About SATHI
Protecting Children. Strengthening Families. Creating Futures
SATHI (Society for Assistance to Children in Difficult Situation) is a national child protection organisation working with children in difficult circumstances, with a special focus on children found at railway stations, children in street situations, children from migrant communities, and children at risk of losing access to education, care, and protection.
Founded in 1992 by the late Pramod Kulkarni and formally registered in 1997, SATHI began its journey in Raichur, Karnataka. The organisation’s work started when a small group of committed individuals began engaging with children living around the local railway station. Through this work, an important insight emerged: many children living on railway platforms were not abandoned. They had left home due to conflict, fear, poverty, or impulse, while their families were often desperately searching for them.
India’s rapid urbanization, migration, and persistent socio-economic inequalities have left thousands of children vulnerable to neglect, exploitation, abuse, and exclusion. Many children from impoverished and marginalized families are forced onto the streets, migrate with their parents in search of livelihoods, or drop out of school due to poverty, family instability, and limited access to essential services. Without adequate care, protection, education, healthcare, and social security, these children face heightened risks of child labour, trafficking, substance abuse, violence, and lifelong deprivation.
Recognizing these challenges, SATHI was established to uphold the rights of children and create opportunities for them to live safe, healthy, and dignified lives. Through community-based interventions, child protection systems, education support, family strengthening, rehabilitation, and advocacy, SATHI works to address the root causes of vulnerability while ensuring that every child has access to care, protection, quality education, and the opportunity to realize their full potential. SATHI believes that sustainable change is possible only when children, families, communities, civil society, and government institutions work together to build an inclusive society where every child is valued, protected, and empowered.
Over the past three decades, SATHI has worked in more than 45 locations across 14 states and has helped over one lakh children reconnect with their families, education, protection systems, and opportunities for a better future.
At the heart of SATHI’s work is a simple belief: every child deserves safety, dignity, care, and the opportunity to grow in a nurturing environment.
Every child, no matter how far they have wandered, deserves to be found, heard, and brought safely home.