Adruta Children’S Home
When I was 16, I departed on a trip to India to create a documentary on Adruta, a foster home in Odisha, India. I had spent the past year learning about the horrible conditions the children there had faced. Some had been found in trash cans or on the roadside at birth; some had been conceived by the rape of children. One was even abused by his step-mother to the point of going blind. Yet, regardless of any of that, they were still so positive, and so passionate for learning and pursuing arts. I was inspired and I needed to help them.
Working with Stanford University Professor Jogesh Pati, we put together a fundraiser where we aired this documentary and raised $23,000 for the children in one night. Here’s my speech from that night!
The result of our efforts!
The newly-built facility for Adruta Children Home in Bolangir, India.