The Miracle Foundation is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization founded in 2000, focused on empowering orphans in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 to reach their full potential, one child at a time. By creating a family-style living environment for each of the 500 orphans currently in their care, this secular organization goes beyond just providing children with their basic rights. The Miracle Foundation’s model of family-style Children’s Villages guarantees that each orphan has nutritious food, high-quality healthcare, a college-prep education (including English proficiency and computer literacy), and, most importantly, a long-term relationship with a trained Housemother who provides a stable, loving, nurturing home. The funding for the care of each child is primarily achieved through one-to-one child sponsorship

Child sponsorship

Child sponsorship allows an individual, typically in a developed country, to sponsor, or fund a child in a developing country until the child becomes self-sufficient. This could mean financially supporting the education, health or security of the sponsored child, or in some cases all of these...

  and individual donations.

Location

The Miracle Foundation's US offices operate out of Austin, Texas. Its India headquarters is based in Delhi. As of August 2009, The Miracle Foundation operates three children’s homes and one home for single mothers. All of the homes are located in the states of Orissa and Jharkhand in eastern India, one of the most impoverished regions in the country.

Mission/Operations

With its mission to “empower orphans to reach their full potential—one child at a time,” The Miracle Foundation provides the orphans in their care with a loving, nurturing environment in which the children can thrive. Like all charities, The Miracle Foundation relies on public generosity to carry out their work, which includes: long-term, one-to-one sponsorship of a child, individual donations, or traveling to the orphanages via The Miracle Foundation’s Voluntourism program. As a small non-profit organization with a large number of volunteers and very few employees, TMF has kept overhead low, resulting in a large percentage of donations going to direct care of orphans, rather than administrative costs. In 2008, 83% of all donations went towards program services, 12% went to operations and 5% went to fundraising

Fundraising

Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...

.

Orphan Crisis

In 2007, there were 25 million orphans in India, according to UNICEF. However, only 3,332 adoptions (853 international, 2479 domestic) took place in 2006. The impact of HIV/AIDS  on the orphan population is not yet fully known, but a recent Info Change India news feature claims that "India is home to the largest number of AIDS orphans in the world." UNICEF believes that the number of orphans will continue to rise globally due to HIV/AIDS. UNICEF sees India's increasing orphan population as symptomatic of a global orphan crisis.

The Miracle Foundation's Homes

The Miracle Foundation owns and manages each of its Children’s Homes in India, ensuring complete transparency and accountability. They are located in:

• Rourkela—Birmitrapur, Orissa, India—home to approximately 105 children.

• Sooch Village—Ranchi, Jharkhand, India—home to approximately 145 children

• Bhawani—Jharsuguda, Orissa, India—home to approximately 250 children

• Simdega Home for Single Mothers—Simdega, Jharkhand, India—home to10 single mothers and 17 infants

The Miracle Foundation's Work

The Miracle Foundation has instituted a variety of initiatives, which directly address the children’s emotional and educational needs. The Miracle Foundation has also created several community programs that address orphan prevention, maternal/infant mortality rates, and computer literacy, while also helping to strengthen the ties between the children and their surrounding community. These programs include opening their doors to village children for nutritious meals and education; providing the local community access to computer training; and a safe home for single mothers and their newborn children.
Emphasis: The Miracle Foundation’s model emphasizes family units, both through the family-style living environment at the orphanages and the child sponsorship program. Housemothers are the head of each family unit and, therefore, a key component of the model. Through a partnership with [Guild of Service]http://www.guildofserviceni.com/, The Miracle Foundation hires widows and single mothers who have been properly trained to serve as Housemothers. With a 10 to 1 ratio of children to Housemothers, the children receive consistent, loving care and a foundation for attachment—something that most orphans are denied.

Education: Additionally, The Miracle Foundation has a comprehensive education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

 plan for the orphans in their care. The plan includes college-prep courses, English proficiency, computer literacy, and guidance for the orphans in choosing and following a career path.

Ways to Get Involved

The Miracle Foundation has created several programs that enable interested and committed people to support their mission, as well as receive the benefits inherent in making a difference in others’ lives. These programs include:

Sponsorship Program: The Miracle Foundation provides a monthly giving program that connects Sponsors directly with an individual child. Sponsors can become a global parent by providing financial support, as well as emotional support through the exchange of letters and pictures, and, if they desire, by visiting their child in India. In return, Sponsors receive letters, pictures, drawings, report cards, and video e-mails periodically throughout the year.

Voluntourism Program: The Miracle Foundation organizes approximately three trips per year to India, providing Voluntourists with the life-changing opportunity to visit The Miracle Foundation’s homes and spend significant time with the children. In addition to serving the children in need, travelers in the Voluntourism program also have the opportunity to experience the unique culture of India and to visit some its most famous sites.

Ambassador Program: The Miracle Foundation Ambassadors are volunteers who have traveled to India to visit the orphanages. Upon their return, they are moved to continue to serve the children by sharing their experiences with others, encouraging them to get involved and also support The Miracle Foundation’s mission.

History

In 1999, Caroline Boudreaux, founder of The Miracle Foundation, and her friend Christine Poynor set off on a trip around the world. In May 2000, they arrived in India, where for five years prior, Poynor had sponsored a young boy. She wanted to meet him and was pleased to discover he was exactly as his letters had described him, and that he had, indeed, received all of her money and letters. Although the assistance the young boy had received was helping him, the women were horrified by the sheer extent of the poverty and problems facing the many orphans of India.
Boudreaux and Poynor later visited a home for orphaned children, when a little girl named Sheebani came up to Boudreaux and rested her head on her knee. Upon putting Sheebani to bed, Boudreaux discovered that Sheebani slept on wooden slats without any pillows, blankets or mattresses. Boudreaux states that her life changed when she heard Sheebani's bones knock against the wood of her 'bed'. The Miracle Foundation was established that day, May 14, 2000, Mother's Day in the U.S. Upon her return to the states, Boudreaux started The Miracle Foundation and fundamentally redirected the future possibilities for each of the 500 children currently living under the care of The Miracle Foundation.