Personal Background

My name is Nikhil Balasubramanyam, and I am the founder and president of the Save Orphans of Snehagram (SOS) Foundation, a registered, tax-exempt 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to  improving the lives of underprivileged, orphaned children living with HIV.  I created this organization after spending time, volunteering with the Snehagram (“Village of Friends”) charity organization in rural South India. My time there was transformative.

I was touched by the students’ enthusiasm to do better for themselves and their society, despite early childhoods spent in fear, hopelessness and poverty.

I was also astounded by the benefits of their participation in the Snehagram program for education, self-sufficiency and holistic development. Snehagram has significantly improved the energy, mental acuity, and physical fitness of these children as they grow into young adults; they maintain a healthy regimen of physical exercise every morning before attending classes at the village school, and learn to farm and cook their own food. This is a difficult schedule for anyone to maintain, yet their dedication and commitment to work for each other is inspiring.