2007 was truly a watershed year for the organization, and in many ways a real validation of all our work over a span of 25 years. Going back to 1982, I don’t think any of us thought that by 2007 Ashraya would be a significant organization, well-respected , in the fields of rural education, Adoption, Women’s Welfare and running of crèches for children of migrant construction labour. All our projects have been designed to help those who are truly marginalised in Indian society and have been path-breaking in their approach to dealing with issues of abandonment and deprivation. Our focus remains in finding non-institutional solutions for women and children and in empowering them to be self-sufficient in the long-term.

The Ashraya Annual General Body meeting was held on the 30th of November 2007 at the Ashraya office. In the current year we have had five committee meetings.

Events

Art Auction

 

On the 15th of November 2007, we organized an Art Auction at the Italian Embassy in New Delhi. We auctioned 83 paintings of renowned artists such as Anjolie Ela Menon, Paresh Maity, Jaysri Burman, Jamini Roy, A. Ramachandran, Yusuf Arakkal, Nayana Kanodia, Sakti Burman, Sunil Das, Sanatan Dinda and Rini Dhumal and other luminaries of the Indian Art World. The auction was sponsored by Religare and was organized by Hanmer and Partners.

We are most grateful to Ms. Anjolie Menon for curating the show so brilliantly. Hospitality was provided by Claridges Hotel, Grover Wines and Mandala Wines. The catalogue was designed by Vikram Sardesai and Design Core, Bangalore.

The auction attracted art lovers of Delhi and connoisseurs of Indian art from abroad. Auctioneer Angira Arya, did an excellent job of getting buyers to go the extra mile to buy a painting. We netted over two crores from the proceeds, after covering all our expenses. Of this, one crore was paid back to the artists, however, many artists very generously donated the entire amount to Ashraya, for which we are most grateful. The money raised will help Ashraya build a training cum convention centre, as an ancillary unit of ?TARA ? Ashraya’s Women Centre.

 

Diwali Party

 

We had a Diwali Party on the 7th of November, which was a small in-house celebration. The Ashraya children enjoyed the Diwali sweets and fire-crackers. As always, it is a very special moment to see a child’s face light up with joy, holding a ?Phuljari ? in her hands. It was interesting for some Swedish adoptive parents, who were here at the time, to join in the celebrations.

 

OWC Bazaar

 

19th December was the annual OWC Bazaar at which we sold crafts, which were made at the Neelbagh School. The toddlers from the Children’s Home were taken there for an outing and snacks, by volunteer Rina.

 

Painting Competition

 

G.E. Volunteers organized a painting competition for the older children at Ashraya on 1st November to make cards, which will be used for fund raising.

 

25th Anniversary Celebration

 

As a culmination to all the events in 2007, we had a wonderful get-together of our older adoptees, parents and people from the adoption agencies in Sweden, USA and Italy who have partnered us for over 20 years.

 

The celebrations started on the 28th of December 2007 at the Jayamahal Palace hotel, a beautiful heritage hotel in the heart of Bangalore. Dr. Uttara Vidyasagar handled the introductory session for the 35 resident participants and her ?ice-breaker ? games had everyone inter-acting freely with one another, by the end of the session.

 

On the 29th we had a grand opening at the Mother Tekla Auditorium on Brunton Road. Our Chief Guests were Mr. Veerappa Moily, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, and Wing Cdr. Rakesh Sharma, India’s first astronaut. Both of them are intimately connected to the ?World ? of adoption and spoke from the heart. The Neelbagh children put on a dynamic performance and at the end of the show all the adoptees got on stage as Shalini ( a visually-impaired adoptee, adopted in India) sang ?The greatest love of all ? There wasn’t a dry eye in the auditorium ! 10 Ashraya staff who have been with the organization for over 15 years were felicitated with a shawl and a citation.

 

On this occasion we showed the new Ashraya film which was expertly made by film maker Meera Pillai.

 

After the function, Ashraya hosted a dinner at the venue for our 300 guests.

 

The other events held over the next few days included a mouth watering cooking demonstration of Indian food, by Sumati Satish. A visit to the Women’s Centre. A yoga demonstration by Ahalya Kumar and an Art workshop, conducted by Emily Frost, who is Minda Cox’s art teacher. It was quite a cathartic and very exhilarating experience for some of us to put paint to paper - the end result, a beautiful collage, made up of squares painted by all the participants, young and old alike, which is now proudly displayed in the Ashraya office.

 

On the 31st we had a New Year’s Eve dinner - dance at the hotel pool-side, with a special meal, a lot of bonding and cameras flashing incessantly. What a wonderful way to bring in 2008 ! The sight that remains with me is of Minda in her wheelchair, being whirled around by everyone dancing on the floor, her face lit up with pure delight.

 

On the 2nd of January, we hosted a Chinese lunch at Ashraya and it was an emotional home-coming for many of the adoptees, for some, after a span of 20 years and more. We gave individual time to each one of them and opened up their files to see if any secrets would emerge. For at least four of the adoptees the trip would culminate in a re-connection with their biological families.

 

Minda’s story

 

Minda was born ?handicapped ? without arms or legs and was adopted from Ashraya in 1990 by a single American mother, Cathy Cox. No-one would ever think of Minda as being ?handicapped ? today. This gutsy young woman, is now a significant artist and as she says, ?There is nothing I cannot do for myself, except to braid my hair ? Throughout our 25th anniversary celebrations she was an inspiration to the rest of us, with her indomitable spirit and zest for life.

 

The Hindu, frontpaged Minda’s story and by the next day I was contacted by the journalist who first wrote her story. He said ? She was called Prashna and not Swapna and today my ?Prashna ? is answered ? He had wondered for years what had happened to this little girl. He then gave me the tel. number of the doctor who had been at Manipal Hospital, when she was brought there by her father. He recalled all the details vividly and gave us the name and the village of Minda’s family. Astoundingly we were able to find them and Minda and her mother flew down to Mangalore for an overwhelming home-coming. Even in Bangalore, family members crept out of the woodwork and arrived en-masse with garlands and bouquets and a pair of gold earrings which they put in her ears. Minda and everyone else were overcome with emotion and happiness. Minda’s, biological mother, a simple village woman, told Cathy ? I gave her birth, but you have given her life ? For Minda, this day will forever be etched in her memory, as something she, and most adoptees desire, a reunion with biological families.

 

In-House celebrations

 

 

All the Ashraya staff were given an extra bonus to mark the 25th anniversary of the organization. On the 22nd of December we took all the Children’s Home staff and Creche staff, for a special lunch at Shanti Sagar restaurant.

 

In the evening we had a Christmas Party for the children and each child got a special gift. We are grateful to Sue Condos, who also sent X’mas gifts for the children all the way from Australia. Two of our little ones officiated as very reluctant Santas, as they wanted to keep all the gifts !

 

Other Events and Milestones

 

The Shamak Davar dance troupe, did a one month training in Modern Dance for our older children, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The culmination of this was a dance performance on the 2nd of March 2008 at the St. John’s Auditorium, Koramangala. By all accounts our children held their own and danced with great confidence.

 

IJennifer Adair, an Ashraya volunteer, and professional in the field of ?Infant Care ? produced a training film on child care. The film has been sent to CARA for distribution. We hope to circulate it in Karnataka through the ACA, along with a manual. We had a farewell lunch for Jennifer on 19.03.2008. Nomita has also worked on handbooks on Procedure for Judges of the Family and City Civil Courts, Passport office and Child Welfare Committees. All the material has been sent to CARA.

 

On the 16th of March, Jeff Noddle CEO of Supervalu and Paul Singer and other staff visited the Children’s Home. At a function held by the organization at the Taj Residency, a cheque of 4 lakhs was presented to Ashraya for which we are most grateful. The money is to be utilized for long-term hospital care and operations for Special Needs children.

 

Important Visitors

 

1. Monica Lind from A.C. Sweden visited Ashraya on the 25th and 26th of March. She took all the Ashraya administrative staff out for a nice lunch, which was much appreciated. She visited us again on the 19th of September this year.

2. Mr. Sirohe, Secretary of CARA visited Ashraya on 24.01.2008 and was very moved by the children. We have at least 20 special needs children at Ashraya at any given time.

3. There was a visit and inspection by a CARA team, headed by the Chairperson, Mr. J.K. Mittal on Friday the 23rd of May. They went through all our accounts and documents with great thoroughness. The Ashraya CARA Recognition was re-validated and is valid from 29.10.2007 to 28.10.2010. Our 80 G exemption has been renewed and is valid from 01.04.2008 to 31.03.2011.

4. Elana Roschy from WACAP visited Ashaya on the 7th of October. We are very happy that someone from WACAP has visited us after a long time.

Khushii, a well-known Delhi based charity and fund raising organization, donated Rs. 30 lakhs to Ashraya for our Women’s Centre project, at the behest of Ms. Anjolie Menon, from the sale of her painting at their art auction. We are most grateful for this gesture.

 

On the 20th of June, volunteer Rina took the toddlers home for a movie and lunch which they thoroughly enjoyed.

 

We had a farewell party for Ratna, our accountant on the 9th of July. Ratna had been with Ashraya since the 1st of April 2004 and she has now moved on to a corporate job. We wish her all success in her future career. Kavita Pratap has joined us as our new accountant w.e.f. 30th June 2008.

 

The Ashraya web-site now wears an exciting new look . Our thanks to Vidya Mujumdar, Shonali and Anil Chinniah and Vishwanath of Design Core for all their inputs and hardwork.

 

The Ashraya children went on a fun trip to the Embassy Riding School on the 5th of August. The outing was organized by Beth, an i?to –i volunteer. The kids had an exciting time grooming horses and going for pony rides.

 

14 year old adoptee, Shalini Menon, who is visually-impaired, danced at an International Salsa meet at the Ashoka Hotel, Bangalore, on the 15th of August. She got a standing ovation from the large crowd who were present. Her co-ordination with her young partner, and her skill and grace, were truly amazing.

 

On the 16th and 17th of August, Nomita Chandy and Surya Vaz visited the Manipal Hospital near Mangalore, to meet Dr. Ramdas Pai. Minda had originally come from this hospital and we were happy to re-establish an old relationship.

 

Rakhi, one of the Ashraya volunteers took 8 of the older children to her home for an outing on the 30th of August. Karen an i to i volunteer, took them to MC’Donalds for an Ice-cream on the 12th of September and they had a lot of fun.

 

Nilima Rovshen, a long-time supporter of Ashraya, passed away in September. Our deep felt condolences to the family. Nomita and Surya attended her memorial service.

Workshop and Meetings

1. On the 23rd and 24th of January the ACA-K organized a training programme at the UTC, on Adoption. Shobha Kumar, Ashraya Committee member, made a presentation on ?Child Care Management ? Radhika Nambiar made an excellent presentation on ?Adoption Procedures and Ethical Practices ?

2. Nomita Chandy was invited to Dubai by Malini Gulrajani, to accompany Ms. Anjolie Menon on the 7th to the 10th of January. Her Art gallery and some Indian families resident in Dubai, wish to raise funds for Ashraya.

3. Reshma Baggan, Social Worker of Ashraya, attended a training programme organized by NIPCCD at Delhi from the 28th of March to the 7th of April on ?Sensitization Programme for NGO’s ?

4. The A.C. bi-annual partners meeting was held at the Prakruti resorts, Alibaugh ( near Mumbai ) from the 30th of March to the 2nd of April. Nomita, Shanthi and Nona were invited to attend by A.C.

As always, it was a stimulating and thought provoking meeting. The subject this year was ?Roots ? It was wonderful to share experiences and problems with other participant agencies from all over India. The visit to St. Catherine’s Home in Mumbai, on our way out, was memorable. Our thanks to Monica Lind for all the wonderful arrangements.

5. Vidya Mujumdar attended the AFP Communications Workshop on the 8th of August. Vidya now handles the Ashraya Volunteer Programme very competently.

6. Dr. Jyothi Bala, did a demonstration on Dental Care and Hygiene for the older children at the Children’s Home on 27.05.2008.

7. Nomita gave a talk on our Site Creches at a workshop organized by Sutradhar, ?Open Forum for Creches ? on Friday June 6th at Vishranti Nilaya.

8. An adoption workshop was held at Ashraya on the 28th of June. The topic was ?Parenting ? and we had 50 enthusiastic and very inter-active participants. The resource people were Mr. and Mrs. Ratnesh Mathur ( adoptive parents) who run Genie Kids, Meera Jain a child psychologist who is a CWC member, and Dr. Aloma Lobo, Chairperson of ACA-K. The participants enjoyed a Chinese lunch in between the sessions. Many of the parents urged us to hold more workshops like this as it was so meaningful for them .

9. On the 11th of July, Ashraya facilitated a meeting of recognized Bangalore based Adoption Agencies to discuss the adoption process in Karnataka. Ashraya hosted lunch for 15 people. The problems in the Family Court persist and Ashraya has taken up the matter, along with the VCA-K, with the Administrative Judge of the Family Court and The Chief Justice of Karnataka. There are also problems with the Passport Office, which are being resolved. The Director, Women and Child Welfare, Government of Karnataka held a meeting of all the accredited Adoption Agencies on 14.07.2008 and has promised to take note of and address our many concerns. It is good that the agencies in Karnataka can all act as ?One ? to resolve problems that face us.

10. Reena and Reshma made good Power-Point presentations on the 8th of August at a meeting organized by Samata on ?Women and Children’s Issues ? for their activists working in slum areas of Bangalore.

11. Tal, a volunteer from Israel, who is a qualified nurse, held training sessions for our care-givers, on Infant Care and Stimulation on the 9th and 19th of September 2008. These workshops will be on-going over a period of time and will cover all the Ashraya staff.

This has been a very difficult year for us in the management of contagious diseases. We had a huge out-break of Chicken Pox, which affected not only the children, but staff as well. Two of the staff even came down with Herpes. We have also battled with ?Institutional ? scabies, which spread like wildfire, from children transferred to us from other institutions. We are now constructing an isolation room on the top floor of one of our buildings. We are most grateful to Hema and Ashok Hattangady for giving us the funds to complete this room.

12. Sharmila attended an On-line data base training for the South Zone, at Hyderabad, organized by CARA o the 29th of March 2008.

13. Surya Vaz, who is now a fully qualified counsellor, is counseling the older children and some staff at Ashraya. Her inputs have been invaluable.

 

Creches

 

We continue to run four crèches, located at Shivajinagar, Whitefield (Puravankara Fountain Square), Yelahanka ( Puravankara Venezia) and Richmond Town (G. Corp site). We serve an average of 154 children in these crèches, each month, with a programme that includes a nutritious meal, non-formal education and a monthly visit by our Paediatrician, Dr. Krishnan.

 

We are happy to say that 8 children from the crèches joined the Neelbagh school this year for a regular school programme.

 

We deeply regret the sad demise in November 2007 of Mr. Suhas Kulkarni, Chief Engineer of Puravankara Builders, who had always been an enthusiastic supporter of Ashraya’s efforts in running crèches on construction sites. On the 28th of January we organized the Creche New Year party at Ashraya. 120 children enjoyed a Dosa lunch and were enthralled with the magic show. There was a special New Year’s gift for each of the children.

 

On the 7th of May 2008 students of Alliance Business School organized a delicious lunch for the children at the Yelahanka Creche. This was followed by games for the children in which the children and the adults enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

 

On the 15th of August, Independence Day, was celebrated at all the creches, starting with a flag hoisting, followed by a variety entertainment and a special lunch. All the Committee Members and Social Workers made up groups to go to the different crèches.

 

We are most grateful to Puravankara Builders, G-Corp, Hebbel Schule in Germany and CIAI, for supporting the Creche Programme. Also Elizabeth Johansson and a group of Ashraya adoptive parents in Sweden.

 

Neelbagh

 

A Children’s Day function was held on the 14th of November and the school staff enacted a performance based on the Mahabharatha, to entertain the children.

 

The stall at the OWC Christmas Bazaar was manned by some of the senior students and they got a good exposure to salesmanship, pricing, design and quality of items that can sell. Pottery, embroidered towels and woodcraft was on sale. We did reasonably well in the sale.

 

The valedictory function for the outgoing class ten students was held on the 26th of February. The children put up a spirited entertainment programme and as usual the 10th class students put in an extra effort to excel. Nomita Chandy, Sumati Satish and Radhika Nambiar, attended the function. We had individual exit interviews with all the out-going children and their parents and encouraged them to let their child go in for further education, especially the girls.

 

The class 10 results were out on the 1st week of May. Of the 18 children, who appeared for the exam 6 got first classes, 5, 2nd classes and 4 pass marks. 3 children got a compartment in Mathematics, but have passed in a re-examination held subsequently. We had heard that the Maths paper was particularly tough this year. In anycase we have now strengthened our Maths teaching. Anjali passed with distinction with 85% marks. Our congratulations to her

 

The Neelbagh Annual Day was celebrated on the 14th of August, which is David Horsburgh’s birthday. Ms. Parvati Menon, Senior Editor of the Hindu was the Chief Guest. The sports day was held in the morning and as always the highlight of the day was the Kabadi and Kho Kho and of course the event for the teachers. The children and teachers screamed themselves hoarse to encourage their own teams. Prizes were distributed to all the winners. The sports morning was followed by a special lunch. Thereafter the children put up a good entertainment programme. The Chief Guest addressed the children and other guests and distributed the academic prizes. It was heartening to see so many of the parents attending the event, including construction workers who had come all the way from Bangalore. They were impressed to see all the exhibitions, show-casing the work of their children.

 

We continue to offer vocational courses in Computer Science, Tailoring, Carpentry, Pottery and Electrical Wiring and Plumbing, which the children are making good use of. The Computer Science Department is run by VAPS Technology for Ashraya.

 

35 children from classes 8 and 9 participated in a Science fair organized by Wipro G.E. in Bangalore, on the 8th of August. They had to write essays and present projects related to Science and we are proud to say that they bagged 9 prizes.

 

On the 20th and 21st of August, Mr. Raghavendra , Principal of the school, attended an educational conference in Bangalore, organized by the Azim Premji Foundation.

 

The Neelbagh School children requested us to allow them to participate in Taluk and district level sports. They did exceedingly well and could have gone up to the State level, but could not participate further as it was interfering with their academics. Three of the children were selected for State level Yoga competition.

 

A Yakshagana performance was held at the school on the 19th of August which the children enjoyed.

 

On the 22nd of September, Shonali Chinniah organized a ?Fun with Science ? workshop for 50 children from the 5th and 6th classes. They were given a design task to protect a boiled egg and later a raw egg, with straw and tape and cascade it down a ropeway. I am happy to say that only the staff team managed to break an egg ! The children had fun, but also learnt something about teamwork, design concepts and balance. The children came up with some amazing ideas.

 

The school children put up a entertainment performance for their staff on the occasion of teacher’s day on the 5th of September, to honour the staff.

 

In September we have started sending the 10th class children for English classes to the Sumavaram School, as we are unable to get a good English teacher in spite of advertising the post widely. Narasimhan and Usha are doing a good job and the children are getting a lot out of the classes and catching up with the portions they are supposed to have covered by now.

 

We are most grateful to CIAI sponsors, ICARE in Australia, The K.C. Mahindra Trust (Nani Kali Programme) and quite a few individual sponsors, who make education a reality for poor village children and children of construction workers. We now have 90 children in our hostels and a total of 300 children in the school.

 

WOMEN’S CENTRE

 

On the 30th of December, delegate to the Ashraya 25th anniversary celebrations visited the Women’s Centre. We had organized an entertainment and dinner programme for all our guests and Ashraya members and staff. The adoptees and parents were most moved to hear some of the women’s stories and could identify with them, thinking of the plight of their own biological mothers.

 

On the 7th of October, work commenced on the new project, the Ashraya training cum convention centre, being built by Centre For Vernacular Architecture, on a low cost model. The one acre site is within walking distance of ?TARA? We hope to complete the work by December 2008 and we feel that the buildings will be as impressive as those of the Neelbagh School.

 

We are most grateful to UNIFEM, The Rotary Club of Sumner Park, Australia and Sue Condos, Tim and Lynda Lykes, The Namaste Trust, Sita Ananth, Gulf for Good and Khushii, for helping us to raise funds to get this project off the ground. As mentioned earlier, the bulk of the money needed for this centre was raised at the Art Auction held in Delhi in November 2007.

 

On the 16th of March, we celebrated Women’s Day with a special lunch for the women, which was donated by Ms. Sagarika.

 

The Superintendent, Manjula, attended a one day programme held by the Department of Women and Child Development, on abuse against women, on the 29th of August.

 

One of the women in the Centre was enrolled in a one year Balsevika course run by the KSCCW.

 

On an average, we have 15 women in the Centre and all of them are placed in reasonably good jobs, mostly in the garment factories. At the end of the two year stay, most women have a saving of about 20 to 30 thousand rupees, a lot more confidence and a secure job.

 

We continue to run the Crèche for long hours for some of our children and also children from the village nearby.

 

Manjula, the Superintendent, and Khajabi, the crèche teacher, do a good job in running the centre smoothly.

 

Observation Home

 

Ashraya continues to be a member of the Home Committee of the Observation Home. This is a innovative concept of NGO - Government partnership of running a Government Institution for boys in conflict with the law.

 

Ashraya runs a non-formal school for which we have a full-time teacher, Sashikala, who has an excellent rapport with the boys. We also had a dance and music teacher, but since our funding stopped from The Swedish Foundation for Abandoned Children, we had to terminate his services. We are grateful to CIAI for interim support to run the programme, till we can identify another donor.

 

We have recently re-done all the bunk beds which were broken. We are also trying to start a yoga class through volunteers and some voluntary counselling.

 

The Children’s Day function was held on the 14th of November. G.E. provided a delicious lunch for the boys and staff and the children put up an excellent and vibrant entertainment programme. Sweets were distributed to the boys on the occasion of Independence Day, by Ashraya.

 

Some problems remain, mainly with the level of violence which continues unabated in Police Stations, in complete violation of the J.J. Act . The matter, with all the data, has been sent to Government, but not enough has been done to stop this. Many of the boys are also older than 18, which has been a problem for the staff to handle. Currently there are 50 boys in the Home.

 

Volunteers

 

Volunteers have been a huge support at our children’s home. Each volunteer gives her time to help the children learn and grow as individuals.

 

Manisha, Rakhi, Gita, and Monica work with the older kids helping them with their lessons, craft, art and computer skills, while Rina and Shakuntala and Irith teach and play with toddlers. Tal being a registered nurse from Israel, helps with the babies stimulation programme. Niluka and Cathryn work with Pandu and Suraj who are special needs children.

 

Volunteers from i-to-i , a UK based organization spend 8 to 12 weeks at the Children’s Home, working with toddlers and older children. Young volunteers from GE- Elfun Club spend time on week ends doing fun games with the kids.

 

In Conclusion

 

We are grateful to all the Ashraya Committee members, who continue to donate so much of their time to the organization ; to all our Social Workers who work hard and with great professionalism to ensure that all our projects run well; to the dedicated staff in all our centres; to all our donors who give to us generously year after year and who believe in us enough to continue their support ; to CIAI, A.C., WACAP and AIAA, who partner us so wonderfully, especially in the placement of special needs children in adoption.

 

Panth and Co., continue to give us excellent support and audit our account gratis, including complicated accounts of the fund raiser art show, last year. Without the help of our Treasurer, Sumati Satish, we would not have managed to deal with new complicated procedures such as opening a VAT account and filing VAT returns and dealing diplomatically with buyers and delayed payments ! It has taken us many months to finalise all these accounts.

 

Dr. Krishnan gives us excellent Paediatric cover and Jennifer Stephen comes in for a hour each day to work with therapy for delayed children. This intervention is support by A.C. We are grateful for all they do. Our thanks to our lawyers Mr. E.X. Antony, and Mr. G. Vishwanath, for their legal services in our adoption cases .

 

Excerpts from our visitor’s book

 

20th August 2007

 

Daniela Antonini, CIAI

 

? I am so pleased to see this place. I’m also happy that with my job I can do something to help education in Ashraya ……………”

 

30th October 2007

 

Britt Strom, Sweden

 

(Mother of a boy adopted 34 years ago)

 

?It has been an interesting day at Ashraya. So much love and activities for the children. I feel happy when I see it ?

 

13th December 2007

 

Katherine Hegmann, Head IBM India

 

?You have done an amazing job making the lives of these children so special - The love and attention to bringing their lives to normalcy is incredible work ! You are all special ?

 

January 1st 2008

 

Andres and Janice Goyenechea

 

(Parents of two older adoptees from Ashraya)

 

?Thank you for inviting us to your wonderful conference at Ashraya. We will be eternally grateful to you for our fabulous children. They have and continue to be a huge blessing ……………….?

 

January 1st 2008

 

Maria Rose Goyenechea (Adoptee)

 

? It is always a privilege to be back in India. You will definitely see me again. I look forward to one day being a part of the work you do. Blessings to you all ?

 

January 1st 2008

 

Mikael Anand Wikdahl (Adoptee)

 

? I’m very thankful to be here and hope some day I can come back. I have really enjoyed my time here in Bangalore. A million thanks to all of you ?

 

2nd January 2008

 

Barbara and George Knowles ( Former India Programme Director, WACAP)

 

?Congratulations on your 25th anniversary. It has been a privilege to be here as you celebrate your many accomplishments and achievements. Most of all in bringing hope and love to children in greatest need ………”

 

2nd January 2008

 

Cathy Cox (Mother of Minda Sapna)

 

? I am so overwhelmed with emotion and joy and the memories of being here for two wonderful adoptions. How grateful I am for this opportunity to bring Minda back. I love you all !

 

2nd January 2008

 

Minda Sapna Cox (Adoptee)

 

?I loved every minute of this. I thank you Ashraya for giving me life and hope ?

 

2nd January 2008

 

Jim and Emily Frost (Minda’s Art Teacher)

 

? Thank you for a most wonderful time. We will never be the same again. Thank you for the work you are doing to make the world a better place ?

 

24th January 2008

 

Mr. O.P Sirohe, Secretary CARA

 

? The institution is doing service to God in the true sense of the term by taking care of the surrendered, abandoned and orphan children, particularly Special Needs children. I am really impressed by the devotion and sensitivity of the office bearers and employees of the institution ?

 

1st February 2008

 

Sanjana Grover - Khushii - Delhi

 

? I am totally and completely overwhelmed ! We need more such efforts towards making our tomorrow brighter ?

 

16th March 2008

 

Paul Singer - Jeff Noddle, Supervalu, USA.

 

? Thank you for the great work that you do for such beautiful children ?

 

17th April 2008

 

Veronica George - (Former Social Worker of Ashraya)

 

? It has been a long time and it is great to see the changes and growth ?

 

23rd May 2008

 

Mr. J.K. Mittal - Chairman, CARA

 

? I am delighted to see your work and service to the children. My best wishes to you all ?

 

30th May 2008

 

Sabina Clement - (Adoptive parent)

 

?Wonderful experience indeed - I would recommend Ashraya to anyone who would like to adopt ?

 

21st June 2008

 

Sabrina Manzonchi and Peter Groshans (adoptive parents)

 

?Everything started in this room - it has changed our lives ?

 

 

28th June 2008

 

Dr. Meena Jain - Member of the CWC, Bangalore

 

?Excellent programme and well planned activities. It was an enriching experience seeing beautiful babies, well looked after. Very dedicated and committed team. Great work, keep it up ?

 

News About the Ashraya Family

Ashraya Committee Members

Mrs. Sumathi Subbaiah	President
Mrs. Nomita Chandy	Secretary
Mrs. Sumati Satish	Treasurer
Ms. Shanthi Chacko	Member
Mrs. Surya Vaz	Member
Mrs. Ulka Serrao	Member
Ms. Christy Abraham	Member
Mrs. Shobha Kumar	Member
Mrs. Vidya Majumdar	Member

Ashraya Staff

Radhika Nambiar,	MSW	Social Worker
Lavinia Lewis,	MSW	Social Worker
Reshma Baggan,	MSW	Social Worker
Reena Pinto	MSW	Social Worker

 

Children’s Home

Kavitha	Accountant
Sharmila	Secretarial Assistant
Meera	Teacher
Prakash	Office Assistant
Nagendra	Driver
Rani	Creche Worker
Agnes	Creche Worker
Saritha	Creche Worker
Jayamary	House Mother
Lakshmi	Cook
Thilaga	Child-Caretakers
Shantha	Child-Caretakers
Shanthamma	Child-Caretakers
Yellamma	Child-Caretakers
Gayatri	Child-Caretakers
Jacintha	Child-Caretakers
Devi	Child-Caretakers
Martha	Child-Caretakers
Anusuyamma	Creche Worker
Ammu	Child-Caretakers
Anusuya B.	Child-Caretakers
Meherunissa	Child-Caretakers
Dhanamma	Child-Caretakers
Thangamma	Part-time cleaning lady
Thimmaiah	Part-time gardener
Siddamma
Vijayamma
Pushpavalli

PART-TIME

Dr. N.V.S. Krishnan	Paediatrician
Ms. Jennifer Stephen	Physiotherapist

Neelbagh School

Mr. Radhavendra Rao .C.R.	Principal
Mr. Manjunath	Headmaster
Varalakshmi	Teacher
Shivamma	Teacher
Shankar Reddy	Craft Teacher
Nagaraju	Teacher
Yashoda	Teacher
Pushpalatha	Teacher
Srinivas Reddy	Teacher
Balaji	Teacher
Raghu	Teacher
Manjula	Teacher
Kalpana	Tailoring Teacher
Mehboob Pasha	Carpentry Instructor
Kumar	Computer Instructor (VAPS)
Yasmeen	Kitchen In-charge
Vanaja	Kitchen Staff
Rukmini Bai	Kitchen Staff
Narasamma	Support Staff
Subbamma	Support Staff
Reddamma	Support Staff
Manjula	Support Staff
Padmavathamma	Support Staff
Susheela	Support Staff
Raja Reddy	Driver
Shivappa	Gardner
Subramani	Pottery  Instructor
Venkataramana	Electrical  &  Plumbing  Instructor
Venkatashiva  Reddy
Narasamma

Creches

Ratna	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Balaneela	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Shantha Devi	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Malathi	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Sheshavathi	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Saraswathi	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Ambika	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Mamatha	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Rohini	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Anjali	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Kalpana	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Karthika	Teacher Creche Worker Helper
Anitha	Teacher Creche Worker Helper

Women&##39;s Centre

Manjula	Superintendent
Khaz  Abi	Creche Worker
Ammu	Creche Helper
Yashodha	Part-time gardener

Observation Home

Shashikala

Teacher

Number of Children and Women Served by Ashraya

Children’s Home	45
Neelbagh	300
Observation Home	50
Women’s Centre (Creche)	28
Women’s Centre (No. of women)	15
Creches	160
	----------
Total	598