– Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)

Pune-based Nivedita DasGupta is the country head of Miracle Foundation India (MFI, estb.2011, head count: 55) — the Indian division of Austin (USA)- based non-profit Miracle Foundation (MF). The parent foundation was registered in the millennium year to provide for orphaned and other vulnerable children in approved Child Care Institutions (CCIs) that implement the foundation’s welldesigned education, nutrition, health and protective programmes to prepare them for life. MFI is a member institution of a global network of non-profits committed to eliminate traditional orphanages and CCIs by 2040. Among their prominent corporate donors are G.M.R. Vanalakshmi Foundation and Bajaj Auto.

Newspeg. Following the Covid-19 induced mass closure of schools in mid-March, Miracle Foundation India has introduced a remote education programme to ensure that the children in the foundation’s 17 approved CCIs continue their education. Leveraging digital learning platforms such as Skype and Zoom, CCI teachers and computer professionals engaged by MFI are providing online classes — including career counseling and life skills education — to 11,542 MFI supported children.

History. On the India leg of a world tour in 2000, US-based Caroline Boudreaux, an alumna of Louisiana State University (USA) and a young ‘global leader’ of the Davosbased World Economic Forum, made a visit to a conventional orphanage in a remote village in Odisha. Appalled by the living and learning conditions of eager-to-learn children, Boudreaux quit a promising corporate career and registered the Miracle Foundation in the US with the objective of helping “orphaned and vulnerable children reach their full potential with the broader objective of reuniting abandoned children with their families and encouraging adoption of orphaned children”.

Over the past two decades, Miracle Foundation has empowered 15,000 children in 300 approved CCIs countrywide, and reunited 25 percent of them with kith and kin. Moreover, 342 ‘graduates’ of Miracle Foundation India are enrolled in higher education, 18 are in productive employment and 906 have ICT (information and communication technologies) certification.

Direct talk. “There are 29.6 million orphaned and abandoned children in India, the largest number of any country worldwide. Our children, mostly first generation learners, receive loving, nurturing care of carefully selected caregivers, periodic health check-ups, three nutritious meals daily and a safe environment in our approved CCIs. We ensure they are enrolled in the nearest government school and proceed into higher education. Moreover, they are provided after school remedial education within the premises of their CCIs. For vocational education, they are enrolled with nearest ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes). We pride ourselves for nurturing our children and ensuring their success in life,” says Nivedita DasGupta, an alumna of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai with four decades of experience in social work and child development, who was appointed country head of MFI in 2011.

Future plans. Looking ahead, Nivedita DasGupta has drawn up an extensive expansion plan for Miracle Foundation India. “In the next five years, we intend to support at least 30,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in approved CCIs while working towards reuniting them with their families and placing orphaned children in loving homes. To finance these initiatives, we will be stepping up our fundraising drive and spreading awareness about MFI’s humanitarian work and track record. Our ultimate objective is to eliminate all orphanages and CCIs,” says this committed abandoned children’s evangelist.