Question 1

What is Hope House?

Answer

It is a registered public charitable trust in India catering to provide care and protection to the needy and the vulnerable children.

Question 2

What is the registration structure of the Hope House?

Answer

It is a registered public charitable trust (under Indian Trusts Act) in Vellore, Tamilnadu (registration number: 1268 of 2004). Our registered office is located in Vellore and we have nine board of trustees to govern the organization's activities.

Question 3

What operations does the Hope House engage in?

Answer

Are of our focus is children and the approach that we follow is 'rights based'. Boardly our activities are devided into two categories namely 'institutional' and 'non-institutional' care. In institutional care, we take in children that need care and protection and cater to their needs till they are reintegrated in to their communities. Our institutional care services are redered at our facility in Karigiri. In non-institutinoal care service category, we again cater to the needs of chidlren that need care and protection but can be remained in their own communities by extending needed help to them. Currently we have three projects. 1. COP (Community Outreach Program). This program is meant for the families that are burdened with HIV/ Disability/ Child Labor and Tuberculosis. 2. FLYTE (Financial literacy & LIfeskills among Youth through Training and Empowerment) 3. Project YUVA (Project for the Young people to Understand and Verbalize Adolescence) in partnership with Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore and Childline India Foundation (CIF), Mumbai.

Question 4

What is 'rights based approach' that you talked above?

Answer

Every child in this universe has rights and Indian law accords different rights under it's constitution and also in a specific law called "Juvenile and Justice Act" . In all our operations, we try to introduce innovative methodologies to nurture chidlren without violating any of their rights. For example, children have the right to protection and we have robust child protection policy in place where our staff have to give an undertaking (at the time of recruitiment) to state that they wouldn't engage in any kind of activities that would violate the rights to protection. We also understand that rights come with responsibilities so we help children in a balanced way to understand their rights and responsibilities.

Question 5

What sort of accountability standards do you follow?

Answer

Hope House adheres to and follows high standards of accountability, transperancy and governance. Hope House is listed as a "GiveAssured" NGO of GiveIndia - a premiere fundraising platform of India, that requires that we comply with the high standards for accountability, transperancy and governnce. GiveIndia requires that we renew each year.

Question 6

Where do you get your resources to run the operations?

Answer

Majority of our donations are very small (Rs. 50) and they come from Indians. We have India's incom tax exempt status (80G) to give to the Indian donors Small percentage of our funds do come from the donors abroad: 1. We have tax exempt status in the US through third party agreements. For example, we have an understanding with GiveIndia which has their own 501c3 status in the US to raise funds on our behalf. Also, we have a intermediary agreement with a non-profit of the US called "Hope House International" to raise funds in the US on our behalf. 2. We have an understanding with GiveIndia which has a UK tax exempt status (GiftAid) to raise funds in UK on our behalf. 3. We have an understanding with DIZ, Frankfurt which has Germany's tax exempt status to raise funds in Germany on our behalf.

Question 7

Do you have 80G (tax exampt status), FCRA and Darpan registration?

Answer

Yes, we do. 1. 80G exempt status number is: DIT(E) No. 2 (740) 05 - 06 2. FCRA registration number: 075980304 (Nature: Social. Renewal is due on 31/10/2021) 3. Darpan Unique ID: TN/2017/0155020

Question 8

What is the current area of focus of work of Hope House?

Answer

Children. In Indian law a child is defined as "anyone that has not attained the age of 18"

Question 9

What is the geographical area of your work right now?

Answer

Three districts in the state of Tamilnadu - Vellore, Thirupathur and Ranipet Districts.

Question 10

What is 'Community Outreach Program' (COP)?

Answer

It is a program of the Hope House where we extend assistance for four vulnerable groups (HIV, Disability, Child Labor and Tuberculosis) of children and their families to purchase groceries so that children need not be institutinalized. It is similar 'sponsorship' in JJ Act. Currently we support 25 families.

Question 11

What is 'Project YUVA'?

Answer

YUVA is an acronym that stands for Youngsters Understanding & Verbalizing Adolescence. It is a collobrative project between the Hope House, Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, and Childlilne India Foundation (CIF), Mumbai, for promoting adolescent health.

Question 12

What is Project YUVA's geographical area?

Answer

Currently, we plan to address the issue of adolescent health in Vellore district (in schools and in the communities) but we are developing digital tools (mobile app, information call center, youtube channel and the web site) which could reach larger population anywhere in the world with the information pertaining to adolescent health.

Question 13

What are the distinct roles of each of the three partners of Project YUVA?

Answer

Christian Medical College (CMC): It is a tertiary level hospital with the adolescent health sub-speciality in child health department. They will be developing content that will have to be delivered to the adolescents in the schools and in the communities. They will also oversee the accuracy of information if developed by others. The Hope House (THH): Above developed content will be delivered in the schools and in the communities by the Hope House. Childline India Foundation (CIF): It is a Mother NGO implementing childline operations in India on behalf of the Ministry of Womena and Child Development and because of this partnership, there is a wider acceptance at the Governmental level. It is our hope that working in the Government schools and in the communities becomes easier.

Question 14

Is there an exclusive web site for Project YUVA?

Answer

Yes, we do. It is http://www.projectyuva.org Kindly be aware that it is still under construction.

Question 15

Can I sponsor/ mentor a child at the Hope House?

Answer

Yes, you can. Please write to us at info@indiahopehouse.org or whatsapp message at 9629471920. We'll send you all the details of how to go about it.

Question 16

Can I celebrate my birthday (or any special occassion) by sponsoring a meal for the kids?

Answer

Yes. Anyone from any part of the world can celebrate their/ their loved one's special occassions with the children at the Hope House. We have designed a calender for you to book a date which you can access at this link Prices also stated on the same page (bottom of the page). We prefer that you join for the special occassion in person but if for any reason that you cannot attend, we'll send the photos and a video to let you know how it was observed.

Question 17

Instead of donating money, I want to purchase the items that you all need, can I do that?

Answer

Yes. You can do that from any part of the world by accessing this page to see our grocery needs of a month. You can order as much as your budget allows and the merchant delivers it to our door. For the home delivery merchants list, kindly do send us an email at info@indiahopehouse.org or a whatsapp message at 9629471920. As soon as we receive the supplies that you order, we'll send photos and videos to confirm of the receipt of the supplies.

Question 18

How do you admit children to the Hope House?

Answer

First and foremost, we can only admit 12 groups of children (called as "children in need of care and protection") that are stated in the sub-section (14) of section (2) of JJ Act, 2015. Even to admit those 12 groups of children, there is a well laid process that we follow: 1. Once we receive a referral from anyone asking us for admission for a particular child in need of care protection, our Social Worker visits the child's home to do a need assessment study. Social Worker prepares the report along with his/ her own recommendations. 2. If in the above step, the Social Worker recommends to admit the child to the Hope House, the report will be forwarded to the trustees for their consent. 3. Once the trustees consent for the admission, child will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for orders. If the CWC is satisfied and gives the orders, child's family/ guardian will be asked to bring the child along with the belongings for counselling and admission of the child to the children's home.

Question 19

Is Hope House CCI a gender specific home?

Answer

Yes, it is designated for girls. But, JJ Act does allow boys up to the age of 10 years to stay in the same home with a provision for designated accomodation (with separate bathroom and a toilet) and restrictions on visiting into the girls rooms.

Question 20

What is Childline - Subcenter?

Answer

Childline is a project of the Childline India Foundation implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Women & Child Development of Governmetn of India. This program is implemented through local NGO's that are identified as 'Partner NGO's'. There is a hierarchy of NGO's that could be chosen by Childline India Foundation implementing various tasks. Sub-Center is the lowest in the hierarchy that is chosen to implement the childline operations in designated geography. Hope House is chosen as the sub-center partner to implement the operations in four different blocks of Ranipet district namely - Nemili, Arakkonam, Sholinghur and Kaveripakkam.

Question 21

How many employees does this project has?

Answer

It is has five employees - One team head and four team members.

Question 22

What is 'Railway Children' Project?

Answer

'Railway Children' (RC) is a New Delhi based NGO (mother NGO is in the UK) that partners with local NGO's to implement their project to rescue runaway children from the local railway stations. We were honored to have been chosen as the partner NGO of RC for Katpadi railway station in 2016. Since then the operations have expanded to include an open shelter.

Question 23

What is RC's funding pattern?

Answer

Railway Children (RC) funds their projects 100% by advance payment for three months at a time.

Question 24

How many children do you rescue at Katpadi railway station?

Answer

Before the COVID lock down began we were averaging about 60 to 75 children every month and they come from all corners of the country.

Question 25

What are the sequence of events after you rescue a child?

Answer

Once we rescue a child, we produce them before the railway authorities to get their consent to produce the child before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of Vellore District. Then the child is brought to the open shelter (walkable distance from Katpadi railway station) to help the child to freshen up, take rest and have a meal) to have a cousellor's consult and then the child welfare officer takes and produces the child before the CWC for orders. Child could be sent to our open shelter or be sent to any other children's home on a temporary basis while CWC ascertains all the details to make a final decision. Final decision could be anything ranging from reuniting the child to his/ her parents or to sending him/ her to CCI.

Question 26

Is Railway Children related to the Ministry of Railways in anyway?

Answer

No. Railway Children is a registered NGO in India working for the vlunerable children on the railway platforms. They work very closely with the Ministry of Railways to develop protocols and standard operating procedures for their own partner NGO's and others to use.

Question 27

How has your work been impacted due to COVID?

Answer

When the total lock down was announced, there were no trains nor the railway stations were opened so we couldn't do any rescue operations at the railway platform. Railway Children encouraged us to do what is needed to support the vulnerable communities, so, we began cooking and distributing the cooked food to 150 poeple every day. When the lock down was lifted and trains started operating, our operations have resumed but not full fledged operations. So, we are still continueing with our community intervention that started with lock down along with station level intervention.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

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