrollment Drives: Working with local authorities to get children back into the formal education system.
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Scholarships & Sponsorships: Covering school fees, exam forms, and educational material for meritorious but struggling students.
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Girl Child Education Initiatives: Special focus on educating girls and preventing early marriages or dropout due to domestic pressure.
By offering educational consistency and community-based learning spaces, Shaksham helps children develop ambition and break generational cycles of poverty.
Food, Healthcare & Emotional Care
For orphans and underprivileged families, hunger and untreated illness are everyday realities. To address this, Shaksham Foundation has developed holistic care programs that prioritize survival before empowerment.
Their services include:
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Daily Meal Drives: Cooked food or nutrition kits distributed across slums, especially for children, women, and the elderly.
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Medical Camps: Free health check-ups, medicines, and awareness sessions on hygiene, reproductive health, and common diseases.
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Emergency Support: Quick-response aid for families in crisis due to accidents, job loss, or sudden displacement.
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Emotional Counseling: Trained therapists provide one-on-one sessions to help children and women deal with trauma, anxiety, and grief.
As a dedicated NGO in Ahmedabad, Shaksham focuses not just on physical wellbeing but on mental resilience and emotional healing, which are often ignored in low-income communities.
Women-Led Change in Poor Communities
The foundation believes empowering mothers leads to safer children. That’s why many of Shaksham’s programs for the underprivileged also focus on women’s livelihood and protection.
These initiatives include:
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Skill Training: Teaching stitching, beauty services, handicrafts, and basic financial literacy.
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Self-Help Groups (SHGs): Small savings collectives that allow women to start micro-businesses or access loans.
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Legal Awareness Drives: Teaching women their rights related to property, marriage, custody, and protection laws.
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Childcare Support: Free daycare during working hours so women can attend jobs or training.
With mothers supported and trained, children in these families have a better chance of staying in school and leading healthier lives.
Community-Driven Models & Volunteers
What sets Shaksham Foundation apart is its community-first strategy. Instead of simply entering a locality and imposing solutions, the foundation builds local task forces and peer-led models, ensuring sustainability.
They recruit and train:
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Community educators who understand local dialects and culture.
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Youth leaders who run awareness drives on education, abuse prevention, and hygiene.
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Volunteers from colleges and corporates who assist in teaching, distributing kits, or organizing events.
This ensures that even when project staff rotate or funding shifts, the impact continues from within the community.
Partnerships & Recognition
Shaksham Foundation has earned respect as a leading NGO in Ahmedabad through transparent reporting, ethical practices, and data-driven models. They actively collaborate with:
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Government departments (child welfare, women & child development, health)
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Local schools and tuition centers
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Pediatric hospitals and general clinics
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Corporates under their CSR wings
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NGOs for cross-referrals and joint projects
Their ethical and transparent functioning makes them a reliable partner for donors, philanthropists, and government authorities.
Measuring the Impact
Some of Shaksham’s key accomplishments to date include:
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Over 1500 children enrolled in formal education since inception.
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More than 500 orphaned or abandoned children supported through shelter, education, and counseling.
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2 lakh+ meals distributed to vulnerable families in the last 2 years.
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800+ women trained under skill development and self-help programs.
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40+ local volunteers working daily across different neighborhoods.
But the true impact lies in personal stories — like that of Nitesh, who once scoured garbage bins for food and now attends a government school and dreams of being a doctor. Or Kavita, a young widow who now supports her family by running a home-based beauty business thanks to Shaksham’s training.
Looking Ahead
Shaksham Foundation’s vision for the future includes:
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A dedicated orphan care center for abandoned toddlers and street children.
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Launching a mobile school van for children who can’t attend brick-and-mortar schools.
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Creating a digital classroom network across ten underserved Ahmedabad wards.
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Establishing a helpline for orphaned children and single mothers needing emergency care or shelter.
They want to build not just programs, but systems that scale and replicate across Gujarat.
Conclusion
At its heart, Shaksham Foundation is a movement — one that quietly defies poverty, neglect, and abandonment with compassion, consistency, and care. As a committed NGO in Ahmedabad, they do not see orphans and the underprivileged as a burden, but as untapped potential that can shape a better society when given the chance.
They bring more than aid — they bring accountability. More than charity — they offer choice. And more than hope — they give people the tools to rise.
In every classroom they run, every meal they serve, and every child they embrace, Shaksham Foundation is not just changing lives — they’re redefining what’s possible.
