Baal What?

Some of you may find yourselves asking.. "What is Baal Dan?" and "What the heck does it mean?".

Well if your scratching your head in wonder, wonder no more, because you're about to learn that Baal Dan is something wonderful!

In Hindi, "Baal" means "Child" and "Dan" means "Donation". But these two words put together mean so much more, as they are the name of a fantastic charity started by a dear friend of mine, Tanya Pinto.

Tanya was inspired to start Baal Dan, in 2005, after a 3 month sabbatical in Calcutta where she volunteered at Mother Teresa's orphanage. She saw many children, even babies, who lived on the streets. Begging, sleeping on pavements, foraging through trash looking for things to play with.

However what surprised her most was how these little children were so playful and full of life, despite their extreme poverty.

Her mission for Baal Dan is to help these street children, slum children and orphans in Inida as directly and efficiently as possible, while also investing in ways to provide them with an education.

I myself have been inspired by not only Tanya's story and mission, but by the children themselves. If only we could all see the beauty in life despite what terrible things may surround us!

I hope you continue to follow my blog and that you too are inspired to help these wonderful children of India.