Bengaluru 28 October 2023: Urban India Ministries (UIM) was registered as an NGO 25 years ago as an effort of a group of friends to help families that were imploding because of the pressures of new urban trends.
On October 28, ’23 as part of their silver jubilee celebration, Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao, the Honorable Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of Karnataka, will launch UIM’s Counseling Family Helpline and lay the foundation stone for the ‘UIM- Family Education Centre’. He will also release the Family Education curriculum for urban slums. Mr. Byrati Suresh, the Urban Development Minister will grace the occasion as a guest of honor.
The Counseling Family helpline – 888 4470705 – will be available in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telegu, Hindi and English. UIM plans to create a network of counselors in all states of India through this initiative. The family helpline number will be operational from 2nd November 2023.
The soon-to-be constructed UIM Family Education Centre will be located behind the premises of the UIM Family Mission Centre at Shalom Springdale layout in Kothanur, Bengaluru.
UIM’s efforts have taken the shape of several initiatives that cater to lakhs of families and young and old individuals over these last 25 years.
Dr. P.C. Mathew, Director, UIM, said, “Conservative statistics say that in Bengaluru, the number of families that have serious troubles that need intervention is around 30% These issues are not confined to just the educated class which is why UIM offers our family life education program – ‘Kutumb Jyothi’ – in the urban slums. To ensure that children get an early awareness of good family values, we hold our popular life skills program – ‘Trendsetters’ – in schools across the city.”
They also have a corporate initiative called “Kutumb Communications”, a counseling initiative called “Home Shanti” and their web magazine ‘Family Mantra’; just some of the ways they help families of all life stages and ages.
Mrs. Ciby Mathew, Director, UIM, said, “With newer issues confronting families, it’s time systematic preventive family education is carried out in schools, colleges, and community than spending so much time in firefighting through counseling.”