Shishu Mandir was started by Dr Hella Mundhra. who was born at Hameln, Germany. She arrived in India in the early 1970s. In Bengaluru Hella ran a nursing home for several years. During this time she began offering medical services to slum dwellers. This led to the start of Shishu Mandir as a home for children, who came with long-standing illnesses and whose parents were unable to provide medical help for them.

We began as a place of shelter for children. When the time came for them to be educated, Hella enrolled them in the neighbourhood schools. It was soon obvious that the kind of education they needed was either not available or not affordable. So she started a school that would address their unique needs as first generation learners. She was joined by others who shared her commitment to teach, such that first-generation learners could learn and be motivated to continue learning.

As our children grew, and we grew as an organisation, we felt that we could make the biggest impact on our children’s lives, if we addressed the deeper social and economic challenges their families faced. All our work has been a response to this need. We have consolidated our initiatives to impact an entire community such that every family receives some form of support from us and together be empowered.

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Shishu Mandir is a registered Society in India. The society with 7 executive committee members is involved in the various programmes and initiatives. The Society meets once every two months. A sister society in Germany spearheads our fundraising efforts for the School and the Children’s Home. They are consulted on large projects undertaken by the organisation.