From the snowcapped Himalayans to tropical beaches, India is truly a nation of contrasts. It boasts a rich history spanning tens of thousands of years. In fact, the earliest known civilization in South Asia once called India’s fertile Indus Valley home. Today, with the world’s second-largest population, India includes a staggering variety of ethnicities, languages, religions and cultures. Its wealth of natural resources and vibrant cultures, however, belie the abject poverty in which so many of India’s citizens live. The sprawling South Indian city of Bangalore is no exception to these maladies. In fact, the majority of children here come from impoverished and dysfunctional homes, where the average monthly income is only $15 a month, and the father rarely contributes.

For this reason, the Parikrma (Pa-REEK-ruh-ma) Home serves as a beacon of hope. It was founded in 2003 as an extension of the Parikrma Humanity Foundation, a local nonprofit that strives to provide education to over 1,000 children from slum neighborhoods across Bangalore. This “end-to-end” program serves children from the youngest ages all the way through to university and job placement. The home’s four core areas of focus are Education, Nutrition, Health Care and Family Care. Its mission is to “unleash the potential of under-served children in urban India, which will provide them equal opportunities and make them valuable contributing members of society.” Children who stay at the home receive their education at one of the nonprofit’s four “Centers of Learning” schools. In this way, these deserving children’s basic needs are met while they receive a well-rounded education — the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so that they may rise above the difficult socio-economic circumstances from which they come.