For many children living on the footpaths of Southern Avenue, Kolkata, childhood is overshadowed by the harsh realities of survival. Without a safe shelter or structured supervision, these children are highly vulnerable, often drifting toward child labour, exposure to substance abuse, or the simple daily danger of being entirely unsupervised on the streets.

Many arrive as school dropouts who had almost stopped believing in their own futures, carrying hunger through long hours of uncertainty. Before Colour of Hope began, their classroom was a mat under the open sky, where a lack of consistent nutrition, safety, and academic support made breaking the cycle of poverty seem impossible.