Our Activities
1. Ashraya Childrens home
Our childrens home is characterised by a warm and happy atmosphere and excellent care, with a high staff-to-children ratio. Some children are here in temporary care, to help families tide over difficult times. Other children between less than 1 to 12 years of age,
who are totally abandoned, are placed legally in adoption, both in India and abroad. Our "Special Needs" programme helps to place physically handicapped children, older children and sibling groups, in loving homes. Ashraya has played a stellar role in promoting good
adoption practice throughout the country. We have been recognised as an Adoption agency in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Central Adoption Resource Agency, Govt of India. A well-developed counseling service helps local couples wishing to adopt.
2. Ashraya site creches
A partnership has grown in the fast developing city of Bangalore, between us and well known builders concerned about workers' welfare.
Our creches on construction sites, provide two hundred children with a safe haven within the building site itself. Ashraya has, since 1982, run creches over 30 large construction sites in this city. Our trained and committed staff
impart literacy and craft training. A nutritious diet and medical cover and immunisation, has improved the health of the children dramatically. Parents involvement has grown through family meetings and informal interaction between them and our creche staff.
3. Neelbagh Residential School
In 1996, Ashraya has started a residential school for children of migrant labour, 100 km. from Bangalore, near Madanapally. The school follows a Kannada medium SSLC syllabus and has a large component of vocational training, as a part of the curriculum.
This fulfills a longstanding need we have felt, to assist children, in our creches, in a more intrinsic fashion. The existing Primary School is being upgraded to High School to take the strength up to 240 children.
4. Temporary Shelter for Lost Children
The “Lost Children Programme “ also operates out of the children's home. Ashraya offers temporary shelter to lost children and works with the City Police and Makkala Sahaya Vani (Child Help Line), in sparing no efforts in restoring lost children to their families and rehabilitating abandoned children.
5. Opportunity School
A need was felt to make the lives of juvenile delinquents and other less fortunate children and teenagers more meaningful. Ashraya runs an opportunity school in the Boys Observation Home in Koramangala, where these boys are kept productively occupied mentally and physically.
This is an effective partnership between government and an NGO.
6. 'TARA', Ashraya women's center
20 Km out of Bangalore, "TARA" was inaugarated on 14th January 1996, by the Hon. President of India, Mr K.R. Narayanan. The centre extends services to battered, abused and abandoned women and assists them to keep their children, rather than relinquish them. Our services include shelter,
counseling, legal-aid, training and job-placement. The multi-purpose Centre has 23 residential units for mother and children, a health centre, a day care centre for children and training centre. It is innovatively and attractively built, with features such as low cost
construction, solar heating and smokeless chulas.
Some insights into Ashraya
Ashraya is funded by several ways; Government grants, donations from contractors, Indian and foreign sponsorship programmes, donations from voluntary organisations and companies and money raised from the sale of greeting cards and fund-raising events.
Our administrative costs are extremely low and most of the money raised goes directly into services for underprivileged children.
Details of our activites during the past year is available at the