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Aasraa’s literacy program started more than four years ago in Dehradun’s famous Astley Hall parking lot. It wasn’t even a ‘literacy’ program then! It was about getting street children in and around Astley Hall to stop, notice and hopefully participate. The joys and struggles of the initial days have been…
They say if you need a fresh perspective of the world around you, see it through the eyes of a child. At ‘ Aasraa’, we did just that. The children of ‘Aasraa Trust’ celebrated World Environment Day with a drawing and painting competition across our 3 learning centers in the quaint valley of Dehradun, India .
As I walked past the dirty by lanes of Kanwali Road looking for one of Aasraa’s learning centers on a sweltering afternoon, I was greeted by the famous Indian passerby stares, ungainly sights of garbage, open drains, pigs running in the open. I’m no stranger to these sights, but walking in the midst of it, the…
On the 11 th of May, a global and wonderful collaboration of caring and concerned people got together to bring relief to hundreds of survivors of Nepal’s earthquake. The Gorkhali Sudhar Sabha, Welham’s Girls School, AshaJyothi and Aasraa Trust reached out to friends and family and raised over INR 10 lakhs in 3…
Our children were very fortunate to meet Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India during his recent visit to Dehradun… Here is a segment from his blog……..
Raja & Akhilesh Raja, 12 years old, and his little brother Akhilesh, 8 years old, have been with us for over 3 years. When they first arrived they were spending most of their days begging in and around Dehradun, little Akhilesh guiding Raja acting as his ‘seeing eye’.It is a well-known fact that if a … Read more
By Shaila Brijnath Nehruji’s fondness for children led the 14th of November, his birthday, to be declared children’s day in India While it is good to recognise this, it is important to realise that every day is, in fact, children’s day Children must be loved and nurtured every single day; they must be looked after … Read more
Naina, 13, had walked into our lives in jeans, gaudy multi coloured shirt and the disdainful attitude of a thousand, strutting peacocks writ large on her face, at the inaugural Street Smart meeting, averring, “Mein sab bachon ke leader hoon. Mujse baat karo”, “I am the leader for all children, talk to me.”
We see them but for most they don’t exist. That they are just as filled with emotions as us often does not matter. Forced to grow old even before they can grow up, if there is someone who needs you it is an impoverished child milling around on the street. All of us are familiar with their presence, their approaches…
