Change the life of a child in need |
Make a difference!Sunshine Kids International, a humanitarian organization, connects people who care with needy children of Mumbai, India. Through a sponsorship program and partnerships we help to provide holistic care by supporting excellence in education, counseling, dance, music and art therapy and family support. Our goal is to create lifelong change in these children, their families and communities by ending the cycle of poverty and abuse. These students then are able someday to make a difference in their own community and give back to the home and school that gave them a new life.
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Meet Manisha
The movie Slumdog Millionaire brought to the world’s attention the plight of children in Mumbai. Friends would ask us if it is really as bad as the movie depicts and we would always answer, for some children, it is even worse…. It has been estimated by Unicef that there are over 31 Million orphans in India, which doesn't include the millions of other street children who have a living relative, but make their home and livelihood on the streets. Each year, thousands of these children are trafficked for sex trade and child labor. Those who are left behind are abused in every way. The numbers are staggering. It was for these children that we created Sunshine Kids International. |
When we first walked thru the gates of St. Catherine’s of Siena Home and School for Destitute Children in 2004, we had no idea how our lives were about to change. I fell in love with a little girl in a pink shirt who had been rescued from the street.
Manisha was born and lived a sidewalk bridge, where her aunt and uncle still live. Her mother brought her to St. Catherine’s as a 5-year old to give her the hope an education could bring. Her mom still lives and sells vegetables in a market and is thrilled that Manisha is thriving. As a university student, Manisha is studying interior design, teaches yoga and leads a Bible study each morning for the young girls at the school. Watching her become a beautiful young woman of God has given us more joy than we can describe. We have changed each others lives and we will be “family” forever.
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