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The Saath Foundation · Across India

Hold a hand. Change a path.

एक हाथ थामिए, एक राह बदलिए।

Sponsor a child's schooling, meals and care, fully or in part. Pick a real need, see what's left, and follow your money to the vendor Saath Foundation paid.

Hold a hand Give to where it's needed most

Hold a Hand is sponsorship, not adoption. Why that matters

A registered trust you can check

Trust
Registered in Delhi, 20 December 2016
12A/12AB
AASTS4419F26AA02
80G (now Section 133)
AASTS4419F26AA01
CSR-1
CSR00538908
FCRA
236578456

See all registrations and certificates

Illustrative image: children learn together with their teacher in a bright classroom Illustrative image

Saath means together

Saath (साथ) is the word for walking next to someone, not ahead of them. Children in partner shelter homes and in families going through hard times don't need rescuing. They need people beside them: someone to pay this term's fees, someone to buy the glasses that let them read the board. We make that "someone" easy to be, and easy to trust.

Read our story

How Hold a Hand works

Sponsor a child's schooling, meals and care, for a whole year or for a single need.

  1. A phone showing a child's profile card and three needs Illustration

    Meet a child

    Each child has a profile with a first name or chosen name, an age band, their district, what they love, and their real needs, item by item.

  2. Fund all of a need or part of it Illustration

    Choose a need

    Fund the whole year, or one need: this term's fees, a set of books, a school uniform. Give once or every month.

  3. An envelope with a star and a calendar day circled, under bunting Illustration

    Others join in

    Every need shows what's still left. Other Saathis can add to it until it's fully funded.

  4. Follow your Rupee Trail to the vendor Illustration

    See where it went

    You pay Saath Foundation only. Saath Foundation pays the school, the bookshop or the uniform shop. In your donor panel, your Rupee Trail shows each vendor Saath Foundation paid from your gift.

If a need gets more than it needs, here's what happens: The extra goes first to the same child's other open needs, then to the next child on Hold a Hand, the one who has been waiting longest for support. You'll see the transfer in your Rupee Trail.

Illustrative image: a Saath staff member collects notebooks from the shop that was paid Illustrative image

See where your ₹ went

Most sponsorship programs pool your money quietly. We don't. Sign in and your Rupee Trail shows every allocation from your gift: the vendor Saath Foundation paid, the category, the date and the amount, plus anything still held for that need.

Public pages show category totals. Vendor-level detail is for signed-in donors only.

How we account for every rupee

What we do together

  • Illustrative image: a girl and her grandmother walk to school hand in hand Illustrative image

    Hold a Hand

    Sponsor a child's schooling, meals and care, fully or in part.

  • Illustrative image: a teenager studies at her desk in the evening Illustrative image

    Class 10/12 Support

    Extra care in the board years, so exam forms, fees and admissions don't slip.

  • Illustrative image: a student and his mother apply for a scholarship with a Saath volunteer Illustrative image

    Scholarship Clinic

    We help families apply for scholarships they're eligible for. The money goes to the family's own account.

  • Rows of new spectacle frames on a tray at an eye camp Illustrative image

    See to Learn

    Eye checks and glasses, so children can read the board.

  • Illustrative image: a father and a Saath volunteer sort a family's documents Illustrative image

    Document & Scheme Desk

    Help with certificates and government schemes families are entitled to.

  • Illustrative image: mothers complete a scheme form with a Saath volunteer Illustrative image
    Coming later

    Women Support

    Helping mothers and families get their documents and schemes.

See all programs

More ways to be a Saathi

  • Hands place a donated picture book on a shelf Illustrative image

    Donate books

    Pledge new or used books and track them from drop-off to a child's shelf.

  • Clean folded clothes sorted by size on shelves Illustrative image

    Donate clothes

    Pledge clothes and follow each stage until they're handed over.

  • Illustrative image: children raise their hands during an online lesson Illustrative image

    Teach a child

    Teach online in supervised group sessions, including evenings and weekends.

  • Friends' hands side by side on a table among chai glasses Illustrative image

    Saathi Circles

    Hold one child's hand together with friends or colleagues.

  • A birthday cake and bunting on a table at home Illustrative image

    Fundraise

    Mark a birthday, a festival or a memory with a fundraiser for Saath Foundation.

Books and clothes don't qualify for a tax deduction. You can add a cash gift if you'd like a receipt.

Illustration: at every visit the guardian and Saath staff sit at the table too Illustration

Meet the children you support, safely

Once you've held a hand, you can join a Saath Milan: a supervised celebration day at a venue Saath Foundation hires for that event. After 12 months, and once you've been to a Saath Milan, you can ask for an individual visit, always at a venue Saath Foundation hires for that event, with the child's guardian and our staff present.

Children never perform or give speeches, and staff take the photos.

How visits work

Illustrative image: a woman abroad gives online from her kitchen table Illustrative image

Giving from outside India?

Indian citizens living abroad give the same way as donors in India. If you're an OCI or PIO cardholder or a foreign citizen, your gift goes through our FCRA route: a bank transfer to our FCRA account at SBI, New Delhi Main Branch, with a unique reference.

Give from abroad

Stories, told with care

Every story is told with the child's and guardian's consent, ideally in the child's own words. We share first names, age bands and districts only.

Stories are on their way. We only publish them once consent is in place.

Read stories
  • A chalkboard and an open notebook on a school desk Illustrative image
  • Two cups of chai on a sunny doorstep Illustrative image
  • A young plant beside a stack of school notebooks Illustrative image

Questions people ask first

Is Hold a Hand the same as adoption?

No. Hold a Hand is sponsorship. You support a child's needs; you don't gain any legal or parental rights. If you want to adopt a child legally, CARA is the right place to start. Read more

Does my money go to the child?

It goes to Saath Foundation, and we pay for the needs you chose: the school, the bookshop, the uniform shop. Your Rupee Trail shows each payment.

Can I claim a tax deduction?

Gifts from Indian taxpayers are eligible under 80G (now Section 133 of the Income-tax Act, 2025), under the old tax regime only. Read the guide

Can I visit a child?

Yes, through Meet Your Saathi, and only at a venue Saath Foundation hires for that event with staff and the child's guardian present.

All questions

An adult's hand and a child's hand side by side on a school desk Illustrative image

We stand with you.

With the child, with their family, and with you.

Hold a hand Give once

Worried about a child? Report a concern