Friends of Maher

Friends of Maher

Friends of Maher is the U.S. based network of individuals and organizations who are involved with the Maher community of women and children by providing loving support and monatry funds.  If you are interested in becoming a member of Friends of Maher, please contact Mikaela Keepin at mikaelagrace@hotmail.com.

About Maher
Maher is an interfaith shelter and resource center for battered and destitute women and children located near Pune, India. The Satyana Institute supports the Maher project by raising awareness and assisting in fundraising for the project. Since its inception in 1997, Maher has provided refuge and rehabilitation to over 750 battered women and their children. Today there are approximately 80 women and 250 children living at Maher and its fourteen satellite homes in surrounding villages.

Maher is the word for Mother's home in the local language of Marathi. Transcending religious and caste barriers in all aspects of its work, the Maher project demonstrates the power of interfaith collaboration to redress oppressive social conditions in Indian society. The goal is not only to provide refuge from domestic violence and abuse, but also to eliminate their causes in Indian communities by providing essential skills and resources that ward off neglect, superstition, and poverty.

Funding. The annual operating budget for the Maher project is just over Rs. 7 million, which is equivalent to $160,000. Financial support came initially from funds raised in Europe and India. The project received a small donation ($5,000) from the Sister Fund in New York in 2004, which is its first donation from a U.S. philanthropic organization.

Essential needs at this time are (1) increased resources for hiring much needed additional staff, and (2) developing improved support for traumatized and severely disturbed women. Long-term goals include expanding the proven Maher concept to other areas in India. The need for and potential of such replication is enormous.

Donations. The Satyana Institute is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt service organization. Satyana Institute currently serves as fiscal receiver for U.S. grants to Maher. Satyana Institute is donating its staff time and administrative support on behalf of the Maher project, so that all funds donated go directly to the Maher project. Donations can also be made directly to the Maher project itself. For more information, visit the Maher website at www.maherashram.org or write to cynthia@satyana.org.