Support our vital work of empowering marginalized women & children in
South Asia.
350,000
WE REACHED UP TO 350,000
PEOPLE PER YEAR
15,000
GIRLS PER YEAR IN SCHOOL
AND OUT OF CHILD MARRIAGE
25,000
INDIVIDUALS SUPPORTED TO ADAPT TO THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
We believe that every individual deserves a decent and safe life, and the opportunity to achieve their potential.
Inspired by Buddhist practice and values, we transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year, in collaboration with incredible local partners in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
With your help we plan to bring our approach and 40 years of experience to the USA where we’ll work alongside partners serving marginalized communities.
For decades, rates of extreme poverty have been falling rapidly in South Asia. While India, Nepal, and Bangladesh have made great economic progress in recent decades, 25-30% of their populations still live in extreme poverty. That is 320 million people, or roughly the entire population of the United States.
96%
96% of children in Karuna projects continue their education past age 14, almost double the Indian national average.
70%
Cases taken up by Karuna partners have a very high conviction rate of 70%
13 million
People were affected by cyclone amphan
8,000 people
The number of marginalized people who are empowered through access to decent work
Read all the recent news and blog posts we have for you.
This past February, I had the privilege of visiting Nishtha to collaborate on planning the next phase of the Sikhai Hatiyar education project.
Many of you will know Nishtha well. Supported by Karuna for over a decade, they have developed a sustainable model of community leadership, primarily aimed at empowering girls and preventing child marriage. I've had the privilege to work closely with them for many years and was delighted to witness the tremendous success they achieved with this project. Now, confident in the communities' resolve to support girls' education, they can expand that work to reach new areas and girls.
At Karuna USA, we believe that real change starts from within—within individuals, communities, and through compassionate action. This year, despite the ongoing global challenges, Karuna’s work, comprising the Karuna Trust (UK), Karuna Germany (DE) and Karuna USA, has touched the lives of over 151,000 people across South Asia. From gender equality to climate resilience, education, and sustainable livelihoods, our mission to uplift marginalized communities continues to make a profound impact. Here’s a look back at what we’ve achieved together.
South Asia has one of the highest numbers of women and girls being trafficked in the world. Around 8 million women are trafficked into and within South Asia every year.
Areas that share borders are often key epicenters of activity. Women and girls are usually trafficked for bonded labour in informal sectors such as agriculture, construction, textiles, domestic work and forced sex work. Trafficking is also linked to early marriage of school-aged girls.
Sushmita’s story is sadly like many others.
Millions of people in South Asia are migrant workers, forced to travel large distances to find daily wage work in sectors such as construction, agriculture and domestic work.
This kind of insecure work is often the only choice for people from excluded communities who are typically landless and rarely have access to education or vocational skills.
Be our next hero.
Education is crucial to empowering maginalized communities. The structural discrimination and abuse these children face, especially girls, in schools often forces them to drop out. Teachers may carry out corporal punishment, deny access to school water supplies, segregation classrooms, and force them to perform clean the latrines on and around school premises. Fellow students and community members may also hold discriminatory attitudes and carry out discriminatory behaviors.
Karuna works holistically with schools, parents and children, providing support structures to enable underprivileged children to take full advantage of the mainstream school system.
