Diya Foundation is a social welfare and charitable society founded with the objective of propagating welfare of the underprivileged in the society with special emphasis on the welfare of slum children, handicapped, aged and destitute.
The society was registered as a charitable society in India on 2nd April, 2003 under the Societies Registration Act, XXI of 1860. It is also registered under Section 12A and Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Being registered under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976 it is permitted to accept foreign contributions.
The activities of Diya Foundation are multipronged involving support to old age homes, undertaking AIDS awareness programmes, de-addiction drives, organizing health camps in slum areas but above all providing love, care and education to children in slum areas.
It runs schools for slum children where slum children are provided basic education, free midday meals, regular medical check-ups and support and imparting of moral values in order to build a solid foundation to help them grow up into responsible citizens. The aim is to have a string of such schools all over India in order to provide maximum opportunity for underprivileged children to have proper education and a healthy and happy childhood.
Diya Foundation does not have any corpus fund at present and all its expenses are met out of voluntary donations.
Why Nihal Vihar was Chosen?
Diya Foundation has been working in slum and semi slum areas in Delhi, concentrating on providing education and healthcare to the underprivileged children. However while interacting with the people in the area the Foundation has felt that there is a great need to educate people about hygiene and health care as well as make them aware of the impending peril of AIDS. The majority of the people are migrants from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Rajasthan, working as rickshaw pullers, bus or truck drivers, maids, vendors, laborers, tea-stall owners or road side eateries, factory workers with an average salary of Rs 3000 to 4000 per month. They are left uneducated which effect their children too.
Most of the males are drug addicts which comes to harrassment to their wives and children.
Hesitations to use condoms as people are usually migrants from villages.
A lot of myths and misconceptions are obstacles in their development.
