Inside the shelter that takes in those no one else will

From the road, the compound in Bandhwari village looks like any quiet plot on the edge of the city. Inside, The Earth Saviours Foundation is home to elderly men and women, people living with mental illness, and patients who need round-the-clock care. With a second shelter in Mandawar, it looks after around 1,300 residents.

Most did not choose to come. Hospitals, police stations and welfare departments refer people found on the streets or left with no one to take them home. Some are brought by their 
own families.

Jas Kalra, the foundation’s president, knew most residents by name on a weekday walk through the wards, stopping to ask how someone had slept or whether medicines had arrived. 

“People imagine a shelter is about giving someone a bed,” he said. Started in 2008 by Kalra’s father, Ravi Kalra, the foundation takes no government funding and runs on donations. “Every month we start from zero,” Kalra said. “The number of people keeps growing, and so do the expectations placed on us, but support doesn’t grow at the same pace.” He wants volunteers, doctors who can spare a few hours a month, and companies that commit beyond a single visit. 

“A shelter can’t run on one visit,” he said. “It runs on the people who come back.” Visits can be arranged through the foundation’s website.