For Students, Rural Women & the Abandoned, These 5 NGOs Became a Lifeline

Real change rarely announces itself with grand speeches or flashing cameras. More often, it begins quietly — in a small room made available to someone with nowhere to go, in a timely cheque that keeps a bright student’s dreams alive, in a village classroom where new skills spark fresh confidence, or in a final farewell carried out with the dignity every human being deserves.

It is in these gentle, deeply human moments that hope takes root — and from there, it grows into something powerful enough to transform lives.

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Across India, NGOs are quietly filling critical gaps — stepping in where prejudice excludes, poverty interrupts dreams, illness overwhelms families, and neglect erodes dignity.

Here are five organisations proving that sustained compassion can reshape lives and communities in powerful ways.

1. Nammane Summane: A home built on courage and compassion

In 2020, Bengaluru-based transgender activist Nakshatra founded Nammane Summane with a vision rooted in her own lived experience of rejection and survival. Having faced abandonment and hardship herself after coming out as transgender, she understood what it meant to be without family, safety or support. Instead of allowing that pain to define her, she transformed it into purpose.

What began as a small effort to shelter a handful of abandoned elderly people and orphaned children has today grown into a refuge for over a hundred residents. Nammane Summane provides food, accommodation, healthcare and emotional care to those rescued from the streets — regardless of age, gender, caste or background.

Under one roof, elderly individuals once left alone and children without guardians now share meals, celebrate festivals and rebuild their sense of belonging. More than a shelter, Nammane Summane is a chosen family — proof that compassion, especially when shaped by lived experience, can create a home where society once offered none.

2. The Power of One Educational Trust: Ensuring talent doesn’t drop out

Founded in 2016 by Pune-based couple Prasad Narayan and Rekha Krishnan, The Power of One Educational Trust was created with a clear mission — to ensure that academically bright students are not forced to abandon higher education due to lack of funds.

The trust identifies meritorious students from low-income families and directly supports their tuition fees through a zero-overhead, volunteer-driven model, ensuring donations go straight to education. So far, it has enabled over 300 students to continue their studies across disciplines such as engineering, medicine, law, arts and sciences.

Beyond financial aid, the trust also offers mentorship and consistent guidance, helping students navigate academic challenges and career pathways. By stepping in at the most vulnerable moment — when a student is on the verge of dropping out — The Power of One Educational Trust turns uncertainty into opportunity, keeping dreams firmly in college classrooms where they belong.

3. Sajhe Sapne: Turning rural women’s aspirations into employment

Founded in 2020 by IIT Delhi graduate Surabhi Yadav, Sajhe Sapne is driven by a simple but powerful idea — to connect rural and small-town women to real job opportunities and help them build sustainable careers.

The organisation works at the grassroots level to identify young women with potential, provide them with relevant skills training, and prepare them for the job market. Through tailored mentorship, career guidance and placement support, Sajhe Sapne helps women transition from limited local opportunities into meaningful employment in cities and towns.

By partnering with companies and aligning training with real industry needs, the NGO not only equips candidates with practical skills but also boosts their confidence and self-reliance. For many beneficiaries, the support from Sajhe Sapne has opened doors to financial independence and has reshaped expectations about what rural women can achieve in the world of work.

4. Sanathya Foundation: Sharing medical equipment, easing financial stress

Founded in 2017 by Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Ajayan Namminipurthu, Sanathya Foundation addresses a practical but urgent need — access to essential medical equipment without the high cost of buying it new.

After experiencing firsthand the expenses involved in caring for his father post-stroke, Ajayan realised that items like wheelchairs, hospital beds, walkers and nebulisers are often required only temporarily — yet can be financially draining. The foundation now collects gently used medical equipment from donors and lends it free of charge to families in need.

Once the equipment is no longer required, it is returned, sanitised and passed on to the next beneficiary — creating a sustainable cycle of community support. By turning unused resources into lifelines, Sanathya Foundation eases both economic and emotional strain during some of life’s most challenging moments.

5. Kanak Dhara: Ensuring dignity for Vrindavan’s widows

Founded in 2013 by Dr Laxmi Gautam, Kanak Dhara was born out of a painful reality — many widows in Vrindavan live and die without family, support or dignity.

Through the organisation, Dr Gautam provides widows with basic necessities, medical assistance and emotional care. But Kanak Dhara is especially known for stepping in when a widow passes away unclaimed. The team arranges ambulance services, performs traditional last rites and ensures a respectful cremation — something many would otherwise be denied.

Over the years, the initiative has helped conduct the final rites of more than a thousand abandoned widows, restoring humanity and honour where society had once turned away. By standing beside these women in life and in death, Kanak Dhara affirms a simple truth: dignity is a right, not a privilege.

Each of these NGOs began with one individual choosing not to look away. Today, their efforts translate into homes rebuilt, degrees completed, careers launched, medical crises eased and dignified farewells ensured.

They show us that meaningful change is rarely dramatic — it is steady, intentional and deeply human. And when compassion is organised into action, it becomes one of the most powerful forces for building a better India.

Sources: 

‘Battling Prejudice, Transwoman Builds Safe Haven for Orphans & Elderly Abandoned on the Streets’: by Tina Freese for The Better India, Published on 11 January 2024.

‘How One Pune Man Has Helped Hundreds of Talented Students Stay in College’: by Raajwrita Dutta for The Better India, Published on 23 December 2025.

‘IIT Delhi Grad Turns ‘Dream Catcher’ for Rural Women; Helps Them Get Jobs’: by Sowmya Mani, for The Better India, Published on 5 November 2022.

‘Nebuliser to Wheelchair, This Initiative Rents Out Pre-Loved Medical Equipment for Free’: by Tina Freese for The Better India, Published on 10 January 2024. 

‘One Woman's Extraordinary Mission to Give Vrindavan's Abandoned Widows Dignity in Death’: by Krystelle Dsouza for The Better India, Published on 5 January 2024.