Anaya Jothi Charitable Trust · Chennai, India

When hunger ends,
a life begins.

Since 2011, we have been the quiet force behind thousands of full plates, open schoolbooks, and rebuilt spirits across Chennai. Every meal we serve, every fee we pay, every mind we counsel — carries one woman's grief, turned into grace.

AJ Awards 2025 nominations are now open  ·  Nominate an inspiring woman ›
Three Pillars. One Purpose.

We show up where the need is greatest

In the city's forgotten corners — the roadsides where daily-wage workers rest, the classrooms that run out of chairs, the kitchens where mothers count grains — Anaya Jothi Foundation is already there.

Feed the Starved

No lecture about hunger lands heavier than watching a child's eyes light up at a bowl of warm rice. We provide thousands of nutritious meals every year to families, the elderly, and daily-wage workers who cannot feed themselves without help.

Educate the Underprivileged

A ₹2,000 school fee should never be the reason a 10-year-old stops learning. We cover fees, provide career guidance, and run skill programmes that turn talent trapped by poverty into futures that nobody can take away.

Heal the Wounded Mind

Poverty is as much a wound of the spirit as of the body. Our free counselling sessions restore confidence, dissolve shame, and help individuals reclaim the sense of self that hardship so often strips away. Healing begins with being heard.

🤝
2011 Est. Chennai
Our Story

Born from grief.
Sustained by love.

On May 19, 2011, S. Annain Anaya Jothi lost her sister — a 36-year-old mother of two. In the unbearable silence that followed, she made a choice that would change hundreds of lives: to turn her private sorrow into public service.

"I kept thinking about those two children. Then I thought about all the other children in Chennai who were also left alone — not by death, but by poverty, by hunger, by a system that forgot them. That thought would not let me rest."

Today, thirteen years later, the Trust serves hundreds of families across Chennai. The sister is gone, but her memory lives in every meal, every classroom seat, every life that is gently lifted back to standing.

Read the Full Story ›
13+ Years of Unbroken Service
10,000+ Meals Served with Love
500+ Students Kept in School
2,000+ Lives Quietly Changed
The People Behind the Numbers

Every statistic has a name

🍽️

"My father is a daily-wage construction worker. Some days there is no work and no food. The Foundation's meal programme has meant my younger brother does not go to school hungry."

— A student, age 14, Saidapet

💄

"After the beauty course, I opened a small parlour from home. I now earn enough to pay my daughter's school fees myself. I did not believe this was possible for someone like me."

— Programme graduate, Saidapet

💬

"I came to a counselling session because I had lost all hope. I left with a career plan, a list of resources, and for the first time in years — a reason to get up in the morning."

— Youth counselling participant, Chennai

Seven Ways We Serve

Our Activities

All programmes are free. All are built around the dignity of every person who walks through our door. None of them could exist without the generosity of people like you.

💄

Beauty Courses

Professional beauty training that gives women the craft, confidence, and credentials to earn independently — often for the very first time in their lives.

Learn more ›
🍽️

Hunger Food Programme

Warm, nutritious meals delivered with dignity to workers, families, and the elderly who would otherwise go without. Because hunger is a solvable problem.

Learn more ›
🏫

School Fee Assistance

A child's education should never end because a family can't afford ₹2,000. We cover fees so every child stays in the classroom and keeps dreaming.

Learn more ›
🛠️

Skill Development

Vocational training in trades with real job demand — tailoring, computers, electrical work — transforming untapped potential into sustainable livelihoods.

Learn more ›
🎯

Career Counselling

One-on-one guidance that turns confusion into direction — helping young people discover their strengths and chart a path toward a future they can be proud of.

Learn more ›
💬

Communication Guidance

Confidence in spoken English and professional communication opens doors that talent alone cannot. We build the bridge between ability and opportunity.

Learn more ›
🏥

Health Activities

Health camps, check-ups, mental wellness sessions, and awareness drives — bringing preventive care to communities who cannot travel to hospitals and cannot afford to wait.

Learn more ›

"It's not about how much you give. It's about how much love you put into the giving — and whether you're still giving on the days when giving is hard."

— S. Annain Anaya Jothi, Founder

Our Ecosystem

Two movements,
one mission

Beyond the Trust, Anaya Jothi Foundation powers two dedicated initiatives — a giving platform built to unite one million donors, and a living service campaign anchored in 108 sacred acts of community love.

◆ Fundraising Platform
1M

1mp.space

One Million People · One Purpose

What if a million ordinary people each gave a little? 1mp.space is the fundraising heart of Anaya Jothi Foundation — a transparent platform where every rupee is tracked, every donor is counted, and every contribution flows directly into feeding programmes, school fees, and skill training for real people in Chennai. The goal is audacious: one million donors united by a single conviction that compassion is the most powerful force on earth.

1M Donor goal
100% Transparent
₹1+ Minimum gift
Give at 1mp.space ›
◆ Service Campaign
108

hope108.in

108 Acts · Infinite Hope

In Indian tradition, 108 is the number of wholeness — of completion, of the sacred. hope108.in asks each participant to commit to 108 acts of service: feeding a stranger, planting a sapling, visiting the lonely elderly, mentoring a lost child, cleaning a public space with care. Each act is small. Together they become a wave. When thousands of people each perform 108 acts of love, the number of kindnesses rippling through a city becomes incalculable.

108 Acts per person
Ripple effect
0 Cost to join
Begin at hope108.in ›

All three initiatives are part of the Anaya Jothi Foundation family  ·  Learn about the Trust

AJ Awards 2025

Some women don't just change their own lives.
They change everything around them.

The AJ Awards 2025 honour extraordinary women across 10 categories — women who led with courage, served without recognition, and proved that resilience is its own kind of power. If you know such a woman, she deserves to be seen.

Women Icon Rising Star Entrepreneur Lifetime Achievement Humanitarian Service + 5 More
Nominate a Woman ›

The work is never done. But together, it goes faster.

Whether you volunteer, donate, nominate, or simply share our story — you become part of the reason thousands of people in Chennai wake up to a better day. Take the first step.