How can you help to break the cycle of poverty and make a difference in the lives of more children like those portrayed in Born into Brothels?

Kids With Cameras plans to break ground in late 2009/early 2010 to construct Hope House (Asha Niwas). This will be a nurturing home where up to 100 girls from Calcutta's red light district can come to live, learn, and grow.

Thanks to the generosity of our early supporters, we have raised $400,000 toward our $1 million campaign goal.

We recently finalized the purchase of a stunning 3.4 acre property in Calcutta and need $600,000 to cover the costs of materials and labor to construct the building.

Hope House will serve as a safe haven, offering support services and programs that will help these children develop the strength and skills to change their own circumstances while remaining connected to their families. The children who live in Hope House will receive a free, first-rate education through high school, courtesy of the Buntain Foundation, which owns and operates 100 schools in India. The Buntain Foundation will also manage and staff the home.

Art will play a central role – as it did in the film – assisted by nature: there will be artists-in-residence and gardens to tend - a far cry from the squalid rooms and chaotic conditions of the congested red light district. The idea is to develop a model "home" that can be replicated elsewhere.

We are grateful to Studio Mumbai Architects for their pro-bono services to design the home. Other donated services include engineering (Price & Myers) and landscaping (Pocock Design Environment Limited).

With your help, we can raise the final 60% of our goal. Please donate generously  and note "Hope House".

To inquire about Hope House naming opportunities, please contact Missy Globerman Dawson, Campaign Director, at missykwc@gmail.com.

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