Based in Gurgaon, India, Harmony House was established in 2009 by Indian national Gaurav Sinha and his British-born wife, Lucy Bruce. The project aims to improve the lives of children and women from the area’s slums by providing education, vocational training, nutrition, medical and hygiene facilities, and social services. Harmony House now extends to four large community centres which serve the needs of more than 1000 children.
Harmony House realises the importance of early-stage education in a child’s life and places an emphasis on developing social skills as well as academic achievement. Its centres allow for children’s diverse talents and skills to flourish, providing classrooms equipped for different age groups, computing facilities, libraries, and various mathematical, writing, and arts and crafts resources. The centres teach in both English and Hindi, using qualified local staff.
Children’s development is also encouraged with outdoor play areas and gardens, communal kitchens and dining spaces providing three nutritious meals a day, and activity areas. Older children can foster career-oriented skills such as beauty and tailoring in the centres’ dedicated facilities.
This independent, non-profit organisation is reliant upon donations to continue its activities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the families it helps found themselves in particular hardship, with already low incomes disappearing, and access to its educational facilities restricted.
Due to the lockdown restrictions in place during this time, Harmony House had to adapt to a changing situation and, thanks to the support of its sponsors, provided care packages of basic food and essentials to those in need and continues to do so. Educational needs continued to be served away from its centres with the use of technology provided by Harmony House that children would otherwise not have had access to.
The family-run organisation also kept in touch with parents to provide counselling sessions and to identify and respond to medical issues requiring treatment. Many of these can be serious and, in some cases, fatal – highlighting the importance of donations to provide funding for often expensive treatment. To date, Harmony House has made more than 300 life-saving medical interventions.
Since its launch, Harmony House has helped more than 4000 children, seeing many attain academic qualifications, go on to higher education or start their own business.
Inspired by the positive difference it has made to so many young people, N Sethia Foundation has provided financial support to Harmony House since 2021 and encourages others to help the organisation continue its important work.