When Shreyas shifted to the new campus on the hill in 1961, a deep urge was felt to provide equal opportunities to children from varied socio-economic backgrounds and to the lost, parentless and destitute children, in need of a family and the security of a home.

In November 1962, a scheme for Balgram was launched. Our first mother was Shantiben Shah. From 1964 to 1966 Shreyas Balgram began operation with self-sufficient cottages, each with a mother and nine to ten children.

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SOS Children’s Village was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in 1949 in Imst, Austria. He was committed to helping children who had lost their homes, their security and their families as a result of the Second World War. He visited Shreyas in 1962 and helped set up our Balgram SOS village. Shreyas Balgram was the first SOS Balgram in India and the second in Asia.