A Chance in Life – Boys and Girls Towns in India

The mission of A Chance In Life began in 1945, in the aftermath of World War II. Vast numbers of orphans and vulnerable children were left living on the streets of Italy by the war, and Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing was determined that someone should care for them. His decision to dedicate himself to their wellbeing defined the course of his life’s work and founded what would become A Chance In Life.

Boys’ & Girls’ Republic of Italy (La Repubblica dei Ragazzi) and Boys’ & Girls’ Towns of Italy (La Città dei Ragazzi) were founded to provide, in Monsignor John Patrick Caroll-Abbing’s words, “a chance in life” to vulnerable and orphaned children. After months or years of living on their own, many of the children that Monsignor first encountered were unused or unwilling to live under the supervision of adults. This independent nature inspired a visionary approach to youth development at the Towns: give the children the responsibility of running their own Town through the model of self-government.

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History

Since 1945, A Chance in Life has been helping orphaned children through their Boys and Girls Towns by providing shelter, food and education for them and giving them the skills to live independently as a young age. Although A Chance in Life started in Italy, they have now been able to setup these towns in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, India and New York to help cover the needs of as many orphaned and vulnerable children as possible.

In 2021, with the continued waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many orphaned children were left with even less resources than before and turned to these boys and girls towns in developing countries to receive shelter, food and education. In India specifically, due to the high rate of casualties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many newly orphaned children were contacting the boys and girls towns hoping for support. As the boys and girls towns were constantly being stretched thin in terms of space and resources, A Chance in Life had to start new projects to help cover this ever increasing need.

Mission

The mission of A Chance in Life is to support orphaned and vulnerable children acces shelter, food and education to give them the best opportunities for a bright future. Since the opening of the first Boys and Girls Town, A Chance in Life has reached 39’000 children around the world.

The Project supported by the Caritas Pro Vitae Gradu Charitable Trust

Thanks to our support, A Chance In Life was able to support 7 new boys and girls towns in India for the whole year of 2022 which are providing housing, food, education and mental support for 600 children.

The specific 7 boys and girls towns that we have supported in 2022 are:

  • the Snehagiri Missionary Sisters Girls town
  • the Snehagiri Missionary Sisters Boys town
  • the Congregation of Sisters of St. Martha boys and girls town
  • the Diocese of Rajkot Boys town
  • the Diocese of Rajkot Girls town
  • the Archidiocese of Trichur Boys town and
  • the Archidiocese of Trichur girls town

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We support activities in a variety of sectors in the social field, more specifically the relief of poverty, the improvement of education, the access to health services, the assistance to migrants and refugees, the protection of families and life