How this organisation is empowering orphaned children across India

Twenty-one-year-old Kalpana’s first memory as a child was losing her parents. She was too young to even react to the unfortunate occurrence. But, as she grew older, she started to experience the pinch.

“It was an extremely painful phase for me. The feeling of being unloved made me sad and bewildered at the same time. Since my relatives could not financially support me beyond a point, I had to go to a child care institution (CCI) in Odisha. Very soon, the CCI became like home - a place where I could share my hopes and dreams. However, a part of me has always yearned to live with a family of my own,” Kalpana tells YourStory. 

Just like Kalpana, there are many individuals who do not have a family. According to a report published by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), five percent of children under 18 years of age live without one or both biological parents in India. This translates to a staggering 50 lakh of them. Though most of these children are part of the foster care system, many suffer from a host of physical, sociological, and psychological problems including lack of nutrition, education, and abuse. 

Miracle Foundation, a Texas-based non-profit with a presence in New Delhi, is making an effort to change this. Founded by Caroline Boudreaux in 2000, the organisation not only helps children to become a part of a loving adoptive family, but also strengthens child care institutions to provide the best for them for as long as they are a part of it.

Over 6,075 children across 106 CCIs in India have been supported by the foundation over the last nine years. Besides this, around 504 staff members were trained in child development and discipline in order to enable them to enhance the lives of children.

“I believe that every child deserves to be part of a family, to be given education, to be heard, to be with people who love and care for them. I started the Miracle Foundation with the intention of making this happen. And, over the years, we have been doing a lot of work to achieve this by taking a stand for orphaned and vulnerable children across the world including India,” says Caroline Boudreaux, Founder, Miracle Foundation.

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How Miracle Foundation was born

At 28, Caroline Boudreaux was an account executive at a TV station in Austin, Texas. She was earning a great deal, had a house of her own, and was actively involved in the public sphere. Despite having it all, Caroline thought she was meant to fulfil a bigger purpose. 

Hence, she decided to take a sabbatical from her life as well as work and came up with the delirious idea of travelling around the world with Chris Monheim, a friend who resonated with her calling. And, this was the turning point that lead to Miracle Foundation’s birth. 

“During the course of our journey, we visited India since Chris insisted on meeting a young lad from rural Odisha whom she had been sponsoring. That was the first time I got to meet an orphaned child. I was speechless for a while. After a few days of our stay in the village, we were invited for dinner by one of the residents – Damodar Sahoo. When we got to his place, we were greeted by over a hundred parentless children. Our host had taken in an orphaned child two decades ago and had continued to support more and more, over the years. I was overwhelmed after listening to his story,” recalls Caroline.

While Chris and Caroline were spending time with all the children, a little girl, Sheebani, approached them. A few minutes later, Shebaani instantaneously put her head on Caroline’s lap in an attempt to receive some love and affection.

“At that very moment, my heart melted. I sang her a lullaby and rocked her to sleep. And then, I went upstairs to put her into the crib, and was shocked to see that there wasn’t one. Instead, the room was filled with hard, wooden-slatted beds. I gently laid Sheebani down, but when I heard her bones hit the boards, I broke. Here I was, travelling around the world without a care, and these children were going to bed on hard wooden beds feeling lonely every night. I was angry, hurt, and embarrassed. I decided that I had to do something to help these children,” says Caroline.

As soon as Caroline got back to Texas from her trip, she filed the paperwork for Miracle Foundation.

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An endeavour for a better tomorrow

Miracle Foundation operates on a global scale to empower parentless children through a variety of programmes. The organisation entered India in 2011 and immediately introduced its initiatives in the country.

The organisation has collaborated with the Indian government to work with orphaned children part of 106 child care institutions (CCIs) across many states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh. Since many of the orphaned children are rooted to very harsh past experiences and find it difficult to deal with the loss of their parents, Miracle Foundation conducts a training programme with a view to support, guide, and encourage them.

“We have a bunch of professionals working on the ground in India. They train children at various CCIs in life skills and career management. Besides this, the team also organises family strengthening programmes where they either help children reunite with their relatives or explore a solution by advocating for them to become part of a loving and stable adoptive family. In case the child has a single parent who lacks financial strength, the foundation helps them gather resources too,” says Caroline.  

Apart from training children, the organisation focuses on imparting know-how to the staff members of CCIs because they play an important role in shaping the lives of children. The employees of Miracle Foundation teach the staff members about significant aspects of child development like medical care, child rights, governance, education, and child psychology thereby enabling them to give the best to all the kids.

Today Miracle Foundation has over 66 employees working in India as part of the Delhi-based office. Since most of the funds for the activities of the organisation comes from private individuals the team has developed a systematic method known as the ‘Thrive Scale’ that shows donors how their investment is changing children’s lives. To ensure that the credibility of the scale, the foundation has included measurement standards based on the United Nations Rights of the Child.

The organisation has also partnered with renowned corporations such as World Economic Forum, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), TATA Capital, Dell, IIFL Wealth Management, V-Guard and Blackrock to support their efforts. 

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Enriching the lives of children

Miracle Foundation has given a voice to over 6,075 children in India thus far. Around 687 children have been placed with families, 320 of them have been trained in life skills and technology, and more than 200 have received mental health support. Besides, 504 staff members have been trained in child development.

“I believe that building capacity on the ground can affect real change. My goal is to create miracles by providing love, care and support for every orphaned and vulnerable child by the year 2040 so that they can live up to their potential. Not because they need to, but because they deserve to,” Caroline signs off.  

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

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