"Mithra" means Friend. Friendship, equality and fraternity are the basic principles on which Mithra initiated its programs in the slums and pavement of Bangalore City. Since 1995 it has operated in the northeast part of the city covering around 60,000 population, facing its failures among the families, women and children and also feeling proud of its achievements. Mithra Foundation is an independent, secular, voluntary organization working both at micro level with the urban poor and at macro level with the local government, national &  international agencies.

Mithra needs your support! Funding requests (September 2008)… Education and Empowerment for Underprivileged Children. Requested: $ 63,907 Empowerment of Girl Children through Education. Requested: $ 20,000 Summer Camp for the Empowerment of Children at High Risk Requested: $ 3,150

Mithra Foundation was started in 1992 by Dr. Joe Rosario based on the experience of his PhD thesis. He worked with the poor children living in Sriramapuram slums. He witnessed that these underprivileged children are denied basic rights and are susceptible to all forms of abuse. On account of this, their developmental process is impaired, including their ability to learn. So Dr. Joe Rosario along with few more doctors from NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) initiated a program for the slum children called “cognitive skills stimulation”. By this the children are trained to acquire the foundational skills to cope with demands of life and become active participants in their own development, including their early education. In 1995 Mithra Foundation was officially registered.

A classroom at Mithra School.

Mithra's aim is to empower the most vulnerable people and facilitate their struggle against poverty, failures, injustices and exploitation. The focus groups are the migrants settled in the slums. Among these slum dwellers, women and the children are given priority.

Mithra’s programs are community based. We believe that unless we walk with the people, the help being extended will never be sustainable.

Slum Based Activities

There are currently twelve slum communities with which Mithra is engaged. For each of these communities Mithra’s staff go to the people and works with them. Some of the field-based activities are:

1. The pre-schools, called Cognitive Stimulation Program.
2. Supplementary Education for a wide age-range of children
3. Community programs: Children’s Day, Anti-child labour day, Human rights day, Women’s day.
4. Relief and rehabilitation of disabled children by animators.
5. Educational or recreational activities for the child workers.
6. An alternative school for the underprivileged.
7. The women’s sangam in action
8. Microcredit & Micro-enterprise.
9. Vocational skills training in tailoring & garment finishing, Computers, etc.
10. Pre-primary Teachers&squo; training.
11. Rehabilitation of the Tsunami affected families.
12. Human Rights Education program — Karnataka.

The children’s programs

Mithra’s educational program for the children consists of:

1. Pre-school program in the slums for 4-6 year-old kids.
2. Supplementary classes for older children in all the slums. (6-15 years).
3. Education of the child Workers. (6-15 years )
4. Alternative education for the underprivileged – Primary school.
5. Support to Girl children and Dalit children

Mithra receives support from all its friends, donors, corporate
houses, local communities, visitors, volunteers, staff and the
advisory committee members.

Mithra's programs are managed by a team of 42 staff, both full and part time and most of whom are women. The overall direction is given by the advisory committee consisting of thirteen members. The day to day running of the program is looked after by Joe Rosario, the Director of Mithra.

Contact:
Bella
No. 290/7, 2nd Cross,Venkataramiah Layout
Ramamurthynagar Main Road, Banaswadi, Bangalore - 560 043
Karnataka, India.

Website: http://mithrafoundation.org/
Email: mithrafoundation95@yahoo.com