As winter approaches Delhi, the challenges faced by the homeless intensify. In India's capital, tens of thousands of unhoused individuals grapple with the increasing difficulty of finding shelter as temperatures drop. As a humanitarian effort, Jas Kalra, the President of The Earth Saviours Foundation (TESF), is working day in and day out to change the lives of many. He is on a mission to build the world's largest shelter home.
According to TESF, Jas has been working on this ambitious project for a long time as it was his late father’s dream to build this shelter home. The work for the World's Largest Shelter Home is going on in full swing and is expected to be completed soon. With the help of kind hearted individuals and a handful of Indian corporates who are dedicated to ensuring their CSR is effectively used in making an extensive impact on society, the foundation is moving forward with the mission "one day at a time, one donation at a time". These shelter home, once made, can potentially change the precedent of homelessness and abandonment in Delhi NCR. Those who’re found living on the roads in horrific conditions, without food or aid, will now have a new home at their disposal. This can not only offer them the necessities for survival, but also provide them with dignity, comfort, and an atmosphere of family-oriented living.
The world's largest, free-of-cost shelter home, has been designed to accommodate over 5,000 individuals. Their Old Age Home and Rescue Center in Bandhwari Village and Mandawar Village, Gurugram, Haryana, are currently serving over 1,000 destitute individuals. Their existing shelter homes function as sanctuaries for abandoned senior citizens, mentally disabled individuals, abused women, burn victims, survivors of domestic violence, and those afflicted by incurable diseases. These shelters offer essential services such as accommodation, counseling, food, medical care, and daily necessities, all free of charge.
Apart from drug addicts, children, and pregnant women who are living on the roads, those who are physically or mentally handicapped, are on their deathbeds, or are victims of any kind of human cruelty, can rehabilitate at the TESF shelter home. This marks as a notable initial step towards building proper accommodation to eradicate homelessness that presently translates into the streets being flooded with destitute who are left to resort to acts of begging, stealing, or simply unsanitary, unsafe, and unhealthy living standards resulting in horrific deaths. In retrospect, the efforts could eventually minimize loss of life and decrease crime rates once they are safely allocated in such shelter homes where they can rehabilitate with dignity.
Jas Kalra, who has personally rescued more than 1,500 destitute people from harrowing conditions on the streets, is a testament to his unwavering dedication to those in dire need. It is in his father’s footsteps that he makes this effort, who in the past, has lead the rescues of nearly 10,000 individuals from the roads and has attempted to give them the proper aid and treatment they require in order to rehabilitate and then be back in society to lead a life of ambition and success.
When asked about why these problems in society exist and why there is an imminent need for such shelter homes, Jas Kalra said, “What we are battling here isn’t an isolated fight. It’s not JUST homelessness, abandonment, environmental issues, or diseases. It’s not a natural disaster or an institutional or governmental consequence. It’s an all encompassing, yet simple opponent, it’s ourselves. We, as the human species, may have many roles but we often forget our most simple yet important role - to be humane".
He added, "All the problems we face today in society can, in my sincere opinion, be traced back to human cruelty. Whether it’s expressed in acts of greed, corruption, selfishness, or lack of empathy. One day at a time, one soul at a time, we must help those suffering today, so we can undo the effects of our acts from yesterday, and just maybe, actually make the world a better place tomorrow.. and if you ask me how I think this can be made possible? Sewa.”
For more information about Jas Kalra and The Earth Saviours Foundation, please visit their website.
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