Ashreya Charitable Society
December 2013
Impacting individuals, transforming Society Its been four months since our last newsletter and we liketo let you know how God continues to show his favor in the continuation and progress of the work among children of a marginalized community at Arilova. We are grateful to God for donors who faithfully support this work. We hope that more partners will recognize that this is as important as "missions" because, as our Teacher did, so must we. He always cared in action while He gave the good news. Many of us do not have the time todo good works but what we can do is to support activities and projects of Ashreya Charitable Society. If you have new ideas and ways of how we can make a difference in the community please share them with the managment committee of the society. We are being supported extensively by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the multinational Indian conglomerate with interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing goods, information technology and financial services with regard to Ashreya Upper Primary School through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) wings -Prayas, Prerna and Kartavya.
Teacher's Day at Ashreya Upper Primary School The service of teaching children and trying to give shape to their dreams and aspirations is not easy especially when dealing with illiterate and poor parents. This calls for dedication and patience of the teachers. The service of these teachers and staff was recognized and celebrated on September 5, Teacher's Day by the L&T Prerna members. They were felicitated and given a gift in recognition of their work.Later, at The Forum Mr M S Rao (a school teacher) was the chief guest for the celebration. Lunch with the teachers and their families was arranged.
Reaching Out to the Community We have parents in the community who wish to provide a better world for their children by sending them to school but struggle to pay the fees to keep them in school. The school teachers identified 87 such students who are below the poverty line and a 15% fee concession has beenextended to them. For five students free education is being provided. We would not have been able to do this but for your support enabling education for those who cannot afford it. A committment to support a child's education is only Rs. 500 a month, (10 USD). This amount will help us pay their fees, provide books and school uniforms for the academic year. Please consider sponsoring a child - you are sowing a seed in and for a child. The women of the community and neighborhood participated in a safety awareness program that was organised for them by L & T Prerna members.
Building the future of India Our hope is that our students learn to love our nation and become patriotic citizens. Independence Day,August 15, was celebrated with flag hoisting, singing of the national anthem and distribution of sweets. Capt. V Nicodemus of the Parawada Port Trust was the chief guest on the occasion.
Health and wellness drive at the school When working with children in an underprivileged community , the needs of their parents cannot be ignored. Disease and poor health are issues that they constantly face. The L&T Kartavya members came forward to help organize a one-day medical camp on September 14 to check general health, dental health and vision of the students and their parents. Nearly 400 people were benefited by this camp. Medicines worth Rs. 40,000 were distributed free to the students and their parents. L&T Kartavya provided First Aid Kits to the school with medicines worth Rs. 2000. Eight of our students and some teachers were providedspectacles by Vasan Eye Care. We would like to specially express our appreciation and thanks to L&T who sponsored this program.
Stepping in line with government regulations Government regulations now require that all school childr en should have ID cards while in school. This expense was met by L&T Kartavya and all 311 children were provided with ID cards. Incidentally, we have implemented ID tags for the teachers too.
Ashreya Boys' Home - the story of two of our boys At this time only Ganesh lives at the Ashreya Boys' Home.We are proud to report that he has been with us from class 3 and now has completed his Diploma in Computer Hardware from Sankethika Polytechnic College. What a great achievement for a child who was picked up from the streets several years ago. He awaits the graduation certificate for future employment. We wish him God'sfavor and blessing as he seeks employment. A former resident of the Ashreya Boys' Home, Subahan, approached the Society for help with his desire to study. On reviewing the case he is now being supported by the HE David Endowment Fund for his education at B V K College. The fund was instituted to provide needy and deserving students skills training in trades and education up to graduation level in government colleges The y should have had consistently good academic performance. The student is expected to maintain good perform ance to continue to receive support. Support is given for his college fees, books and uniforms. He supports himself by working part-time in a private organization.He is a talented and a good artist. His dream was to become a naval officer. His mother had died when he was sevenyears old. When his father remarried, his stepmother was uncaring and the father beat the children. His older brother left home angry that their younger sisterwas given away to someone in Chennai. Subahan was sent out of his home. With the money that he had in his pocket he boarded a bus that took him to Nellore where he knew he had some relatives -but he did not know where they were and how to get to them. He was hungry and a stranger took him to work in a small wayside eating place where he washed dishes and cleaned the place. He was made to work several hours and was given food but no salary for his work. He escaped from there and went to Gudur on a passing train where he was picked up by the staff of New Hope and taken to their shelter. Finding that Subahan was interested in studying and that he would be influenced by the tough street kids that came in for their meals and to sleep atnight, the staff felt he should be taken to Visakhapatnam where he was brought to theAshreya Boys' Home later and had been with us for several years upto class 10. He left the Home but managed to pass class 10.He now is goinginto the higher level of education. He approached for help with his education and we are happy that a kid interested in investing in his future with education is being helped by this fund.
Sports, competitons and other extracurricular activities The students particpate in extracurricular activities. Quiz and drawing competitions were held on November 11,2013. Games and sports competitions were also conducted. Winners of these competitions were given their prizes on Children's Day, November 14.
Fund-raising by the ladies of Grace Tabernacle Ministries The ladies of Grace Tabernacle Ministries organized a fund-raising food event on the evening of November 2, 2013. We had several counters of food from different regions and cuisines of the country. There was also a book counter and a white elephant stall. The ladies raised Rs.30,250 for Ashreya Charitable Society. Thank you ladies for your invaluable help.
Odds & Ends The school needs a headmaster/headmistress.It is now being managed by a teacher in-charge under the able and dedicated supervision of the school correspondent , Mr. N Eswar Rao. We are happy to also report that the number of girls attending school is almost equal to that of boys. As you may be aware,girls in marginalized communities are not encouragedto study but to stay at home and do housework. This trend is good. We also have a good teacher-studen t ratio of 1:20 unlike most schools where the ratio is much, much higher. We encourage our teachers to attend workshops andtraining programs to improve their skills. At the start of the academic year (June 30 and July 7) both scienceand English language teachers attended a Teacher's Enrichment Training Program conducted by the Visakha Privat e Unaided Schools Management Association at NAD Kotha Road. We plan to have more such training programs for other teachers.
Our future plans for Ashreya Charitable Society School Upgrade - upgrading the upper primary school to class 10.
School Library - Our library is at the bare minimum and we would like students to develop the reading habit and enjoy books. If you have books suitable for children please consider donating them to Ashreya Upper Primary School. More Space for Future Projects - We strongly feel the need for more space. Adjacent to the school there is a plot of land for sale. Acquiring that land would help us to broaden our reach to children of AIDS parents who are shunned by the society, to shelter girls rescued from nefarious activities and an old age home. Skills Training for Women - We also wish to train the women in the neighborhood with skills to earn a living and/ or supplement the family income. L&T Prerna has offered to helpin setting up a facility if we are able to provide the space for such a venture.
Donations : All donations are 50% tax exempt under section80G of the Income Tax Act. Donations made by cheques are to be made out in favor of Ashreya Charitable Society, Visakhapatnam. Those who wish to transfer money through net banking can do so to the account named Ashreya Charitable Society which is with the Union Bank of India, Dwarakanagar, Visakhapatnam. The savings account number is 506102010013073 and the IFSC is UBIN0550612. Please do call us or mail at ashreyacharity@gmail.com Contact Us:
Ashreya Charitable Society,
48-9-18/56 Ratnaveni Complex, Dwarakanagar, Visakhapatnam - 530 016, AP. Email id: ashreyacharity@gmail.com Phone: +91 9849829107 or +91 9849295426 between 10 am and 5 pm IST. Our website is down for modification but we hope to have it up by the end of December 2013.