Matthew Kurian was appalled at the state of the children living in a slum. Anita from the UK was shocked at the conditions of the children on the streets. Both had the same Dream. El Shaddai was born with a mission of bringing childhood to the children who never had it.

Matthew Kurian is the Co-founder and Managing Trustee of the El Shaddai Charitable Trust. In 1993 he started working with alcoholics and drug addicts in Goa. A visit to a slum changed Matthew's perspective on life completely. Their desperation shocked him and he began teaching them the importance of hygiene, clean drinking water, and healthy food. He was moved when he saw them begging on the streets, collecting rubbish and even eating out of garbage bins to relieve their hunger. He started children's home in a small rented place in Vagator with 15 slum kids in 1997.

Today the trust works with women, youth and children in slums in the fields of skill building, livelihood and rehabilitation. They also have destitute homes for children. In 2012, El Shaddai Charitable Trust was awarded the Spirit of Humanity Award by the AmeriCares India Foundation Child Nutrition