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Child Welfare - Another Perception.
















Our Goal is to make women self-reliant.
















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A Haven for women in distress.
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ASHRAYA REPORT 1999-2000
 The last year’s report started with a resolve to improve our services further and consolidate our work. I can say with justifiable pride, that we have certainly reached these targets we aspired to, and more . Now we need to set our sights higher , especially with regard to the expansion of our rural school, Neelbagh.

EVENTS AND FUNDRAISERS
1. We celebrated the start of the Millennium with a very poignant evening at the Women’s Centre, to dedicate ourselves once more, to the service of those who are underprivileged in our society. Rama Ananth sang a beautiful invocation Hymn ; The Ashraya women sang a welcome song ; Nazneen Jamal and her musicians enthralled the august gathering with evocative Ghazals, in the candle lit ambience of the inner courtyard of the Centre. Poilie Sen Gupta’s poems, Girish Karnad’s readings from Kuvempu, thought - provoking words from Aloma Lobo and Ammu Joseph, made it a very special evening.

2. In an amazing feat, 4 cyclists, in an event appropriately called World 4 India, C.B. Ramkumar (an Ashraya parent ). Badr Fikree, Malcolm Gregory and Alemayhou Gashime, ( all based in Dubai ) cycled from Jammu to Kanyakumari. On the 4th of April the cyclists visited Neelbagh and laid the foundation stone, for the new school building, in an extremely moving ceremony, in the company of all the Ashraya school children. It is hoped to raise a substantial amount of money from the event, towards building the High School. Anjolie Ela Menon, donated a painting for the cause, for which we are most grateful. We are indebted to The Dubai Creek Round Tablers for all they do for Ashraya.

3 .From the 3rd to 15th of August, Shanthi Chacko and Nomita Chandy, attended an Adoption Camp, in Sweden , along with Swedish families ( a 100 people) . The camp was organized by Ashraya parents, the catalyst being Elisabet Johansson. The Folks Schule at Mullsjo, in the south of Sweden, was an idyllic venue. For us it reinforced our strong commitment to Adoption, seeing so many happy families and well adjusted children. A group meeting with the teenagers was very interesting and we were amazed at their self-confidence and ability to talk about themselves and their joys and concerns, with regard to Adoption. For many, the return journey and a search for roots, is very much on the anvil, in the not -too - distant future. It is heartening that the Adoptive Parents took the initiative to organize this meeting.

4. Baby Suneeth was operated on at the Manipal Heart Foundation on 20.10.99, by Dr. Devi Shetty. Open Heart Surgery on a ten day old infant, is a great achievement. We are grateful to Dr. Shetty for this free service. His holiness, The Dalai Lama, blessed the baby and by all accounts was extremely moved by this child. We are happy to say that Suneeth is thriving in the care of loving adoptive parents.

5. The Ashraya Diwali Party was held on 20.11.1999. This has become our annual get-together with our adoptive families and children. Over a 100 people attended the party and undaunted by unseasonal showers, were enthralled by magician Nagendra Prasad and a variety entertainment by the children. High tea and a fireworks display, were enjoyed by all.

6. Kathy Dorsam, one of our staunch volunteers, organized an X’mas party for the Ashraya children on the 3rd of December. Santa Claus gave each child a gift and the children came back to the Children’s Home, full of happy memories and replete with a grand dinner. The children were treated to a visit to Kempfort , by Julia Harris and Barbara Brodie on the 10th of December and were allowed to choose one gift each. We were proud that our children behaved beautifully and did not go hysterical demanding things.

7. On the 18th of December, Samar Bhasin sponsored a performance of X’mas music by “ The Family ’’. We invited blind children from the Jyothi Seva School for this function. The children particularly enjoyed the clown who blew balloons for them in different shapes. The blind children sang for us and we were amazed at how good they were.
The Ashraya children enjoyed yet another X’mas treat , at the Manipal Heart Foundation on the 24th of December.

8. The New Year was celebrated at the Neelbagh School on the 18th of January, with a special lunch and gifts for all the children, sponsored by ICARE. The children put up an excellent variety entertainment , which they enjoyed as much the onlookers !
New Year Parties , with special lunches and gifts were also celebrated at all four of the crèches between the 7th and 13th of January. The crèche children, who have so little, are particularly thrilled to be given gifts. We thank A.C. Dalarna for sponsoring these parties and bringing so much joy to these children.

9. Independence Day celebrations were held at all the crèches on the 16th of August. The occasion was marked by raising the Indian flag, a rendering of the National Anthem, special lunches, variety entertainments and games. The Chief Guest at Neelbagh was a member of the Zilla Parishad. A sports day was organized , in which all the children participated with enthusiasm. Our Japanese Volunteer, Sumiko, directed and produced a play “ Cinderella ’’, to which all the parents were invited. The children showed off their acting skills and talent to perfection.

10. The high point of the year has been our acquisition of a new building, across the road from our Children’s Home. Bright , airy, and cheerful, it has given us the additional space we so desperately needed, to improve our care of children. The new building was inaugurated by Mrs. Sudha V. Reddy, former M.P. on the 16th of September. The children of Ashraya sang a welcome song, and presented , posies to the Chief Guests. Mrs. Reddy spoke movingly of the genesis of Jawan’s Colony, during the Bangladesh war and urged all of us at Ashraya, to continue to do our utmost to help needy children. The new center houses the Makkala Sahayavani children, and the dining area and kitchen, on the first floor. A delightful Mural done by Barbara Brodie and the Ashraya children, makes the dining area stand out. On the 1st floor the older children are thrilled to be housed in a bright cheerful room, with their new house mother Neelamma. The terrace is an all purpose area, for workshops , spill over classes for the children and a space to dry endless amounts of wet clothes on a rainy day.

11. We set the tone for the inauguration by kicking off, with an excellent workshop for Adoptive Parents, attended by 45 parents. The debate on the topic “ Adoptive children are over-indulged ’’, was vigorously debated on both sides, with a good deal of audience participation in the end. We are grateful to Dr. Ali Khwaja, Secretary VCA, for moderating the debate and to our member, Ulka Serrao, for the organisation. In the afternoon, Dr. Usha Suryanarayan spoke on Parenting , which was followed by a question and answer session. Nomita Chandy chaired the session on, “How and when to tell the child about Adoption ’’. The discussion went on through lunch and tea, uninterrupted even by the heavy downpour, as the heavens opened up. We were glad to see that our roof top venue was rain free and that Gerard Lobo had done his job well and quickly, to renovate our new facility.
We are extremely grateful to The Swedish Adoption Centrum, Mr. & Mrs. Vikram, Kathy Dorsam , Brian Scott , Julia Harris and The Overseas Women’s Club, for generous donations, to help us renovate the Children’s Home annexe. We also did some maintenance work to upgrade the Children’s Home, the bathrooms in particular. We now have more space for the babies and toddlers, and more office space and another computer, to help us provide better services.

MEETINGS/WORKSHOPS/SEMINARS
 1. The Ashraya Annual General Body meeting was held on 27.10.1999. Two new members were inducted, Mrs. Sumati Subbiah, who has been a long time volunteer and Mrs. Ulka Serrao, who replaces her husband, John Serrao. The committee expressed their gratitude to John, for having given of his time and effort to the organization for many years. Ulka is an MSW and an adoptive parent. We have had 4 committee meetings during the year under reporting.

2. The Centre for the Child and the Law, National Law School of India, held a National Level Consultation on the J.J. Act, on the 11th and 12th of November at the Best Club. This was a culmination of an on-going consultation with NGO’s , to amend the J.J. Act to become more child friendly. Nomita Chandy attended the consultation. These consultations are to continue for another two years.

3. From 11th to 13th April 2000, Nomita Chandy attended a seminar on “ Good Enough Institutions, Setting Standards for Practice ’’, at the U.T.C, organized by CRY and A.C. Sweden. Nomita Chandy presented a paper on “ Gate-keeping Policies ’’. The delegates visited Ashraya, as a part of their field visits.

4. The National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment , has set up Zonal Committees to conduct Training Programmes for Adoption Agencies. Ashraya is on the co-ordinating committee . The Training Workshop for Social Workers of Recognized Agencies, South Zone , was held on the 14th to 16th July 2000 at UTC, Bangalore. Nomita Chandy spoke on the Home-Study Process, assisted by the Ashraya Social Worker, Priya David. The whole group visited Ashraya on the 15th and Sumati Satish spoke on the placement of Special Needs Children ; Dr. Krishnan spoke on better Medicare ; Barbara Munro spoke on preparing a “ Special Memories ’’ book for children ; and Chitra talked to the group about stimulation for small children. The group also visited our school at the Government Observation Home.

5. Nomita Chandy was a resource person at the South Zone Training Programme, held in Hyderabad , on the 21st and 22nd of September , organized by Sparsh, for Sishu Griha Organisations. She spoke on the Home-Study process and Adoption Ethics.

6. The VCA AGM was held on 31st August. Mrs. Nomita Chandy was unanimously elected Treasurer of the VCA , for a second consecutive term.

WORKSHOP/SEMINARS ATTENDED BY ASHRAYA STAFF
1. Ms. Suma B., Superintendent of our Women’s Centre TARA, attended the seventh National course on Counselling Techniques conducted by The Indian Society of Health Administrators (ISHA), from 6th March – 10th March 2000.

2. Sharmila, our Secretarial Assistant, attended a computer course, Certification in Computer Proficiency, from May 23rd, 2000 to June 28th 2000.

3. Ms. Priya Elizabeth David, our Social Worker, attended a South Zone Training Workshop for Social Workers of Recognized Adoption Placement Agencies. The workshop was sponsored by Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) and National Institute for Social Defence (NISD) from 14th July to 16th July 2000.

4. Ms. Nirmala Motha, our Social Worker, attended a ½ day Seminar on child Abuse, on 17th July 2000, organized by the Family Welfare Centre, Bangalore. She also attended a two day Workshop organized by Parivarthan, Counselling and Training Centre, Bangalore, to improve detection, intervention and prevention of abuse of the girl child. It was held on September 1st and 2nd 2000.

5. Ms. Shamini, our teacher at the Children’s Home, attended a 2 day training programme for child care workers , from 5th July 2000 to 6th July 2000, at the Promise Foundation, Bangalore.

VISITS
1. We have had many visitors to the Children’s Home the last year, some of whom were, Monica Lind, from the Swedish Adoption Centrum , who visited Ashraya and our Neelbagh School on the 3rd and 4th of November 1999. She was very impressed with Neelbagh.

2. Two adopted children, Devaki and Savita, along with their parents, visited Ashraya earlier in the year. Savita was reunited with her biological mother, with the consent of all parties concerned. The meeting was one of mixed emotions and feelings.

3. 40 school children from the Kumaran School visited Ashraya on 08.11.1999, and gave sweets and crackers and clothes for the children , for Diwali.

4. John, from Family Services , visited the Centre on 10.11.1999 and gifted us video cassettes and 3 Audio tapes.

5. The Irish ambassador’s wife, Ana Mcdonagh visited, Ashraya on 12.04.2000.

6. Mrs. Meera Saxsena, Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development, along with Dr. Aloma Lobo, President VCA, visited Ashraya on 23rd of May, \ on a surprise visit. We were most happy to welcome them to our Children’s Home.

7. We are happy to have had a good deal of support from our local community, who continue to visit us regularly and provide special meals for children at the Children’s Home. We have also facilitated visits, as a part of training programmes, for groups of trainee counsellors from the Banjara Academy and Police Personnel , referred by Makkala Sahayavani.

Ms. Rama Ananth was a Special invitee for the 25th Anniversary of AIAA, one of our long time partner agencies, in Michigan, USA in August 2000.

Nomita Chandy and Shanthi Chacko visited the Swedish Adoption Centrum in Stockholm on the 11th of August and met Ann Charlotte Gudmundsson, Monica Lind, Gunilla Andersson and others . They were very warmly welcomed at A.C.

VOLUNTEERS
 Ashraya continues to get excellent support from our volunteers, especially from members of the Overseas Women’s Club. Barbara Munro, Barbara Brodie, Sumati Subbiah, Kathy Dorsam, Ushi John, Karen Mehta, Christa Vanmali, Julia Harris, Aruna Machani and Khorshed Talati, Sujata Mukherjee, Monica, Ylva Johansson, and Sue Condas give the children generously of their time, in academic teaching, crafts work and special outings. This is a value addition, that you cannot put a price on. The fact that so many of the older children have performed so well in school in the new country, after the adoption , speaks volumes for the work done by our volunteers. Sumati Satish has done a great job this year co-ordinating the volunteers.

Sumiko, a young Japanese girl, came to us through AISEC and spent three months at Neelbagh. It is to her credit that she managed the isolation, the basic Indian food and very frugal facilities, in a rural area , with such confidence and very little grumbling. The children in the school were delighted to have Sumiko teaching them origami, theatre, and painting.

Ginny Bell, continues to keep in touch with us and we are grateful to her for all the educational material she has donated to Ashraya.

STAFF
1. We held a farewell party for Sharmila Kumari, the Ashraya Social Worker, on 25.01.2000, as she left to join her husband in the United States. We wish her all the best in her future life and career.

2. Nirmala Motha joined Ashraya as a Social Worker on 1st December 1999. This is Nirmala’s first job, after she graduated from Social Work School.

3. A new teacher, Shamini Sandra Kumar, joined Ashraya on 01.06.2000, as Mary Elizabeth had got a job in a regular ICSE school. We are happy that she still visits us regularly. We had a farewell party for Elizabeth on 15.05.2000.

We have appointed a new Head Mistress, Tejeswini, for the Neelbagh School on 03.07.2000. She has an excellent academic track record and is a rank holder in the University. The services of Mr. Ganesh Sheregar, was terminated , on account of total dissatisfaction with his work and handling of children. We are pleased to say that the new Head Mistress is handling the school efficiently. The following new teachers and House parents were also appointed. Pushapalatha as House mother, on 01.07.2000. Manjunath as teacher cum House father 01.06.2000. Yashoda on 01.06.2000. Chandrakala on 01.06.2000

CHILDREN‘S HOME
Currently there are 37 children in the Children’s Home. In the year under reporting, Ashraya placed 17 children in Indian Adoption and 14 children in Inter-country Adoption of whom 10 were Special Needs Children . 1 child passed away.

Though we have been hampered in our placement of Special Needs Children , because CARA had banned Inter-net listing of children , we have still been able to place many hard to place children because of the strong out-reach of our partner agencies. Unfortunately, it is taking a much longer time to find families.

Each member of the Ashraya Committee has contributed a great deal to the functioning of the organization , Surya Vaz helps with sorting out donations in kind and seeing to it that all donations are well utilized. We have been able to help other organizations such as Bosco and Missionaries of Charity and Makkala Sahayavani, by giving them clothes and toys . Surya also helps in our outreach programmes. Sumati Satish and Sumati Subbiah help to organize the school room and volunteers and our inter-action with Government authorities. Shanthi helps with the general management of the Children’s Home, and Ulka Serrao is working with the Adoptive Parents support group. We hope to do a lot more follow up visits and more adoption workshops, in the coming year.

The 80 G exemption has been renewed upto 31.03.20002.

The Makkala Sahayavani Programme has been very successful and from October 1999 to October 2000, 51 children have been restored to parents. Mr. Ashwath, the new Juvenile Board Chairman, has been most helpful and has agreed to streamline the process of cases going through the Juvenile Board.
We are most grateful to Aloma and David Lobo, for fostering a Special Needs baby with tender loving care , till such time as we are able to find her a family.

WOMEN’S CENTRE
Since October 1999 we have had 28 referrals to the Women’s Centre. We continue to find job placements for the women in local garment factories. The programme has been working very well. Three women have successfully undergone training in the Garment Industry , in specialised work, to enhance their earning ability.

On the 9th of July, one of our women, Chowdamma, got a brain hemorrhage due to complications in pregnancy and though we pulled out all the stops to give her the best medical treatment possible we could not save her. We have resolved to keep all unwed mothers in our Children’s Home, in future, so that there is no time delay in getting women to hospital. We undertook to care for a lady , referred though NIMHANS. She did well for two months, but then had a relapse and had to be referred back to Nimhans. We have now worked up an arrangement with K.C. General Hospital, Malleshwaram, for medical care for the women in our Women’s Centre, due to the proximity of the hospital, to our Centre.

Renovation work was undertaken at the Centre to stop roof leakages etc,

Currently there are 13 women in the Centre. We have 15 children in the crèche, including children from the local community.

CRECHES
 Ashraya continues to run, four crèches at different venues around the city. The crèche at Shivajinagar is fortunate to have help from Kajolie Khanna, who organizes special events and treats for the children in that crèche, who are her very special protégées. The facilities in the Koramangala crèche, the Jayanagar Creche and the Infosys crèche, have all been improved by the Builders. Nine Children, of construction workers, from the crèches, joined the residential unit of the Neelbagh School during the year’s intake in the Nursery class. It is to the credit of our crèche teachers that these children do extremely well in school.

We have discontinued taking the Government grant for the crèches , as it is now handled by the Zilla Parishad and had become extremely difficult to access. We currently look after 150-200 children at our crèches.

We are grateful to A.C. Dalarna, Hebbel Schule , the building contractors and individual donors for supporting this programme.

NEELBAGH SCHOOL
We are happy to state that we have finally been accorded recognition by the Karnataka Government , for our Primary School, having applied as early as 1996. This is an unaided, Kannada medium, rural school and it was hard to understand why there was such a delay in this matter.

We now have 18 teachers and support staff at Neelbagh and 130 children. up to class 6. There are 49 children in the hostel. Children have taken part in Taluk level sports and debating competitions and have done quite well. Children are now taking part in a lot more extra -curricular activities.

We have done a lot of work this past year to renovate the buildings, and upgrade our water-supply. We have approved the plans for the construction of the High School and are to embark upon this project shortly.

We continue to get assistance for the school from CIAI, ICARE, AC. OSTERGOTLAND , THE MAHINDRA TRUST and individual sponsors, to whom we are most grateful for the support they give.

OBSERVATION HOME
We have two teachers in the Observation Home Opportunity School, Ratna and Jamuna, who has joined us recently. We have 70 to 100 children in the school at any given time. It continues to be an interesting project, by way of NGO –Government Co-operation. This is an unaided project.

This past year has not been without its share of problems. 11 adoption cases ( 3 of ours ) were dismissed by the 2nd Additional Judge, Family Court, in August this year, on flimsy grounds. The Judge said that there is “ trafficking in children’’ and not enough effort had been made to place children in in-country adoption. Ashraya has spearheaded action in this regard, to resolve the problem, with intervention from the High Court, and The Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Karnataka. We consider it necessary to initiate short training workshops, for Judges and other functionaries, to orient them about adoption norms and procedures.

In conclusion, the committee would like to record its thanks to Auditors M/s. Panth & Co., for doing a very thorough Audit of our accounts, as a social service ; to our dedicated band of volunteers for all they do for us ; to Dr. N.V.S. Krishnan , for keeping our children in good health ; to the Ashraya team of staff, for having done a good job with commitment, dedication and professionalism.

Our plans for the next year will center around Neelbagh , as the buildings and facilities take shape. We hope to develop a software package to make better data entry of the children going in adoption. We certainly need to work strongly to reach out to more women in distress, who can use our package of assistance and facilities in the Women’s Centre. We would like to organize an International level conference on adoption, to mainstream adoption, as a good child welfare programme. We would also like to embark on one good fund raiser to support all our projects, as our work has grown and the number of children and women in our care is growing year by year.

OCTOBER 2000

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