The Karuna Trust
Karuna works alongside the most excluded people in South Asia, overcoming discrimination with locally-led education, gender equality and sustainable livelihood projects.
In 1980, a small group of Triratna Buddhists travelled home to the UK, deeply moved by the suffering they had witnessed among the very poor, Dalit communities in Maharashtra, India and inspired by the teachings of social reformer Dr. Ambedkar.
They began fundraising in the UK while living together in a residential community and formed a charity called Aid for India, which is known today as Karuna. Forty years on, the team has become a thriving Triratna Right Livelihood project, based in London, that works cooperatively, according to Buddhist ethics. It’s also a highly effective aid charity, working with partners to help hundreds of thousands of people on the Indian subcontinent.
The Karuna TeamAs well as funding Buddhist projects in India, Karuna partners with organisations from a range of backgrounds, including Christian Dalit, Muslim Dalit, Buddhist, Hindu and Tribal. All the partners serve communities that are affected by caste- and gender-based discrimination.
Fundraising Appeals
Karuna has developed a form of door-to-door fundraising based on the non-violent principles of Buddhism. As many people have learned, volunteering on these appeals can be a transformative experience in itself.
Helping During the Pandemic
India’s poorest communities were badly hit by the Covid 19 pandemic, and people in Triratna responded in practical ways to help people in their communities.
Triratna members were affected themselves, and in one wave of infection sixteen Order members died while many others lost their livelihoods. Order members from outside India raised over £190,000 to help individual Indian Order members.
Meanwhile, Karuna made emergency grants to partner organisations across the country to help them offer emergency food, medical and sanitary supplies to people from the most vulnerable communities. Around 120,000 people benefitted in this way and, because the partners organisations are embedded in their communities, they could ensure that that the aid reached those in most need.
