The project is aimed at children living in desperate conditions on the street, in slums or in squatter neighbourhoods in Calcutta, in conditions on the brink of survival. Skychildren Onlus seeks to help these defenceless children, who are often victims of physical, economic and sexual abuse, by taking them off the streets and into education centres. In Skychildren’s centres, the children receive education, books, school supplies, and food, while also having access to yoga, dance, theatre, poetry, music and art classes, group activities that can help the children overcome barriers and regain mutual trust.

The centres also provide counselling and psychological support, which is essential for children who are exposed to dangerous environments from an early age: their parents are often involved in illegal or risky activities, while they themselves are forced to carry out small jobs or trades bordering on illegality in order to increase the family’s financial income, leaving the official government school system as a result. Most of them spend their time wandering the streets and begging. They have neither a suitable place to sleep nor access to any kind of hygienic or sanitary facilities; these conditions, in addition to the lack of adequate food, cause serious nutritional deficiencies and various diseases.