Elderly, Destitute and Abandoned Widows
Maitri: Restoring Identity, Dignity, and Respect
Maitri — a word that carries the weight of compassion and loving-kindness in its very sound. It is more than a name; it is a promise. In every home we build, every meal we serve, and every hand we hold, we strive to treat each person we meet with identity, dignity, and respect that every human being deserves.
The Widows of Vrindavan
In the sacred city of Vrindavan, a quieter, harder story unfolds behind the temple bells and river ghats. Countless elderly widows arrive here, or are sent here, carrying decades of grief that society refuses to acknowledge. Stripped of status of being an individual, a human with identity, the moment they lost their husbands, many are blamed, feared, or simply discarded by the very families they raised. People from their own communities and at times society ostraices them.
Some spent years enduring cruelty at home before being abandoned altogether. Others arrive with nothing but the clothes they are wearing, forced to beg on the streets just to survive one more day.
And yet, within this suffering, something remarkable persists: their spirit. Frail in body, perhaps, but unbroken in spirit — these women continue to hope, to pray, to hold on to the possibility that someone, somewhere, still sees them as human. Maitri exists to be that someone.
Our Mission
We believe every woman — especially every mother — deserves to live, and one day leave this world, with dignity. Not with pity. Not with sympathy alone. With respect, care, and the resources every human life is owed.
At Maitri, widowed mothers are not statistics or burdens. They are seen — as women of extraordinary strength, as survivors, as mothers who once nurtured others and now deserve to be nurtured in return.
The Story of Project Jeewan
Jeewan means "Life" in Hindi, and it is a fitting name for the initiative that has become the heart of our work in Vrindavan.
In 2008, Maitri's founders visited Vrindavan and encountered a reality that could not be unseen: frail, elderly women, all of them mothers, living in extreme neglect, forced into begging simply to survive. It was a heartfelt feeling, that no mother should ever have to beg to survive on the street. From that moment, Project Jeewan was born.
The first step was simple but urgent: food. In partnership with Akshaya Patra, an organization renowned for its work feeding children across India, Maitri began serving fresh, nutritious, hygienic meals to widow mothers at a subsidized cost — a hot meal, every single day, for women who had often gone without a proper meal for days.
With the support of come people from the community ,Maitri started the project with the most vulnerable among them: the frail, the sick, the utterly helpless. On July 4, 2010, Project Jeewan was formally launched at the Meera Sahbhagini Ashram, also known as Pagal Baba Ashram, where 320 of Vrindavan's most destitute widows received their first real source of hope in years, a program which gave them hot nutritious mid day meal every single day, facilitating healthcare etc.
That single act of compassion has since grown into a lasting movement — one that now encompasses safe shelter, healthcare, healing, and community for the widow mothers of Vrindavan in MaitriGhar ashrams in Vrindavan and Radhakund.
MaitriGhar: A True Home, Not Just a Shelter
Beyond meals, Maitri has built something the women of Vrindavan had long been denied: a home. Our Old Age Home for elderly destite and abandoned women/widows living in Vrindavan called MaitriGhar, are sanctuaries of peace, built for women who have endured a lifetime of trauma, deprivation and hardship.
Here, Widowed Mothers Are Not Forgotten. They Are Given:
Safe
Shelter
A safe and loving home where every widow lives with dignity, comfort, care, and respect.
Nourishing
Meals
Breakfast, lunch and dinner served daily, with warmth and love.
Fruit
and Milk
Fresh fruits and nutritious milk are served daily to ensure a balanced diet and support overall health.
Healthcare
and Treatment
Quality healthcare, regular checkups, medicines, and compassionate care for widows.
Community
and Belonging
Building friendships, belonging, and companionship after years of loneliness and isolation together.
Citizenship and
Identity Support
Helping widows obtain Aadhaar, voter IDs, and other essential government identity documents.
Counselling for
Emotional healing
Gently, encouraging them to share their pain and become whole again.
Ensuring
Dignity in Death
Every woman/ mother is assured of a being honoured in their last journey as per their customs.
A Promise,
Not Just a Program
Project Jeewan is more than an initiative , it is Maitri's promise that no woman should ever face her final years alone or in suffering, and that life, even in its later chapters, can still be filled with hope, purpose, and peace.
Be Part of Their Journey
Their stories are not only about loss, they are about resilience, dignity, and hope. And you can be part of what comes next.
Your support helps provide shelter, meals, healthcare, and emotional healing to the widow mothers of Vrindavan.
You can help in two ways:
- Donate online through our website
- Visit our ashram in Vrindavan and contribute directly via UPI
Every act of kindness brings dignity and light back into a life that was once overlooked. Together, with Maitri, we can ensure that no woman is ever forgotten.
One Life. One Smile.
One Warm Meal at a Time.