Ashraya
Ashraya site visit report
- Purushotham Kamath, September 2003
About Ashraya
During the month of September '03, while on vacation, I attended a meeting of Asha-Bangalore. Asha is an organization based in the US that supports basic education for underprivileged children in India. During the meeting I talked about the Asha chapter we had formed at the University of Southern California and that we were interested in finding a small project in the Bangalore area to support. Mr. Kunnikkal Surendran who was at that meeting mentioned Ashraya, a home run by a social worker Ms. Leela Deshpande that provided shelter, food and education to abandoned children who were mentally or physically challenged.
Ashraya
On Sept 25th '03 I visited Ashraya for the first time with Mr. Surendran. I spent about two hours there, talking to Ms. Leela Deshpande and her staff about her work.
Ashraya is located in RT Nagar, a predominantly residential suburb of Bangalore around 8 miles from the center of the city. Ashraya is a charitable trust registered with the Government of Karnataka, India. It was started in the early 90s. Ashraya's primary cause is the support and education of abandoned mentally and physically challenged children. The trust is run from Ms. Leela Deshpande's home, where the children also stay. The objective of Ashraya is to provide food, clothing and shelter to these children. Their education is taken care of by a primary school which Ashraya runs. During the visit I talked to Leela Deshpande about her work, the costs of running Ashraya and her future plans for Ashraya.
Ashraya supports close to around 60 children. These children were mostly abandoned children taken off the streets of Bangalore. Several of them exhibit varying degrees of physical or mental handicaps. Their ages vary from 4 years old to 14 years old. Ms. Deshpande runs the school using donations from individuals, members of the trust board, other non-governmental organizations. Health care for the children is provided on an ad-hoc basis by voluntary work by local doctors and from doctors whom she knows personally. A local hospital donates some of the medicines needed. The younger children stay with Ms. Deshpande at her home, while the older ones stay at the school. Responsibilities are shared among the children. During the day they attend the school. The older children take responsibility for looking after the younger children.
Ms. Deshpande took me on a tour of the house (see photos). On the first floor was a small office and Ms. Deshpande's living room. On the second floor was a large room, sparingly furnished were the children slept. The third floor had a kitchen. During the visit I also was able to meet a few children who had not gone to school that day. What struck me most about the children I met that day (and on subsequent days) is their sense of optimism and hope, given the circumstances that life has left them in. I don't think I met a single child who didn't greet me with a huge smile and a lot of curiosity. Among the children I met on the first day were Gayatry, Dhanalakshmi and Tirupathy. Tirupathy, the oldest child at Ashraya, is appearing for his 10th grade examinations this year.
The school
Two days later I visited Ashraya again. Ms. Deshpande took me on a tour of the school (see photos). The school, Sree Satya Sayeeswari Educational Society is located about 3 miles from the home. The school follows the state education board's curriculum and uses English as a medium of instruction. The teacher to student ratio is around 1:25.
The school consists of three buildings. The first building has three rooms, two of which serve as classrooms. Though the children range in age from 1st grade to 7th grade, classes are held in two classrooms. The third room is not used presently - Ms. Deshpande wants to turn it into a room for physiotherapy - but it is badly in need of cleaning and painting. Due to the lack of space, the classroom rooms are partitioned into areas for each grade. I spent some time talking to the 4 teachers and a principal who work there. The second building is used as an office for teachers and the third building has rooms for the older children to stay. Ms Deshpande also allows some old aged people to stay there.
On the day I visited the school, the children were taking their mid term examinations. All of them were industriously working on their exams - and from the looks of it doing very well :-). They were being tested on several subjects that day - English, Math and Science.
In the subsequent weeks, I visited Ashraya a few more times more times to talk to Ms. Deshpande. It was a wonderful experience meeting her and her children.
Expenses
As can be estimated, running Ashraya takes a lot of money. Ms. Deshpande said the expenses
total around Rs 1,30,000 per month. An approximate breakdown of the expenses is below:
Food Rs 40000 Medicines/health care Rs 12000 School rent Rs 15000 Utilities Rs 15000 Teacher's salaries Rs 30000 School supplies Rs 30000
Currently these expenses are met through donations from the trust's board members, donations from the public, non government organizations and through voluntary work.
Future plans for Ashraya
Ms. Deshpande expressed interest in Asha funding being used to set up some sort of vocational training program
for the children. A quotation for screen printing equipment is being prepared and details about the proposal
are being finalized.
To donate
If you wish to donate directly to Ashraya in India, you will need Ashraya's FCRA number. Please contact
the author pkamath@isi.edu.
If you wish to donate through Asha please contact pkamath@isi.edu
Asha Star
If you would like to commit to making a regular annual donation of $300 and above towards Ashraya, please
contact pkamath@isi.edu
Support a child program
If you would like to support a child in the form of education, medicine or maintenance, please contact
pkamath@isi.edu
Current status
Asha-USC is in the process of raising funds for Ashraya. Two other
Asha chapters in the US have expressed an interest in assisting with the funding.
Presentation about Ashraya to Asha-USC (Nov' 03)
Proposal from the Ashraya trust
Contact details:
Ms. Leela Deshpande
Ashraya
#2, II Cross Road,
Ganesha Block,
Dinnur Main Road,
RT Nagar
Bangalore 560032
India
Ph: 91-80-3334515
For more information please contact pkamath@isi.edu
