Jana Rakshita was founded as a means to redress the gaps in critical healthcare for pediatric cancer-care, education services for India’s underprivileged, and disaster relief after the 2004 tsunami. Our efforts have grown to encompass ongoing crises.

As of May 2021, Jana Rakshita has empowered around 925 children with education, specifically 12 schools from Adivasi, Dalit and underserved communities. Jana Rakshita has also provided holistic care and support for over 2000 pediatric cancer patients.

The term Dalit means “oppressed,” “broken,” or “crushed”. The name has been adopted by India’s most marginalised groups. The term Dalit symbolizes a movement to change the eradication of centuries of oppression of India’s caste system. India has a population of 166.6 million Dalits in India.

According to the 2011 national census, Adivasis constitute more than 8.6 % of India’s population, or 104.2 million people. The occupations of Adivasi vary from farming, fishing, and collection of forest produce. Referred to as “guardians of the forests”, a large percentage of the Adivasi community depends on forests for their livelihood, and less than 10% depend on hunting and gathering for necessities. In rural areas, Adivasis work as daily wage laborers and are rarely given access to jobs in the service or other industries.

Jana Rakshita Charitable Trust was registered on November 10, 2004 with registration no. E – 22159

Yes. Jana Rakshita is registered under section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Donations made to Jana Rakshita are eligible for an 80G tax exemption.

Yes. Jana Rakshita is in receipt of the FCRA certificate and is eligible to receive foreign funding.​​

Cancer is an abnormal growth of a body cell or group of cells. If it is not destroyed or removed, cancer can spread very rapidly, and eventually lead to death. There are over 100 different types of cancer, and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected.

There are billions of cells in the human body. Normally, they grow in a well-regulated pattern of growth, division, and death. Programmed cell death is called apoptosis, and when this process breaks down, cancer begins to form. Unlike regular cells, cancer cells do not experience programmatic death and instead continue to grow and divide uncontrollably. This leads to a mass of abnormal cells that grows out of control. When cancer sets in, a group of cells suddenly starts multiplying haphazardly and forms a lump or "tumor"(except in the case of leukemia where cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream).

There are two kinds of tumors. Malignant and benign. A benign tumor is more common, and is generally harmless. It doesn't grow beyond a certain limit, and it doesn't spread to other parts of the body. A malignant tumor on the other hand, never stops growing and can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer is the name given to a malignant growth. More dangerous, or malignant tumors form when two things occur: A cancerous cell manages to move throughout the body using the blood or lymph systems, destroying healthy tissue in a process called invasion. That cell manages to divide and grow, making new blood vessels to feed itself in a process called angiogenesis. When a tumor successfully spreads to other parts of the body and grows, invading and destroying other healthy tissues, it is said to have metastasized. This process itself is called metastasis, and the result is a serious condition that is very difficult to treat.

No. Since cancer is not caused by a germ, it is not "catching", and cannot be transmitted from one person to another.

Cancer found in children is known as Paediatric Cancer. Most paediatric cancers are quite unlike those found in adults and so are the factors that trigger them. Also, though different types of cancer lead to different survival rates, it has been observed that the survival rates are higher in children than they are in for adults.

In spite of the advances in medical science, little is known about the causes of childhood cancer and why only some children are affected by it. However, it is understood that chromosome disorders are responsible for most cases of childhood Leukemia and high levels of exposure to radiation (x-rays etc.) during pregnancy can lead to childhood cancers. Children with Down Syndrome are also more susceptible to Leukemia than others. Other risk factors for childhood cancer include parents’ diet, smoking and alcohol consumption before the child was conceived, as well as infectious diseases like Epstein-Barr virus in Hodgkin disease. Harsh environmental factors may also lead to cancer in children, though there is really no valid data to prove it.

Unfortunately, no. The cancer type defines the signs the child will show. For instance, frequent bruising is common in Leukemia, pain in the arms or legs in bone cancer, a swollen abdomen in neuroblastoma and dizziness or seizures in brain tumor. There are also cases where only a pediatric oncologist can make the diagnosis.

Since very little is currently known about what causes childhood cancer, it is difficult to recommend prevention courses. Also, since in children the major causes seem to be chromosomal and genetic abnormalities, prevention is difficult. However, the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) continues to conduct epidemiology, cytogenetic, and microbiology studies in a continuous quest for answers.

It all depends on the type of cancer the child is suffering from. The time period may vary depending on the kind and stage of cancer, the type of treatment recommended and even the age and gender of the patient. The doctor leading the treatment will be the best person to advice you on this.

According to the Lancet Oncology Journal in July 2019, childhood cancers constitute 3%-4% of all cancers in India and it is estimated that nearly 40-50,000 fresh childhood cancer cases are added each year. Around 20,000 children remain undiagnosed and untreated and as a consequence succumb to the disease. The other 20,000-30,000 are treated at medical centres where there are no adept oncologists. Without the essential holistic components of education, social support and nutrition, their survival rate is around 30-40%.

Adivasi school children from Maharashtra