EVENTS :-

1. Our Senior Social Worker, Radhika Nambiar, and our Therapist, Jennifer, went on a visit to Sweden which was sponsored by the Swedish Adoptionscentrum, from the 27^th of October 2005 to the 7^th of November. We are grateful to A.C. for providing this wonderful opportunity to both the girls to experience the world of inter-country adoption at first hand. They also visited CIAI, in Milan on their way back to India. The highlight of their visit, was staying with adoptive families in both countries and seeing how the children placed from Ashraya, had adjusted and bonded with their families.

2. It was a red letter-day for us on Children's day last year when we received the prestigious National Award for Child Welfare for the year 2003-2004. Ms. Nomita Chandy, accepted the award on behalf of Ashraya from Sri Arjun Singh, Minister for Human Resource Development, Government of India. We received a certificate and a cheque of Rs. 3,00,000/-. Public affirmation of our work was indeed very special to us.

3. The Ashraya AGM was held on the 10^th of November 2005. This was followed by an in-house Diwali Party. The children had a high tea and a cracker display, which was less nerve - racking this year, as there were less children to keep out of harms way. Diwali bonuses were given to all the staff of the Children's Home, Creches and Women's Centre.

4. We celebrated Christmas on Saturday the 17^th of December at Ashraya. This time we invited all our adoptive parents and children and asked each family to bring a gift for their child. The Overseas Women's Club very kindly packed gifts for all the Ashraya children which “SANTA ” handed out to a band of very excited children. 150 people enjoyed the Christmas Carols and typical Christmas fare. A big thanks goes to Karen Mehta for the delicious X'mas cake and to OWC for all the arrangements.

5. Our annual picnic and get-together of staff from all our projects, was held on the 28^th of December 2005 at the MICO Guest House at Hosur. Everyone enjoyed the beautiful gardens and Biryani lunch. The staff organized some energetic games and the inevitable Antakshari ! It was a good time to bond and get to know one another.

6. We have had four committee meetings during the year under review. The muster in the Children's home was completed in February 2006.

7. The A.C. Partners' meeting was held at the Angasana SPA and Resort, just outside of Bangalore, from the 26^th to 29^th of March 2006. Ashraya helped to organize the workshop, along with A.C. at this beautiful venue. The resource people were Dr. Uttara Vidyasagar, Jennifer, Dr. Aloma Lobo, and Dr. N.V.S. Krishnan. One evening the whole group visited the Women's Centre and were very impressed with the project. A.C. had invited Nomita, Sumati Satish, Lavinia and Radhika to attend the workshop. Our other members came for the gala farewell dinner. Everyone agreed that it was one of the best Partner's Workshops that we have had so far. These workshops continue to be a source of inspiration in our work and each time we learn something of great significance. Monica Lind and Elizabeth Bakke from Sweden represented A.C. Ashraya hosted a lunch for all the 25 participants on the 29^th.

8. Ashraya hosted a lunch party on the 12^th of September to celebrate the 80^th birthday of a very special lady, Ms. Sudha Reddy. Sudha's family also attended the party and we expressed our gratitude to her for all the help and support she has given to Ashraya over the years. She remains a great inspiration for all of us.

9. Lavinia visited WACAP, in Seattle, in May 2006 and visited many of the families and adopted children. She describes her visit as very interesting and “good to know how the children are faring”. These trips are extremely important for the Social Workers, to understand the programme better and to improve their Social Work skills.

NEWS ABOUT THE ASHRAYA FAMILY :-

ASHRAYA COMMITTEE MEMBERS

ASHRAYA STAFF

CHILDREN’S HOME

NEELBAGH SCHOOL

CRECHES

WOMEN'S CENTRE

OBSERVATION HOME

NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN SERVED BY ASHRAYA

WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS AND MEETINGS :-

1. On Saturday the 19^th of November all the Karnataka Adoption Agencies and the VCA together, celebrated Adoption Week with a Joint Programme at “The Athena” Club. The magic show, eats and fun and games were sponsored by the Leela Palace hotel. The event was televised by NDTV. The television channel also did a feature on older child adoption and the poignant meeting of Fathima with her mother, who had just arrived This was televised on the 25^th of November.

2. NIMHANS, the Nodal Agency for Childline, organized a meeting for all the implementing agencies. Ms. Chandy put forward a concrete proposal of how the Child Line should function.

3. Lavinia attended a workshop organized by NIPCCD at New Delhi from the 12^th to 16^th December on “Managing Early Childhood Care and Developmental Services ”.

4. Nomita was a resource person for the CACL-K workshop. “Training of Trainers on the J.J. Act ” on 18.01.2006. The workshop was attended by the CWC members, NGO’s and Government officials. The topic was on Adoption.

5. Nomita Chandy was a resource person at the CARA Regional Workshop held at Chennai, organized by the VCA-Tamilnad on the 23^rd and 24^th of February. She chaired a session on Documentation. Radhika Nambiar also attended the workshop.

6. The CARA annual meeting of agencies was held on the 24.05.2006 at New Delhi. Ms. Chandy attended the meeting.

7. On the 24^th of March 2006, there was a Field visit of Government Probation Officers, as part of the training on Adoption, sponsored by CARA. 30 people visited Ashraya.

8. Nomita Chandy gave a talk to members of the YWCA, Bangalore, on the occasion of World Membership Day of the YWCA, on 24.04.2006. The topic was “Changing lives, Changing communities”.

9. The Adoption Workshop at Ashraya was inaugurated by Dr. Aloma Lobo, Chairperson of CARA, on 20.05.2006. Dr. Uttara Vidyasagar spoke on “Adoption a Lifelong Experience”. Psychologist, Nirupama Rao spoke on “Behavioural problems of children” and Nomita Chandy made a presentation of “Growing Trends in Girl Child Adoption”. 15 couples attended and the sessions were interactive and lively.

10. Mrs. Nomita Chandy was invited to a meeting on the 2^nd of August by CARA to discuss the “Integrated Child Protection Scheme”, which is being promoted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India as part of the 11^th Plan.

11. Ms. Nomita Chandy was invited to Pretoria, South Africa, by the Tshwane Coalition for Adoption, to make a presentation on “Domestic Adoption in India” at their National Seminar held on 27^th to 29^thSeptember 2006. It was an extremely interesting and rich experience to see the adoption programme in another country and the kind of services they have for women and children in need.

12. Nomita Chandy and Sumati Satish also visited Italy in June 2006 for 9 days on a trip sponsored by CIAI. We were able to address a group of Neelbagh sponsors and visit adoptive families in Milan, Padua, Moderna and Rome. It was indeed very gratifying to meet children adopted from Ashraya, and to see how well they were doing.

13. Subhashini attended a Sudatta Workshop on Adoption on 06.11.2005

VISITORS :-

Ms. Kate Hills and Mrs. Pauli from Gap Activity projects, made a field visit to the school on 4^th of November.

A group of teachers from Don Bosco school Punganoor, accompanied by their headmaster, visited our school on the 23^rd of October.

The State Secretary of the Kannada Sahitya Parishad visited us on September 2006.

The newly appointed BEO, Mr. Chandrashekar Babu, visited the school in August and was impressed with the facilities.

Mrs. Valeria Dragone from CIAI, visited the school in August 2006 and observed the sponsorship programme at first hand.

We were also very happy to welcome Monica Lind from A.C. Sweden from the 24^th to 26^thof January. Valeria Dragone from CIAI, at the end of September. Teri Bell from AIAA, on the 16^th and 17^th of February. As always, it is great to interact, one on one, with our partner agencies from abroad.

EXTRACTS FROM OUR VISITOR’S BOOK :-

1 “ Congratulations. It is exciting to see your success and we wish you well in the future as you continue to touch so many lives in a positive way......”.

Susan Allen
Wife of Senator George Allen

2. “ Visited the institution. It is well maintained. It is a complete institution in all respects, such as health and hygiene, pre-school education and recreation......”.

DWCD Officers

3. “ Wonderful to visit Ashraya. Exceptionally good was a visit to TARA ”.

Vijay Raina
SOS Children’s Home, Delhi.

4. “ Excellent facilities, Wonderful work. Keep it up ”

Aruna Kumar
Secretary, Delhi Council for Child Welfare.

5. “ Thank you for an extraordinary. 3 days - especially the visits to TARA and Ashraya. Remarkable work”.

Leila Baig
CIVARA, Delhi.

6. “ Thank you for an extra-ordinary revelation for me. I have been very impressed ”.

Loraine Campos
DCCW Social Worker

7. “Dear Ashraya people. Thank you for everything. This first trip to India, meeting you and learning a lot of new things has been very meaningful for me

Elisabeth Bakke
Adoptionscentrum, Sweden

8. “Congratulations and best wishes for all the wonderful ways you have touched the lives of the needy, especially women and children ”.

Sr. Udaya, Sr. Helen
St. Catherine’s Convent, Mumbai

9. “Words are not enough to praise the meticulous and caring work that Ashraya puts in. A model that should be copied by all agencies ”.

Swaran Choudhury
SICW, Calcutta.

10. “Getting to finally see Ashraya and all the wonderful work you do, has been a revelation for me

Sheela Adige
SICW, Calcutta.

11. “ A wonderful project . Excellent work being done ”.

Sheetal Mehta
K.C. Mahindra Trust

12. “ Amazing work. May a thousand Ashraya’s bloom ”.

Manoj Kumar
Naandi Foundation, Hyderabad.

13. “ It has been a joy to come and see the Ashraya staff in action. The love and commitment for children and families is easy to see on a daily basis.... ”.

Mary Moo
WACAP, USA

14. “We are overjoyed to take Kishen home with us. Thank you for taking such loving care of him ”.

Weston and Michele Davis
Adoptive parents

15. “ Visited the home, which is very well organized ”.

Yeshpal Debas
Secretary, CARA.

16. “ Great work. Extremely inspiring. Loved the kids. I am glad I visited the Centre ”.

Madhur Motwani
Youth Reach, Delhi.

17. “ The growth of this institution is incredible ! What with the wonderful leadership which runs it and the wonderful environment which surrounds the institution, it is no surprise that the National Award was bestowed on it ”.

Sudha V. Reddy, former M.P.

18. “It was really a moving experience to see all these bright and lively faces radiating so much joy and happiness ”.

Chitra Dodamani.

19. “Ashraya Children’s Home is an eye-opener for me. A few people’s initiative and individual care and so many lives are changed ”.

Anjana Chatterjee
U.S. Consulate – Chennai

Children’s Home :-

Our In-country Adoption Programme continues to grow from strength to strength. It is true today that we barely have any healthy young children for placement in Inter-country adoption. Our local families have a strong preference for adopting the girl child. I would estimate that 8 out of 10 families want to adopt girls.

Ms. Nomita Chandy continues to be the Treasurer of the
VCA-K.

The Richardsson family, who had adopted a child from Ashraya, very generously presented us with a computer, which is for the exclusive use of our Social Workers.

We donated Rs. 10,000/- to The Missionaries of Charity, Bangalore, to buy mattresses for children. They do a wonderful job caring for over 50 mentally challenged children. Motorola was also kind enough to gift an old computer to Ashraya for the use of the children. The Overseas Women’s Club gave us a substantial donation of about Rs. 50,000/-. This was used to do up the play ground and build a “ Wendy house ” and sandpit for the children. We also bought a computer and games equipment for the Neelbagh School. Our grateful thanks to all our kind and generous donors.

The Infants and Toddlers section was repainted and fully sanitized in September 2005.

We undertook a marathon job of re-organising our filing system. We also took apart conference material from 1982 onwards and have re-filed relevant papers subject wise. Our resource center is small, but it has a lot of useful material, and books.

CHILDREN'S HOME :-

1.There are currently 61 children in our Children’s Home. Court processes continue to be unduly delayed. Dr. Lobo and Nomita Chandy met the Chief Justice of Karnataka and appealed to him to shorten the procedures as per the Mumbai model. We have also asked the Director of Women and Child Development to intercede in this matter.

ADOPTION STATISTICS :- January to December 2005

Indian Adoption:-	20
NRI Adoption:-	3
Inter-country Adoption:-	24
Inter-country Adoption:-	5
Children returned to parents:-	4
Children transferred:-	3
No children died in this period of time

2. Ashraya continues to have a lot of Special Needs children in the home. We are reputed to do the most Special Needs placements of any agency, throughout India.
This includes older children, sibling groups and many physically challenged children. One adoption of a child Deepak, disrupted here when the family from Sweden came to fetch the child and found he was much more delayed than they had expected. The family had all the data on the child, which they seemed to have glossed over and not taken into account. In future we have decided to take a call on children who are mentally challenged. Deepak was transferred to another facility. For many of the other children, like Raj and Prerana, we have persisted, and with long-term and good interventions from Jennifer in the stimulation programme, they have come a long way and we are now able to find families for them. We are grateful to A.C. for sponsoring the stimulation programme.

3. We have also started a co-operation with The Infant Jesus Children's Home which cares for HIV+ children. We managed to get a grant for them to support the HIV -AIDS programme. The Home transfers HIV false positive children to Ashraya. We have even managed to place some of these children in Indian and NRI placement, which is a milestone in our In-country adoption programme.
The other milestone viz a viz adoptions, has been the placement of older children and siblings with NRI and PIO families. The NRI waiting period continues to grow, as domestic adoption picks up.

4. The Ashraya children have had a lot of outings this year, thanks to our band of dedicated volunteers. Karen Mehta has taken the older children and toddlers home for a tea and movie on several occasions. Monica took the children to her farm on Sarjapur road for a fun-filled picnic on the 27^th of February. Monica and her sister also took the children to a nearby park for snacks and games. Hillary took the older children out for lunch and to the park on the 18^th of August. G.E. volunteers took 15 of the older children to their office for a painting competition and movie. Two of our children won prizes and were very proud of themselves, as there was stiff competition from four other schools. Surya also took the children over to her house for a lunch on the 24^th of March.

5. Ten children from the Golden Bead Montessori School, aged 4 - 5, visited Ashraya on 01.02.2006. They very generously donated clothes and toys for the children.
There was a field visit of students from St. Aloysisus College, Mangalore of 21 students and two staff members on 25.11.2005. This was their first exposure to adoption.

6. 15 older children and toddlers went to the Gemini Circus, on the 3^rd of February and had a wonderful time. This was organized by Emma the “I to I ” volunteer at Ashraya.

7. Ms. Juliette Jaulvery raised funds for Ashraya from a sale of Indian handicrafts in France. She donated Rs. 78,150/- which is for the repair of the Children's Home roof and a solar heating system in Neelbagh. We are most grateful to her for all her efforts.

8. Angasana Resort and SPA, had an innovative way of celebrating Valentine's day by inviting 15 of our children to a special party at their resort on the 14^th of February. The children enjoyed themselves hugely.

9. Osteopaths from France visited Ashraya for the second time and gave treatment to several of our special needs and delayed children. The treatment seemed to help some of the children and certainly does no harm.

10. Prakash started in February as our new office boy and has been doing his work quietly and efficiently.

11. Nomita Chandy was elected to be the agency member on the ACA committee on August 29^th 2006 at the AGM and election meet of the ACA-K. The new CARA guidelines on Inter-country Adoption have been circulated. Adoption fees for Inter-country Adoption have now gone up to $ 3500 a case, all inclusive. Follow-up reports are now mandated for only 2 years. Ms. Chandy continues to be on the Adoption Advisory Cell of the State Government.

12. Nomita Chandy celebrated her 60^th birthday on the 21^st of August by hosting a lunch for the Ashraya children and staff. The special invitees were the twins Ruchi and Rachel and their parents. The twins and their father Murali also celebrated their birthdays on the same day !

13. Zee Kannada did a T.V. shoot in Ashraya on the 8^th of August on Adoption. Lavinia and Subhashini spoke in Kannada about Adoption

14. We had a farewell party and baby shower for our Social Worker Usha, on the 1^st of April. Rama joined Ashraya as our new Social Worker, on 01.03.2006 in place of Usha. Congratulations to Usha on the birth of her baby Shreyas, on the 6^th of June.

15. We have started regular counselling services twice a week through Parivarthan, a professional counseling organization, for the children from September 2006. I am sure this will help children in difficult circumstances.

NEELBAGH SCHOOL :-

Once again we lost our Neelbagh Principal ! The turnover has been extraordinary over the years, but somehow the school seems to run on its own momentum. Mr. Roy Joseph and his wife Binu contributed significantly to the development of the school for 1 ½ years. They have both got good jobs in Australia and we wish them all the best in their future.

The new principal Mr. Padmanabhan, took over on the 15th of August 2006.

We were very pleased that our school results have been good again this year. The pass percentage was 91% which is well above the Kolar district average. Out of 11 students who took the exam 5 got a 1st class, 5 got a 2nd class and 1 girl got a compartment in maths. Ratnamma who had got a compartment in one subject last year, managed to pass the exam on her second attempt.

We had a valedictory function for the class 10 students on the 3rd of March. We had a festive lunch and enjoyed a variety programme put up enthusiastically by the children. This was followed by exit interviews with all the children and their parents.

Currently there are 273 students in the school, of whom 90 are in the hostels. We run classes from LKG to class 10 in Kannada medium. The school is sponsored by CIAI, ICARE and The K.C. Mahindra Trust and some individual sponsors. We are most grateful to all of them for giving these children such a good opportunity to get a good all round education.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES :-

1. The students of 8^th, 9^th and 10^th classes and our staff did “Shramdhan ”, repairing the badly damaged tar road that leads to our school from Rayalpad. It was appreciated by the local people and was published in the vernacular newspaper, demanding a solution from the government.

2. In the inter-school sports competitions for schools which were held in Mudi Madugu, our students bagged the 1^st place in more than 12 events and qualified for the Taluk level competitions. Our congratulations to all the winners.

3. A young scientists exhibition was organized in Byreshwara school and 12 students from our school participated and bagged the 2^nd prize in overall performances.

WORKSHOPS AND FIELD VISIT :-

1. On the 13^th of January FES, a sister concern of Anand, Gujarat, organized a workshop on Environmental Education. They conducted games, debates and quizzes for all the students.

2. On the 27^th of January, a Career Guidance Workshop was organized. Seven professionals from different fields of work addressed the students. This was a very useful workshop and the children learnt a lot.

3. Mr. Sriram Reddy, Principal, Byreswara Junior College, gave a demonstration on techniques of preparing basic household necessities, like shampoo, soap, detergents, pehnyle etc.

4. Mr. Roy Joseph and Nomita Chandy attended an interesting seminar organized by the Azim Premji foundation, on “Autonomous and accountable teacher for quality education ” from the 22^nd to 24^th October. There was a lot of interest shown in Neelbagh, as an “alternative school”.

5. Mr. Raghavendra and Mr. Nagaraj attended the APSA workshop, “Lets Play ”, on the 10^th and 11^th of November, at Bangalore. They subsequently had an orientation programme for the other staff of the primary school, on what they had learnt at the workshop.

6. We organized a sex education workshop on 10.02.06 for the class 9 and 10 students. The sessions were taken by Dr. Uttara Vidyasagar. As usual, we found the orientation to be very practical and necessary for the students. The girls in particular, were very interactive.

GENERAL :-

School vacations were from 5^th to 16^th October for Dasara. The school closed for summer vacation on April 13^th and re-opened on May 16^th.

The children have ample opportunities to learn in a conducive and pleasant atmosphere, with all facilities. They thoroughly enjoy the computer classes which are open to children from class 1 upwards. We have added on one more vocational trade this year, in electrical wiring and plumbing. The courses on offer are in tailoring, computers, carpentry, bee keeping, plumbing and wiring and pottery.

The facilities for games have improved considerably and the basketball court is the hub of most of the activity. It is wonderful to see the staff and children play enthusiastically together, on the court. Children go on a lot of hikes, in and around Neelbagh. We currently have two volunteers in the school, Chris and Peter from the U.K. They teach English and sports to the children. They have adjusted well to rural conditions and eating simple Indian vegetarian food. Australian volunteer Christina was with us from September to November 2005 and she took our basketball team for a friendly match to Don Bosco school at Punganoor. Natalie also from Australia, volunteered for a record 3rd time, from December to February 2006. The children always love to have Natalie amongst them.

Rina, who was the house mother at Neelbagh, was brought back to Ashraya, as she was too young to handle the work at Neelbagh. Subsequently she left Ashraya to take up another job. Rina was replaced by Hemalatha, who is a trained and mature Balsevika.

We had a terrible tragedy this year, when teacher, Shanta’s 5 yr. old son, drowned in the pond, on the 11^th of December. It was a holiday and the mother had not realized that her son was wandering around on his own outside. Subsequently the pond has been fenced in, so it is out of reach for all the children.

All the renovation work of the old buildings was completed this year. We installed two solar heaters for the junior school, which were much needed and we are grateful to the Overseas Women’s Club and to Juliette Jaulvery, for the donations to complete the job. We also secured the orchard land adjacent to our school, legally and have planted some fruit tress. Monkeys continue to be the bane of our lives, as they are so destructive.

CELEBRATIONS AND EVENTS :-

1. The 4^th of November was Diwali and the hostel students were given chocolates and sweets and the children enjoyed the day with some fireworks and crackers.

2. Children's Day was marked by a sumptuous meal for all the students. In the afternoon there were two friendly cricket matches between the staff and boys and a basket ball match between the staff and girls. In both events the students were the winners.

3. On Teacher's Day, the teachers were given some free time and the 10th standard students conducted classes. There was also a cultural entertainment programme to mark the day.

4. The Neelbagh annual day was celebrated on the 14^th of August, which is Mr. David Horsburgh's birthday. Ms. Jija Harisingh, IPS, Managing Director Jungle Resorts and Lodges, was our Chief Guest. She gave an inspirational speech to the children in Kannada and I am sure many of the girls would be motivated to join the police force. In the morning we had our sports day, which went off well and with great enthusiasm from all the participants. After a good lunch, we had a variety entertainment, prize distribution and a speech by the chief guest.
On the 15^th of August the children celebrated Independence Day with a flag hoisting ceremony.

5. Spic Macay organized a wonderful programme at Neelbagh on the 18^th of September. Eminent Veena artist, Jayanthi Kumaresh and Party, enthralled the audience with a scintillating recital and lecture demonstration. We hope that Spic Macay will continue to bring good cultural events to the school.

SITE CRECHES :-

We run four Creches in and around Bangalore. There are about 135 children in all the Creches.

We had the New Year party for the crèche children at Ashraya on 21.01.2006. We organized a Biryani lunch and gifts for all the children and a magic show which had them enthralled. Ms. Debbie Purvankara was our Chief Guest.

Independence Day was celebrated at each of the Creches with a special lunch and variety show and flag hoisting. Ashraya Committee members attended these functions.

We are grateful to A.C. Dalarna, Hebbel Schule, CIAI and Individual sponsors and the Contractors, who help us to run these crèches.

WOMEN’S CENTRE :-

1. Neetha Kulal was appointed as the Creche teacher at the Women's Centre Creche. There are currently 21 children in the crèche including children from the nearby village.

2.The Superintendent Manjula, continues to do a good job with the counselling and the job placement of the women. Currently there are 19 women in the Women's Centre.

3. The Women's Centre was completely white washed and the paint work done up and repairs of drains and septic tanks completed.

4. The visit of the delegates of the A.C. Partners’ Workshop, was the highlight of the year. This was also our celebration of Women's Day. Three of the women spoke poignantly about their problems, which touched the hearts of many.

5. We strongly intervened in the case of a woman who had been gang raped, as the police were trying to get her to withdraw her statement. We protested about this and the endless interrogation she is being subjected to by the police, to the Police Commissioner.

The following people visited the Centre this year :-

1.  20.08.2005  -  V.M. Devaki
2.  May. 2006  -  Ms. Martha  -  Italy (CIAI)
3.  07.07.2006  -  Ms. Monique  -  Holland
4.  09.09.06  -  Ms. Anjana Chatterjee  -  Chennai  -  U.S. Consulate

OBSERVATION HOME :-

Ashraya continues to be on the Home Committee of the Observation Home. The committee meets at least once in two months and we ensure that the conditions in the home are reasonably good. Our teacher Shashikala has a good rapport with the boys. We continue to advocate strongly on behalf of the children against police violence, which continues unabated. Currently there are 40 boys in the Home who are in conflict with the law.

We are grateful to the Swedish Foundation For Children, for sponsoring the project, which has made a world of difference in a Government run institution. Mr. Manjunath acts as a stimulator for the boys and does interesting activities with them.

1. On the 21^st of November we celebrated Children's Day with a grand lunch. The boys put up a variety entertainment. In turn they were highly entertained by a Puppet show. The event was sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Hattangadi, to whom we are most grateful.

2. In December, 15 children managed to break out of the home, after hitting the guard and ran away. The guard on duty was quite seriously injured. Security at the Home was improved subsequently.

The Government of India is very interested in this unique partnership of managing Government Homes, between the State Government and NGO's.
In fact the idea is being incorporated into the Integrated Child Protection Scheme, which is being put before the Planning Commission of India.

VOLUNTEERS :-

Our volunteers have been a huge support to the education programme at our Children's Home. They have contributed regularly and wholeheartedly to help the children learn and grow as individuals, as well learn to be part of a group. Each volunteer has brought her unique experience and expertise to the work. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have them with us.

Assisting the teacher with the older children, have been Vidhya and Hayley Sam and Chanette, who left us recently, taught basic computer skills to the children. Working with the toddlers and special needs children, are Karen, Jaya, Shoba, Monica, Juliette, Parvathi and Shakuntala.

Young people from I-to-I of the UK work through the year for 2 month periods. They assist in teaching and the stimulation programme for the Special Needs children . The Elfun Club of General Electric, continues to spend weekends doing fun things with the children and taking them on outings. Amit Ghatge co-ordinates the activities for Elfun . This year we have tied up with The Asian Foundation for Philanthrophy, which is a UK based volunteer organization, which works with young Asians who want to volunteer in the country of their origin.

The volunteers from I to I and AFP this year have been :
Mili, Anett, Emma, Julie, Isabelle, Catherine, Sophie, Alyesha and Annika.

We are grateful to all of them for extending themselves to help the Ashraya children.

CONCLUSION :-

Plans for the Training cum Convention Centre, as an extension of our Women's Centre, are ready. We fought hard to regain land that had been illegally taken by the Arsinkunte Panchayat and the matter was settled to our advantage. The Panchayat wants help in running their local school, in turn they will waive our taxes in future. We think this is well within the framework of our objectives.

We hope to have one more fund raising event next year to raise money for this project. We also hope to have the formal opening of the Neelbagh school, which is long awaited.

All of our Social Workers, Radhika Nambiar, Lavinia, Subhashini and Rama have worked dedicatedly and with a lot of initiative. The other staff in the Neelbagh school, Women's Centre, Children's Home and Observation Home have been an asset to the organization.

The Ashraya Committee continues to monitor all the activities of the organization closely.

We are grateful to all those agencies and individuals who partner us in our work. A.C. Sweden, WACAP, CIAI, AIAA, ICARE and the K.C. Mahindra Trust. We are also grateful to many individuals donors who generously support our work . To the Overseas Women’s Club who donate to us generously each year.
Our special thanks to our auditors, Panth and Co., to our lawyer Mr. G.L. Vishwanath, our Paediatrician Dr. N.V.S Krishnan, to all our members, staff and volunteers , for all they do to make us an organization worthy of National recognition.