Borderless World Foundation (BWF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization registered under India's

Societies Registration Act, 1860 The Societies Registration Act, 1860 is a legislation in India which allows the registration of entities generally involved in the benefit of society – education, health, employment etc. The British Indian Empire, with a wish to encourage such ...

. Working in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administere ...

, along the conflict-riven border region in between

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

& China, BWF has rescued hundreds of girls orphaned in the conflict along the India-Pakistan border. BWF strives toward a vision of "One Great Human Family" through a variety of activities, including disaster relief and emergency medical support for the community and rescuing hundreds of children left orphaned by the ongoing conflict and providing love, support, health care and education to help them grow into a generation of peacemakers.

History and Mission

BWF was founded in 2002 by Adhik Kadam and Bharati Mamani in Pune, India. The mission of BWF is to provide ‘Human Touch' to the people of border areas who lost their loved ones in

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

and

armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regu ...

in the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claim ...

. BWF is on a mission to making peace and spreading love through their various programs. Founders of BWF started working in Kashmir in the year 1997.

Programs

BWF works in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health ...

emergency medicine Emergency medicine is the medical speciality concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (often called “ER doctors” in the United States) continuously learn to care for un ...

, and

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

. The organization runs four homes for girls who have lost their parents in the

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range a ...

, during

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

and

2005 Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu an ...

. BWF support girls' education, vocational training and mentoring for the purposeful life. * Basera E Tabassum (BeT): A home for orphan girls started in District

Kupwara Kupwara is a town and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal council Kupwara is an Urban Local Body with 13 elected members (also in Delimitation in progress for wards), which ad ...

, Srinagar,

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the u ...

Budgam Budgam (), known as Badgom (; ) in Kashmiri, is a town in Budgam district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. In the 2001 census, it was recorded as having a notified area committee,This gives the population of Budgam adgamN. ...

and

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

with the help of the Silicon Valley chapter of Asha for Education. *

Kashmir Life Line Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompass ...

(KLL): First critical care

Emergency Medical Services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...

started by BWF in Kashmir in partnership with

National Securities Depository Limited National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) is an Indian central securities depository, based in Mumbai. It was established in August 1996 as the first electronic securities depository in India with national coverage. It was established base ...

(NSDL), DP World and Jammu & Kashmir health department. Through this program, BWF provided the first four ambulances for the public to the region. * Rah-e-Niswan: Rah-e-Niswan helps the girls growing up in the BWF homes learn entrepreneurial skills and financial management. Established as the first ‘ladies-only’ business in the area and run by the young women of the BWF, it provides women in the larger community a safe and hesitation-free environment to shop for their requirements such as sanitary napkins. * Surgeries of Pellet Victims: Following an upsurge of violence in 2016, BWF organized free surgeries for those at risk of losing their eyesight because of pellet gun injuries. BWF partnered with

Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

Sankara Eye Foundation Sankara Eye Foundation (SEF) USA is a US-based non-profit organization that works toward eliminating curable blindness in India. SEF is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization. The charity has a perfect rating on Charity Navigator. Beginni ...

in this effort. Conducted by leading surgeons from India, these operations saved the sight of hundreds of victims. * Disaster relief: The BWF team has been a first responder in wake of many natural disasters, including the floods in 2014. BWF was able to recruit doctors and donations of medical supplies, including fully equipped ambulances, from across India to help the people in Kashmir.

Awards and recognition

In 2010, BWF was presented the Harmony Foundation's " Mother Teresa Award" in the field of Social Justice and Peace by the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. Adhik Kadam and BWF were recognized in 2016 for their work by Indians for Collective Action.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Organizations established in 2002 Organisations based in Jammu and Kashmir Organisations based in Maharashtra Children's charities based in India Peacebuilding in Jammu and Kashmir 2002 establishments in Maharashtra