About The Saath Foundation

We walk beside children, not ahead of them

The Saath Foundation is a trust registered in Delhi on 20 December 2016. We work across India with children in registered partner shelter homes and children in families going through hard times.

Illustrative image: children and grown-ups fly kites together on a rooftop

Why saath

Saath (साथ) means together, with, alongside. It's the word for walking next to someone, not ahead of them.

Children in 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, someone to show up at a Saath Milan and cheer.

The Saath Foundation was started in 2016 to make that "someone" easy to be and easy to trust. We list each child's real needs, item by item. We let anyone hold a child's hand for a whole year or for a single school bag, from anywhere in India or from abroad. And we show every Saathi exactly where their money went.

What we do, and what we don't

We do

We support children in registered partner shelter homes, run by government or by other organisations.
We support children in families going through hard times, so they can stay in school.
We fund real, listed needs: school fees, books, uniforms, meals, and health & care.
We help families claim scholarships and government schemes they're entitled to.

We don't

We don't run a children's home ourselves.
We don't arrange adoptions. Hold a Hand is sponsorship. Is this adoption?
We don't pass cash to children or families for listed needs. You pay Saath Foundation, and we pay the school or vendor.

How we choose partner homes

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Hold a Hand

Sponsor a child's schooling, meals and care, fully or in part.
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Class 10/12 Support

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

Help with certificates and government schemes families are entitled to.

Our mission

To meet children's needs for education, food and care, alongside the people who love them, and to extend that support to women going through hard times.

Our vision

Every child in India who needs a hand has someone beside them, and every Saathi can see the difference they made.

What we hold to

Together: You're not a donor at a distance. You're a Saathi beside a child.
Transparent: We show which needs you funded, what's left, and where every rupee went. When we get something wrong, we say so.
Dignity first: Children are capable, curious and hopeful. We tell their stories the way they'd want them told, with consent, and never with pity.
Safe by design: No child's surname, school or address is ever public. Visits happen only at a venue Saath Foundation hires for that event, with staff and the child's guardian present.
Direct impact: Your money meets a named need, and you can follow it to the vendor Saath Foundation paid.

Where we work

Our registered office is in Delhi, where the trust was registered. Our work with children is across India, in any state. We name the district and state, never neighbourhoods or homes, to keep children safe.