About Buds of Christ - NOW

Buds of Christ focuses on children who have lost their parent/s and is living in disadvantaged circumstances of poverty, caste discriminated communities and HIV & AIDS.  We recognize that children without the care of parents or guardian are often vulnerable to various forms of abuses and exploitation. We strive to empower these children to reduce their vulnerability and help them grow up to be capable adults in this world.  

Our Vision – Empowering Children, Enabling Wellbeing

We believe that unless children are empowered, their wellbeing is not complete. Buds of Christ works under the H.E.A.L strategy with a mission “to love, listen, learn and lead orphans and vulnerable children to live life positively and with dignity and be children of hope and courage to their peers and to their community”

What do we do?

Health: We influence the care provided by adults and social conditions that the child lives so as to improve a child' health

We do this by

  • Providing counseling for children, adolescents and youth
  • Forming support groups for children without parents and children living with HIV
  • Visiting the family of children living with and  affected by HIV
  • Ensuring treatment and follow-up care for children living with HIV
  • Facilitating emergency support for medical care, travel cost and nutrition support for care takers and children

Education: Buds of Christ encourages children to pursue their education to improve their condition

We do this by
  • Providing Life Skills Education for young people on decision making, goal setting, problem solving, coping with emotions and handling peer pressure
  • Supporting to aid their schooling
  • Conducting spoken English and computer classes for young people from rural areas
  • Generating monetary support for 10th and 12th standard towards special tuitions and for books and guides

Advocacy: Buds of Christ advocates for upholding the rights of children and encourages their active participation in articulating the issues that affect them.

We do this by creating forums like:

  • Vetri Kootam represented by young people living with HIV who actively advocate on issues faced by them and their families at the district, state and national level.
  • Changemakers represented by young people in villages who advocate on issues around child abuse, health of young people and HIV prevention and care.

Livelihood: Buds of Christ aims at making the families independent in fulfilling their basic needs.

We do this by
  • Facilitating support through social security schemes for orphan children, widow pension scheme and old age pension scheme facilitated for deserving families (widow and grandparents headed families).
  • Forming special groups of young widows living with HIV and motivating to the  to aiming towards economic independence
  • Helping parents and extended families access soft loans for establishment of small businesses.

You can render your support by
  • Talking  about our work and share our web-link to your friends and like-minded people who would be interested in similar work
  • LIKE us on Facebook (search for “budsofchrist” and you will be able to locate our page). Follow us on Twitter (@budsofchrist).
  • Volunteer with Buds of Christ for a specific period of time
  • Share your talent and skills with young people and children we reach
  • Monetary support for  carrying out our activities

All donations are exempted under Sec 80 (G) of Income Tax
Location: Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India

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Confidence Building Camp for Orphan Adolescents

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What is Buds N Colors Camp? Buds N Colors camp is for adolescent children orphaned and affected by HIV and AIDS in the HIV high prevalent Namakkal district in Tamilnadu. The aim of this camp is to share love, build hope and strengthen faith to live life with dignity and courage. Why this camp? Adolescents living with HIV find it hard to set higher goals due to the fear that dominates their emotions. HIV has affected their self –image causing a severe low self esteem. Our experiences from the previous camp have shown, given a space for the adolescents, they emerge as leaders of hope and change for others like them. Who are the participants at Buds N Colors Camp? This camp is exclusively for adolescent children who have lost one or both parents to HIV and AIDS in the age group of 12 to 18 years. Around 40 adolescent children will participate in this camp What is the uniqueness of the camp? This camp provides opportunity for creating peer buddies among
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Nothing is impossible for those that BELIEVE – Bharathi has scored 408 in 10th public exams amidst difficult circumstances

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It is another joyous moment to share that our children have excelled in their 10 th public exams and going beyond the limitations and challenges once again. The experiences of these children, especially widow headed households face the pressures of early marriages; or stopping education and sent for work to support the family income. In addition if they are the most backward caste in the community, they are often discriminated by other members in the community. Bharathi has put her dream path, possible challenges and how she would overcome them  Bharathi is from the most backward community and living with her widowed mother. She has one elder sister who eloped and got married to a boy from the neighbouring village. Bearing the stigma of run-away sister, widowed mother’s daughter and the caste discrimination, along with severe power cuts that lasted up to 12 hours in a day, Bharathi as young as 14 years took these obstacles as milestones to prove her capacity and bring a grea
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Educating Children Enabling Independence

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“Education is for improving the lives of other and for leaving our community and world better than we found it.” Buds of Christ organised Education support program for boys and girls on 7 October 2021. 16 children from class 9 th to 12 th participated and received school bags and notebooks.   The event started with a moral story on Being Focussed on the Vision for life shared by Mr. Jeyapaul Director of Buds of Christ. Following that Communication skill was taught to children as part of Life Skills Education.   The reason for Buds of Christ to enhance the skills of children on Life skills goes with the quote that “Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. It’s about widening our knowledge and absorbing the truth about life".   This was followed by life experience sharing by the Program Chief Guest Ms. Kaleeswari, Commercial Assistant from TamilNadu Electricity Board.   She shared her life history and motivated the children to be eager for studies. She also
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