Tong-Len's mission is to help displaced communities in North India achieve a secure and sustainable future by addressing the root causes of their poverty and ill-health through a range of education and health-based projects.
Displaced families from some of the poorest areas of India have come to the Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh.
Here there are a large number of communities of up to 600 people struggling to survive in flimsy make-shift shelters which offer only minimal protection against the harsh climatic conditions.
Disease is rife and this is exacerbated by severe malnutrition. Children, like their parents, have little or no opportunities for education and many spend their days scavenging and begging.
Tong-Len is a partnership of two registered charities,
Tong-Len Charitable Trust (Registered in India in December 2004: Charity Number 16284) and
Tong-Len UK (Charity Number SC036383), based in Edinburgh, which was established in March 2005 to provide funds for the work in India.
This video has been made by the children at the hostel to show how the Tong-len charity has changed their lives.
Tong-Len is a small charity and with your support we really can make a difference. You can help by making a donation, sponsoring a child or one of their projects, or by becoming a volunteer.
Kala Gallery Online is currently supporting the charity and helping Naresh (opposite), with his school fees that his family are unable to pay.
Name: Naresh
Age: 9 years
Parent/ Guardians: Madan Lal (father) Soni Devi (mother)
About the Family:
Madan lal and Soni Devi have 7 children but only 3 remain in the family tent – Naresh, his 14 year old sister, Nagina, and his 16 year old brother, Suresh.
The parents are now elderly, but both still try to find work labouring on the roads. From time to time Madan Lal finds temporary employment selling icecream and Naresh has assisted his father with this.
His brother and sister help the family, taking whatever labouring work they are able to find. Naresh attended school very briefly 3 years ago but at this time the family were not convinced of the value of education. Also the itinerant nature of their employment did not allow for sustained school attendance.
They have now seen how the other hostel children have benefited and are very keen to allow their son the same opportunity.
Family Origin: South Rajasthan
Family Tent 145 in Charan Homeless Settlement
