Main aim of the charity

Established in 2008 by Shri Ravi Kalra, The Earth Saviours Foundation has been dedicated to serving the most underprivileged members of our society. For the past 14 years, their team of saviours have worked day and night to ensure and uphold community welfare. Since 2008, The Earth Saviours Foundation has rescued more than 20000 abandoned senior citizens and homeless disabled people off the streets and have had hundreds of patients being brought in from various hospitals where they could no longer support their own care. It houses HIV positive patients, physically handicapped patients, patients with mental health diseases such as severe Depression, Bipolar Disorder, (PTSD), Schizophrenia, Disruptive behaviour and dissocial disorders , Neurodevelopmental disorders, women who are victims of domestic abuse, orphans, old and abandoned parents who were thrown out by their children. Currently, their daily activities and functions are carried out through two shelters, one located in Bandhwari Village, Gurgaon, Haryana, and the other in Mandawar Village, Haryana. Their Bandhwari Gurukul is situated on the outskirts of Gurgaon, stretching across nearly 2 acres of land, comprising an old age home, medical centre, home for deprived women, an animal shelter, and a center for the differently-abled. They have a large community of senior, mentally disabled and bedridden citizens (between the ages of 18 - 70 years). Along with the socially and financially deprived people, the Gurukul hosts around numerous cows (residing in our gaushala), cats, birds, monkeys, and dogs, all living together in a diverse, and nurturing atmosphere. A lot of these residents, unfortunately, are either picked up by the volunteers or sent by govt hospitals when they are in the last phase of their lives due to old age and illness, So, it obviously helps to have doctors and nurses on campus which has about 600 odd beds. Their Mandawar Gurukul home accommodates an even larger community of the underprivileged and will soon become a home for nearly thousands of individuals and animals, making the village shelter home one of the the world's largest charitable shelter home for the socially, mentally, emotionally, and physically disadvantaged. Their project, Karmic Seva, looks beyond mere life, it aims to spread peace and positivity for mother earth’s departed souls. They have taken the responsibility of cremating more than 11,000 (eleven thousand) unclaimed and unidentified dead bodies. The Earth Saviours Foundation has ensured that their cremation and last rites are carried out with through prayers and the utmost dignity. These bodies had been rotting away in governmental and public morgues for weeks on end and were unfortunately not claimed by anybody. The Earth Saviours Foundation, with the help of the authorities, bring these bodies to the electric cremation centers, where their last rites are performed.

How the employee got involved and why

My father became a refugee in his own country in his early 20s, and as it goes for most people who have seen extreme hardships, he empathised deeply with those who had little or no resources. Hence, volunteering formed an integral part of our upbringing. We lost him when I was 18, and my elder sister and I thought the most befitting way to pay homage to his soul would be to follow in his footsteps and to try and make a difference in the lives of those that aren’t cared for. December 2013 is when we first visited THE EARTH SAVIOUR'S FOUNDATION and witnessed all the noble work that Late Shri Ravi Kalra ji and his brilliant group of volunteers had been doing. I distinctly remember that first day as Shri Ravi was embarking upon a journey to cremate 16 unclaimed bodies. To care for the living comes naturally to a lot of us, but I had never seen anyone have that much compassion and respect for the dead. We have had the privilege to be active volunteers at TESF ever since then. I do it as it is an extremely gratifying experience. It makes me feel that I am doing something worthwhile in life and also reminds me that I should count my blessings every day, and twice on the days that things don’t go my way, for there are people out there who have it much worse.

What work does the employee do for charity

For the first few months, I contributed monetarily, and also in kind. I got close friends and family to visit the NGO with me and subsequently, they did the same and the chain spread. However, I soon recognized that a body the size of THE EARTH SAVIOUR'S FOUNDATION would require a lot more hands and a lot more people to come forth to support their cause. Ever since then, I have helped local civic bodies in organizing charity drives in housing societies across New Delhi over the weekends wherein most neighbours donate grains, cooking oil, pulses, used clothes, books, medicines etc on a monthly basis. In addition to this, I also organize plogging runs across the city and have started my own running group where in after every run, we help spread word about all the good work that THE EARTH SAVIOUR'S FOUNDATION does so that we can help them help those that need it the most. Additionally, we also spend time with the residents at THE EARTH SAVIOUR'S FOUNDATION and remind them that above the basic needs like access to food, shelter and medical care, they also have companions in the volunteers because nobody deserves to feel lonely in this world. The workers and volunteers at THE EARTH SAVIOUR’S FOUNDATION work tirelessly to achieve their goal of making this world a better place for the most unfortunate strata of our society.