In short
• Three children's homes (with a maximum of twenty children per home).
• Two kindergartens for 3 to 5 year olds with a maximum of 25 children per group.
• A network of support for HIV+ women and children in the region of Madurai.

We care for more than 150 children, about twenty paid staff, a local Indian committee of seven volunteers and few international volunteers at a time staying a minimum of two months each.

"We believe that children's misery is not a fatality and that we, as world citizens, are able to have an active part in creating a fair childhood"

In Kochi, Kerala, Dil Se started a home in 2001 where about ten to fifteen children live; they are either orphans or come from very poor families and are cared for by our local Indian team. Dil Se now owns a house, which provides stability and long term commitment to the children. A network to help the families started in 2002, which promotes the reintegration of some children into their families or the possibility of training for some parents or just a one-off help in a crisis.

Near Madurai, in Tamil Nadu, at the request of women villagers of low casts, Dil Se developed three kindergartens since 2001. Each group has about 25 children, one teacher and one cook. The children are encouraged to develop their creativity and playfulness and receive some basic formal education and simple hygiene habits. They get a nutritional meal for lunch. The staff is in close contact with the families.

Dil Se has opened a home in 2003 for about fifteen children in a village close to Madurai. The children live with our Indian coordinator who offers them an education in the spirit of Gandhi and a home where they can find healthy vegetarian meals and be in a supportive and creative environment. We are planning to put in solar energy and to develop an organic garden.
In April 2005, we started various projects to support HIV+ women and children.

We develop projects with the intention of quality rather than quantity. We consciously decided to have small children's homes so that the atmosphere might be like a family and not like an institution. The same applies to the kindergartens where only a limited number of children are accepted, so that they receive the attention they need. All Indian staff are people of the villages who know the social backgrounds of the children as they live in similar conditions.

Through our financial and active aid, we guarantee material, food and pedagogical needs so that the children may live a healthy childhood and follow the path that is rightfully theirs.