Founded in 2004, Children Walking Tall is a registered UK charity dedicated to helping slum and street children in India. We provide food, shelter, medical care and education for some of the poorest children in India from our base in Goa.

There are thousands of children living in slums and on the streets of Goa alone. Some are orphans, others runaways escaping poverty or abuse. These children originate from all over India and often come with their families looking for work. Many make the long journey to Goa by train, sweeping the carriages, trying to earn rupees as they go.

Many are drawn to Goa in the belief that the tourists will provide them with everything they need, but this is far from true. Street children can often be found roaming the streets begging for money and sleeping under bridges or bus stations at night. They are frequently in trouble with the locals, who fear their bad effect on business. Some earn money by rag picking, or selling plastic bags in the fish markets, working up to 13 hours a day. Some start begging as soon as they are old enough to walk. Their looks bring in a small amount of money, but as they get older many find it difficult to beg; as they lose their charm they are more likely to be classed as a threat by tourists than a child in need.  Spurned in this way, many resort to petty crime and substance abuse.

Slum and street children are at great risk from malnutrition, abuse, illness and neglect. Families build basic homes from bamboo, plastic, cardboard or corrugated iron; making slum communities in any spare land they can find.

Children Walking Tall was established to give these children a springboard out of poverty. Providing food, shelter, medical care and education, we aim to give the children something most have never had before: a childhood worth remembering.

For more information on the work we do here at Children Walking Tall, click here

Shilpa Shetty at Zee Carnival

News snippets (January / February Newsletter )

Health Visit
Junior Chamber International India (JCI) - Mahaprastha were kind enough to set up a hygiene talk for the children. A local doctor and dentist also provided a free checkup for all our children. The talk mentioned the importance of keeping clean and maintaining a healthy diet. Over the next few weeks we will reinforce this message with lessons on how the children can use their tooth brushes better and also encourage them to clean their nails every day which do get very dirty when they are at home. As well as the talks the children were invited to perform dances, songs and short plays. The children relished the chance to practice their dance moves and to dress up in their best clothes. The children enjoyed the day and it was a great way to educate the children. A big thank you to all the members of JCI for arranging this event and giving their time to help our children.

Back Home
The girl who received burns to 75% of her body has made an astonishing recovery and was well enough to return home and get back to her normal life again. Her family is sometimes based in Goa and the rest of their time live in a small village on the outskirts of Gadag in Karnataka. They returned to Gadag where they farm the land for around 40 rs a day. It was a sad farewell when she left. Her mother and brother came to pick her up from 'The mango House'. The family was given strict instructions regarding the wearing of the burns suit and also provided with lots of creams intended to improve the condition of her skin....

The Older Children
It's often very difficult to keep the older children in school, it's not that the children don't like school but there's always a constant stream of pressure from family members who see other children going out to work and earning money for their families and they think their children should be doing the same....