Make-A-Wish Foundation of India is a registered charitable trust that is volunteer-based. We are affiliated to Make-A-Wish Foundation, International (MAWFI), which originated in the USA in 1980.

Our Mission: To grant the most precious wish of all children in India, between 3 and 18 years of age, diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses and medical conditions, regardless of caste, creed, religion or economic background.

It's about creating magic in the lives of the suffering children and trying to put a smile back on their faces during the painful periods of medical treatment. Hoping that the joy and happiness of having their wishes fulfilled will give these little children the courage to bear the pain, the willpower to combat their illnesses, the faith to carry on and the strength to emerge winners in life.

History of the Make-A-Wish Foundation

Seven year old, Christopher suffering from leukemia had a passion for being a policeman. Christopher's mother Linda and a few officers at the Department of Public Safety, State of Arizona, USA, together helped him realize his dream. He was sworn in as the first and only honorary Highway Patrolman in Arizona. The total joy and happiness on Christopher's face inspired his mother and a few other volunteers to start Make-A-Wish Foundation with the aim of helping other children affected with life threatening illnesses to experience the thrill of having their wishes come true.

When ten-year-old, lively Gandhar was diagnosed with leukemia his parent's Uday and Gita Joshi took him to Duke's University Hospital in North Carolina in the United States for further treatment. Gandhar agreed to go only on the condition that he would be taken to Disneyland. However, living on a very tight budget, his parent's were unsure of fulfilling their son's dreams. This is when Make-A-Wish volunteers came forward to grant Gandhar's wish to see Disneyland. Within a few days the volunteers made arrangements for Gandhar and his family to fly to Orlando and have six memorable days at the kids' village in Disneyland. Gandhar was overjoyed and had a double treat when his sister Bhargavi was flown in by MAW to join the family.

Gandhar returned to India with happy memories of his days spent at Disneyland. Unfortunately he did not live long. The Foundation sent pictures of their memorable trip to Gandhar and his family. The smile on Gandhar's face on having his dream come true had a powerful impact on Gita and Uday. They thought of bringing a smile to all children who like Gandhar were suffering from a life threatening illnesses. Their request to start Make-A-Wish Foundation in India was accepted. Thus the Indian chapter was established and the first wish was fulfilled in the month of April 1996. Till date we have fulfilled 2,637 wishes all over the country and hope to fulfill many, many more.

Every Affiliate follows universal guidelines and policies, working with total transparency at all levels. With stringent volunteer training programmes and mandatory referrals from Pediatricians and Medical Specialists, MAWF of India is constantly reaching out to the seriously ill kids in Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Goa and Hyderabad.In India, however, we are truly struggling to create the magic for all our life-threatened kids in the wards of Tata Memorial, KEM Hospital, Wadia Hospital, St George, G.T. Hospital & Bhagwati - which are a few among the 25 hospitals and homes we work at in Mumbai alone.

All those who know about the MAWF and its mission, realize how important a wish can be for a child who has very little hope of enjoying a normal, healthy life. 
We at the MAWF, aim to bring back the joy of childhood to these children battling life- threatening illnesses such as cancer, thalessemia major, muscular dystrophy, neurological diseases, Aids etc. as their uncertain lives and those of their parents are subjected to daily battle while on medication, and endless rounds of hospitals and doctor’s clinics.
These wishes are of all kinds, it could be a child who wants to meet Shahrukh Khan looking his best in his new set of clothes, a bicycle to ride, a computer to play games on, a fridge to drink cold water from or a sewing machine to get creative with etc.

Organizational structure

In India, we have granted more wishes than any of the 27 Affiliates - 2,637 so far. MAW is the world's largest wish-granting organization that has already granted over 110,000 wishes. In India the National office is at Mumbai. We have divisions in Goa, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore and Aurangabad.

We need many volunteers in all our Divisions.
We also need people who can raise funds for the Organization.

Make-A-Wish Foundation
Contact: 24461344