1. We had an in-house Diwali Party on the 25^th of October 2006. The children enjoyed the high tea and entertainment and most of all the fire-crackers.

2.The Ashraya AGM was held on the 10^th of November 2006, which was followed by lunch. We have had 5 Committee meetings this year.

3. A group of Osteopaths from France visited us from the 7th to the 9th of November.

4. Ashraya has become a regular port - of - call for them and we are grateful for the Special Care and attention they give to our Special Needs Children.

5. We bid adieu to Volunteer and Committee Member, Karen Mehta on the 25th of January. Karen gave unstintingly of her time and commitment to the children, for which we are most grateful. She regularly took children to her home on exciting visits ; Organised a workshop for Creche Workers and Ashraya Staff on Stimulation and Care of toddlers and left us a blue-print of care for these children, which we follow diligently.

6. The Christmas Party and annual get-together of our adoptive parents and children was held on the 16^th of December. Manjulika and Mario Vaz organized a Christmas Pageant and Carols. About 200 children and adults had a fun evening and enjoyed the Christmas Cake given by Karen and gifts from the Overseas Women's Club.

7. Ashraya ran a stall at the OWC Bazaar on the 25^th of November and we sold Pottery and Carpentry items made by the Neelbagh children. Staff and Students from Neelbagh managed the stall and it was important for them to see the work of other organizations and understand the concept of making things that are "Sale-Worthy " .

8. The Auto-Rikshaw Drivers Association, organized a function to celebrate "Swarna Karnataka " , on the 25^th of November. Ms. Chandy attended a riotous function and was overwhelmed by their generosity in providing new clothes for all the children at Ashraya.

9. Vijaya Bank requested our children to attend The Republic Day celebration on the 26^th of January. In the evening they went to The East Cultural Association for a Cultural Programme.

10. The G.E. Volunteers took eleven of the older children to the Bannerghatta National Park for an outing on the 3^rd of March, which they enjoyed enormously.

11. Ashraya organized a Farewell Party for the out-going CWC Members on the 26^th of March and a welcome for the new Committee. Officials from the DWCD also attended the function.

12. Monica, our volunteer very kindly took the children on an outing on the 31^st of March.

13. The Children's Home buildings were painted and the roof repaired and the backyard was paved to give a nice playing area for the children.
We also installed two new U.P.S. We are grateful to Juliette Jaulvery who gave us the donation to complete all the work.

14. Volunteers from L & T took children from the Children's Home to the Planetarium on the 19^th of May, which they found completely fascinating.

15. Beth and Megan, i to i volunteers, took all the older children to see the movie Shrek 2 on the 13^th of June. The children had a wonderful time.

16. The annual muster was done in June 2007. We took the opportunity to take out all the heavy woollens, which are unusable in Bangalore and sent them to Delhi orphanages.

17. The older children went to see a Kannada Play, "Gumma Banda Gumma ", on the 25^th of July, at Rangashankara, along with their teacher.

18. On the 4^th of August they were given free passes to see the lovely musical "Joseph and the Multi-coloured Coat ", which was a lot of fun.

19. The OWC organized an NGO Mela on the 8^th of October. Vidya Majumdar and Reena attended on behalf of Ashraya and spoke to a lot of interested people about our work.

01. Ashraya has now embarked upon the construction of the training - cum convention center, near TARA. We have received a grant of Rs. 30 lakhs from UNIFEM, towards this project, which we hope to complete in about a years time. We are also organizing an Art Auction at the Italian Embassy on the 15th of November 2007, to raise funds for this project. The total project cost will be around Rs. 70,00,000/-.

We had to resolve a lot of issues with our local Panchayat before we were granted the permission to build.

02. Nagarika Seva Trust organized a “Right for Livelihood ” meeting for NGO’s on 06.08.2007, which was attended by Manjula and Reshma.

There are currently 18 women in the Women’s Centre and 28 children.

01. On Children's Day, the 14^th of November 2006, we organized a special lunch, a magic show and a variety entertainment by the children.
Mr. Monappa, Director, DWCD was the Chief Guest. The event was sponsored by G.E. Volunteers and the Embassy Apartments Residents Association.

02. Hillary, a volunteer from England, who works with boys in Conflict with the Law, and his associate, did a juggling and magic show for the boys. They were completely mesmerized by him and particularly the trick of getting out of handcuffs!

03. 45 boys ran away from the Home in January 2007 and again four boys in October 2007. They broke loose a hollow block in the toilet and managed to escape. Many of the boys were there on serious charges like rape and extortion and murder.

04. Ashraya continues to be on the Home Committee of the Observation Home and our teacher Sashikala has a good rapport with the boys. Unfortunately, the number of Home Committee meetings has come down in the recent past. We continue to take up the issue of violence against the boys by the Police, at all relevant forums. Currently there are 49 boys in the Home.

The project is sponsored by The Swedish Foundation for abandoned children.

01. Subhashini Naidu, Ashraya Social Worker, resigned on 03.03.2007. Reshma Baggan joined Ashraya on 21.03.2007 and Reena Pinto joined Ashraya on 14.05.2007 as our new Social Workers.

We were indeed shocked to hear of the untimely demise of Ms. Aruna Kumar, Secretary of the Delhi Council of Child Welfare, on the 2^nd of November 2006. She has been a big and important player in the field of Child Welfare and Adoption in India. She is sorely missed.

1.A National consultation on Adoption was held in Bangalore on the 23^rd and 24^th of November at UTC, Millers Road, organized by ICCW and UNICEF. Nomita Chandy presented a Paper on "Placement Agency - Perspective on Adoption".

2. Our Creche teacher Agnes attended a workshop organized by Sutradhar on the 17^th and 18^th of November, on Music and Play in the teaching of young children.

3. Nomita Chandy was a Panelist on a discussion organized by ECHO on "Rehabilitation of Children in Difficult Circumstances", at the KRISTU Jayanthi College on the 18^th of November.

4. The ACA meeting was held at Ashraya on the 24^th of January 2007. ACA wanted to have its quarterly Committee Meetings at different adoption agencies.

5. Nomita Chandy and Dr. Aloma Lobo presented Papers at the Adoption Conference held at Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, from the 15^th to the 17^th of February 2007. Nomita presented a Paper on "Experience from the Field". It was indeed a very interesting experience and we have to thank CIAI for the opportunity to see the work in another "giving" country.

6. Nomita Chandy was appointed on the CARA Sub-Committee for "Training and Development", as the South Zone Representative, on 26.02.2007. She has opted to work for the re-opening of the adoption programme in Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Nilima Mehta chairs this Sub-Committee.

7. Ms. Sumati Satish made a presentation at a Conference in Veneto, Italy, held from the 12^th to the 17^th of March, on “ The preparation of children for adoption ”.

8. The CARA annual conference for Indian agencies was held on the 3^rd and 4^th of May in Delhi. Nomita Chandy was asked to be a resource person.

9. A workshop was held for the Ashraya Care-takers at the Children's Home on "Better Child Care Management ", devised by Jennifer Adair and conducted by Dr. Sujatha and Mrs. Shobha Kumar. We need to have such workshops at regular intervals.

10. Ms. Surya Vaz attended a workshop organized for NGO's on "Volunteering" by AFA, on the 20^th of May at Bangalore.

11. Nomita Chandy made a presentation of "Adoption and the J.J. Act", to members of the Child Welfare Committees, from all over Karnataka, organized by the DWCD on 10.07.2007.

12. Reena attended a Workshop organized by the DWCD on the J.J. Act and its Administration, from the 3rd to the 5^th of September 2007.

13. The CARA International Conference was held in Delhi on the 8^th and 9^th of October. Nomita Chandy represented Ashraya.

14. Nomita Chandy was a resource person for an Orientation Programme organized by the DWCD on the 17^th of October, on "Rehabilitation and Social Re-Integration, its Concept and Importance in Adoption", for members of CWC'S and JJB's in Karnataka.

01. 10 children from the Gopalan International School visited Ashraya and gave us a lot of useful things. Ms. Juli Keith, their Principal, accompanied them.

02. Nine students and a teacher from the Karna Institute of Social Work visited Ashraya for a field visit and orientation on adoption, on the 7th of November 2006. When asked what NRI stood for, one of the students said brightly "Non-Reliable Indian "!

03. Ms. Monica Lind, from A.C. Sweden, visited Ashraya on the 13^th and 14^th of November 2006 and again on the 27^th of March and the 5^th of October 2007, before the CARA Conference. We were happy to meet Monica this frequently.

04. A group of students from The Roshini Nilaya , School of Social Work, Mangalore, visited Ashraya on the 5^th of January as a part of their field visits.

05. 35 students of the St. Aloysius College of Social Work in Mangalore, and their staff, visited Ashraya on the 3^rd of February 2007 for a field visit.

06. Ms. Sandra Bamji from ICARE, visited Ashraya and Neelbagh on the 17^th and 18^th of May. We were more than pleased to have Sandra here after quite a longtime.

07. Amena Monti, well-known Italian actress and comedienne, who is the goodwill ambassador for CIAI and Donatella Ceralli visited Ashraya on the 27^th of September. They took some video footage to promote their different programmes of support.

08. Graziella Teti from CIAI, visited Ashraya on the 15^th of October, after the CARA Conference and it was a pleasure to have her with us.

09. Teri Bell and her husband visited Ashraya from 19^th to 23^rd of October and took details of all the Special Needs children in particular.

17^th Jan-2007
“ It was a great pleasure today to visit Ashraya and learn more of the valuable work that you do. GAP is pleased to be a small contributor to your work and volunteers are welcomed and very much appreciate their time at Neelbagh ”.

Kate Hills
GAP Activity projects - Reading, England.

21^st Jan 2007
“Thank you very much for your friendliness and caring. It means a lot for me to see and visit you again. Thank you for everything ”

Preethi Huczkouski
Adoptee

25^th Jan 2007
“I have been privileged to be associated with Ashraya for many years. Thank you for your kindness and patience and allowing me to participate with the children. I will have you all in my hearts always.”.

Karen Mehta
Long time volunteer and Former Committee Member

30^th Jan 2007
“ It’s an honour to visit Ashraya. Congratulations to Ms. Nomita Chandy and her team on a great job done for 25 years ”

G. Gurucharan, IAS
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs

26^th March 2007
“ Whenever we come across a child in need of a family atmosphere we thought about you. We know you would give full love and care for any child - a normal child, or a child with special needs”.

Mr. Vasudev Sharma
Chairperson, CWC, Bangalore Urban

15^th April 2007
“ I am deeply impressed by the selfless and dedicated work of Ashraya in building and nurturing a school, with high standards for the children of rural India and children of the most vulnerable sections of society. My best wishes for the success of Neelbagh and for the efforts of Ashraya ”.

Mr. P. Chidambaram
Finance Minister of India

18^th April 2007
“We are privileged to be associated with your cause. It is both a humbling and rewarding experience ”.

Anilesh Seth
Super Valu Services India, Donor Company

15^th May 2007
“Very impressed with the commitment of the people committed to the noble cause Ashraya is involved with ”.

Ghanshyam Sheth
G-Corp. Builders

18^th May 2007
“You have created such a lovely caring environment for these children. The commitment of those working for Ashraya are to be commended ”.

Sandra Bamji
ICARE, Donor Organisation

13^th July 2007
“Well once again I am so excited to be back. I am always humbled when I think of my past. I owe so much to you all ”.

Sushant Rhoman Goyenechea
Adoptee

We kick-started our 25^th anniversary celebration on 15.04.2007 by holding a wonderful function to inaugurate the High School. Our Chief Guest was The Hon’rable Finance Minister of India, Mr. P. Chidambaram. Though we only had one week’s notice to put the event together, it went off extremely well and the Finance Minister was visibly impressed with the school and with the self-confidence of the children. Mr. Kumar the architect, and Mr. C.B. Ramkumar from the Dubai Creek Round Table, who helped us collect the funds to build the High School, were honoured at the function. Mr. Chidambaram arrived on time and unveiled the stone. Mr. K.M. Muniappa, Union Minister for Highways, Mr. Ramesh Kumar and Mr. Krishna Byregowda, MLA’s, were also present. All the dignitaries planted trees to mark the occasion. We had a big gathering attending the opening, including many friends of Ashraya from Bangalore.

Definitely , the icing on our 25^th anniversary cake this year, was getting a 100% pass marks in the SSLC examination, in April. Redamma, one of the girls who topped the class with over 84% results, is a construction worker's daughter and we are proud to say that she has got admission into a good college in Bangalore and wants to be a computer engineer! This is really what the Neelbagh School is trying to achieve putting opportunity in the way of inherent talent. The Sate Government honoured us for the achievement with a small cash award and merit certificate.

01. The Principal of the school, Mr. Padmanabhan resigned and we decided to elevate the Headmaster Mr. Raghavendra, to the post on 01.02.2007. Mr. Manjunath, a teacher at the school, was appointed as Headmaster.

02. A valedictory function was held for the outgoing Class 10 students on 09.02.2007. Mr. Krishna Byregowda, MLA, Kolar, was the Chief Guest.

03. Six children, 3 girls and 3 boys from the school, attended a two day art camp at Bangalore at Chitrakala Parishad, organized by Mr. John Devaj on the 16^th and 17^th of December 2006.

Mr. Manjunath, attended a seminar on education organized by the Azim Premji foundation on the 24^th and 25^th of May.

21 Class nine students of the school attended a Science Fair in Bangalore, organized by the G.E. Volunteers on the 7^th of July. Lunch was also provided. This was a tremendous learning experience for the children.

A Family Life Education Workshop for Class 9 and 10 students was conducted by Dr. Uttara Vidyasagar, on the 27^th of July. The children were proactive and asked a lot of relevant questions.

The school has been functioning well and has a total of 286 students from LKG to Class 10. The vocational training standards have gone up in Tailoring, Carpentry and Wiring and Plumbing. The children also enjoy a lot of extracurricular activities. Academically they do well because the staff give the children a lot of time and remedial teaching.

The school is sponsored by CIAI, The K.C. Mahindra Trust, ICARE and Individual donors. The High School recognition has been renewed for three years in August 2007.

We will end the year with a grand celebration and a get-together of adoptees and parents from India and abroad. This promises to be an emotional re-union for all of us and a validation of our work for the past 25 years. The curtain raiser for the inauguration will be a new film on Ashraya.

We are most grateful to all the Ashraya staff for a job well done and with commitment. To all our adoptive parents who are a big support to us . To our many donors who support our efforts generously. To CIAI, A.C., WACAP and AIAA, for all their efforts in placing hard to place children and for their support for Ashraya’s programmes. To ICARE and The K.C. Mahindra Trust for sponsoring children at Neelbagh. To Mr. Anil Chinniah for running our Website so competently.

Our special thanks to our Auditors Panth & Co., our Pediatrician Dr. N.V.S. Krishnan and to the Committee Members and Volunteers, for all they do to make our dreams become a reality.

At Ashraya we are blessed with a team of dedicated volunteers who contribute their time and talents to helping the children. Manisha, Gita , Rakhi, Monica and Shankuntala work with the Education Programme for the older children. Rina, Matty and Sheena of the OWC work with the toddlers stimulation programme. Young volunteers from i- to-i a U.K. based organization help the children with school work and crafts. The Elfun Club of G.E. spends time on the week ends organizing fun and learning for the older children.