1m meals for excluded women & children

Rani (name changed), a 7-year-old girl living in a red-light area near our Bihar Community Centre, used to come to class hungry and exhausted. Her mother is a survivor of trafficking who now works as a daily wage earner, and her father left years ago. During the monsoon season, when streets flood and foot traffic slows, there are even fewer earnings for women in the area. With no stable income, Rani’s family often struggles to afford even one proper meal a day.

At the Apne Aap centre, Rani now receives a freshly cooked lunch every day—a plate of steaming rice, dal, vegetables, and puri, sometimes with a small sweet like kheer. The transformation is visible: she has become more active in class, loves drawing, and laughs easily with her friends. When asked why she likes coming to the centre, she said softly, “Yahan bhookh nahi lagti”—“Here, I don’t feel hungry.”

Rani’s story reflects the reality for many children growing up in red-light areas, where families are trapped in cycles of poverty and exploitation. During the monsoon months, survival becomes even harder as daily wages drop and food insecurity deepens.

Another child, Kavita (name changed, aged 9), comes to the centre with her younger brother. Her mother works late into the night and sleeps through the day, leaving Kavita to care for her siblings. She often skips breakfast so her brother can eat. At our centre, Kavita gets her only complete meal of the day and attends literacy classes in the afternoons. One day, after finishing her plate, she whispered to our staff, “Can I take a puri home for my brother? He’s waiting.”

For Rani, Kavita, and dozens of other children in red-light areas, these daily meals are more than food—they are protection, dignity, and hope. Over the past three months, our Bihar Community Centre has:

• Served over 4,800 hot, nutritious meals to 55 children from vulnerable red-light area families

• Provided a safe, caring space where children can learn, play, and recover from trauma

• Ensured that even during the monsoon, when families face severe food insecurity, no child leaves the centre hungry

With your continued support, Apne Aap can keep feeding children one meal at a time, helping them grow healthy, stay in school, and dream beyond the limits of their circumstances.

Links:

• our website with all our activities updated
• our founders new advocacy website