A charity founded in 2000 in Vienna. Humanitarian aid, education and healthcare in the poorest regions of India.
The organisation was created to provide humanitarian aid to the state of Orissa after the destruction caused by the cyclone of 1999, the drought and famine of 2000 and the flood of 2001.
Today the scope of help covers school education, vocational training, social assistance and healthcare. Medical examinations, health programmes for children, young people and families and care for the elderly, the sick and the disabled are carried out. In 2001 the sister organisation Hand in Hand USA was founded.
The school was founded on 29 July 2004 by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda. It is located in the village of Arua in the Kendrapara district of Odisha, among rice fields.
At Balashram 511 children, orphans or from very poor families, live, learn and are brought up entirely free of charge. The children receive food, healthcare and a high-quality education.