Genesis of Visamo
In January 2001 when Gujarat was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, Dr. Manjula Pooja Shroff, Chairperson, CALORX (renamed as Kalorex) Foundation, was touched, moved and inspired by the fact that while thousands of those affected had lost their lives and rendered homeless, her family and associates/staff members at workplace were saved by the grace of god. It was this gratitude that propelled her to venture into the field of Disaster Management and Rehabilitation to help the victims of the earthquake.
About 150 to 200 tents were set up in the sprawling grounds of Gujarat University accommodating more than 1000 people. The venture was named as Visamo, providing for Rescue, Relief and Rehabilitation activities for those affected by the disaster.
Birth of Visamo Kids Foundation… the parentage home
Visamo Kids Foundation (VKF) came into being in 2002, with 18 children, whose families were affected during the earthquake, thereby impacting the education of the kids. From the initial and temporary set up at Panchvati, the Foundation shifted to its new and aesthetically constructed premises in Bopal, since 2005. In this venture, Dr. K.R Shroff Foundation extended support in setting up the premises and provided the kids with the required infrastructure of that of a hostel.
Currently we are housing 100+ children in the age group of 5 to 16, coming from diverse backgrounds such as include kids of daily wage construction labourers, farm laborers; salt pan workers; de-notified tribes, street dwellers, tribal families and many others
• Each child at Visamo Kids stays at Visamo from the age of 5 years, till successfully completion of Grade XII, after which they step out of the institution

THE PROCESS of selecting kids for admission at the ‘home’
• Key Criteria for admission are that the children of age five years age from disadvantaged families from Below Poverty Line (BPL)
• Admission Process: Children are identified and recommended by our network of grassroots’ NGOs across different districts of the state of Gujarat
• Screening Tests are conducted to observe their logical & observation ability while still looking into their aptitude and intellect as well as the academic inclination
• Visamo Camp: Children are admitted to the Home after a prior admission medical checkup followed by “Visamo Camp” for 10 days, for observation based assessment
• A Home Visit is done during the same period for verification of facts provided by them
• Final interview with parents: A panel, led by the Chairperson, Kalorex interacts with the parents to consolidate their commitment towards the relationship with Visamo.
• Admission to Schools: A bridge in programme starts at Vismao, to groom the pre-school kids. They are provided formal education in partnership with the finest private English Medium schools (DPS-Bopal, Udgam, Anand Niketan, Zydus, Eklavya, St. Kabir, Tulip etc.) and are coming out in flying colours, contributing back to the society as change makers.
Visamo Kids has impacted more than 150 lives directly and 1500 families indirectly. VKF has groomed the students to pursue the professional education.

Anjali, coming from a homeless family, living off the streets was brought to us by a local NGO, Slumshine, 6 years ago. She was begging at a particular crossroad in Ahmedabad. Currently she is she is in Class VI at the reputed English medium school- Anand Niketan- Satelite and aspires high in life.

Rajendra Saraniya comes from the Wadiya, near Tharad of Banaskantha district and studies in DPS, in Class X. Wadiya is infamous for engaging the females of the family in flesh trade while the men would generate business for them. Rajendra’s father broke away from the evil system, ensured that all three children are educated and not sucked ion to the social evil.

Our alumni are opting for diverse fields in higher education (as per the career counseling and aptitude testing, like Arpit Gamit is studying Law at Raipur National Law University (RNLU), Jignesh Kalal has established his own studio after completing Architecture, Vijay Makwana is enrolled in Civil Engineering at IIT- Kanpur, Urmila Makwana is in 3rd year Medicine (M.B.B.S) in Nadiad Medical college, Sanjay Parmar and Saloni Gamit studying Designing at NID and Parul University respectively, Chandni, Rohit, Ashish, Chirayu did Engineering, Vikas completed Intermediate level in Chartered Accountancy, Sudhir completed graduation in Hotel Management, while Rinki pursued Performing Arts at MSU, Vadiodara and so on.
VKF has produced national level sports players in Basket Ball and Volley Ball.

Careers- Giving back to the society and VKF

VKF now has a Dr. Neelam, after completing dentistry from Government college, Jamnagar. Her father is a fruit seller at Surat. Kajal became the first Post Graduate from VKF- completed MA in Social Work from the prestigious TISS- Mumbai in 2020 and is working in an NGO in Maliya- Gujarat, for youth mobilization and women’s empowerment. VKF alumni have started gaining employment in reputed companies and other avenues: Ashish Badaniya worked at JMC, Bengaluru and thereafter in the infra department at Kalorex- Ahmedabad, after completing civil engineering; Mohsin and Raju Sapra as sports coach at schools, Gayatri Chavda in Hospitality sector- with Starbucks-Ahmedabad, Chandni, in IT sector, at e-Infochips and Sudhir has turned a food entrepreneur. Alumni at VKF visit us, support us and the kids and work as ambassadors of the organization. They pool their resources to sponsor the kids and also extend support as volunteers, to teach our kids at VKF.
Children are the change agents and have voiced against social evils like substance abuse, domestic violence and child marriage at their homes/communities. There is increasing awareness about the importance of education in the communities from which kids have come to Visamo.