D HAN Karunai Illam serves as a 'Home away from Home' for children hails from poor families. This Child Care institution has been in operation since 1989, when it was founded by Ms.Jean Watson, a New Zealand writer. DHAN Foundation took over the illam in 2008 by grace and request. The illam seeks to provide all children with an equal opportunity for a decent life, education, and values. DHAN Karunai illam's vision is to release young and disadvantaged children from the shackles of poverty and ignorance, allowing them to succeed in life through their intrinsic potential. The Illam is located near the Nilakottai village, Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu.

Jean Watson was the founder of the ‘Karunai Illam’, which in English means ‘Grace Home’. In 1987 she sold her home in Wellington and purchased a plot of land to establish a home for poverty stricken children. She subsequently divided her time between the Illam and New Zealand. As a writer, Jean wrote both fiction and nonfiction, including a book about her experience, titled “Karunai Illam: The Story of an Orphanage in India”. Despite the many challenges she faced over the years, Jean’s belief in the Illam and her motivation to see it succeed continued right up until her passing in December 2014. With the blessing of her soul, the Illam continues to provide services to children with a larger advancement.

During the past two years because of COVID pandemic the learning abilities of the children got highly affected. To bring back the interest among the children on education and to improve their learning ability the DHAn Karunai Illam has made certain steps like story reading, art craft and Fun science experiments and games. These were introduced to the children when the children returned to our illam from their homes after COVID. This festival focused on showcasing their learning areas and improvements in the past six months. The outcome of the learning ability is displayed in terms of exhibitions and performances of the children.