What is HOPE?

The Hope Foundation is a registered charity working with street and slum children in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India.

We work to free children and poor families from lives of pain, abuse, poverty and darkness.

Living on the streets, children are exposed to horrendous physical and sexual abuse. Those who survive are left to fend for themselves, with no promise of a safe future. They are forced to work from as young as five years of age to earn money for food and so cannot go to school. HOPE works to free them from child labor. HOPE funds and operates over 60 projects.

We reach out to those most forgotten, offering…

Our Mission

HOPE is dedicated to promoting the protection of street & slum children primarily in Kolkata (Calcutta), and the most underprivileged in India, to promote immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Our Aim

To support the development of underprivileged sections of society through partnership, support and capacity building.

We believe in sustainable development. Our programmes aim to give street and slum children in Kolkata the support needed to create better futures.

Our Vision

A world where it should never hurt to be a child.

A Message from our Founder

“The poorest people in our global community live a life of bare subsistence, one of uncertainty, insecurity, more suffering and quite often, premature death. There are no safety nets, such as social welfare, for the families we work with. Their survival is determined by your generosity and kindness in reaching out and responding in whatever way you can. I ask you to remember the street and slum children and to support our work.”

Maureen Forrest – Founding President, The Hope Foundation