NEWSLETTER - SEPTEMBER 2022

We are immensely proud to tell you that on the 6th of September, 2022, Aasraa Trust inaugurated a new Shelter Home for 200 underserved girls on Rajpur Road in Dehradun.

The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, did the honours along with Ms. Andrea Pernkopf, Managing Director, help alliance. It was a privilege to have with us Shri Khajan Das, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Dehradun, Shri Banshidhar Tiwari, Director General-Department of School Education, Uttarakhand, Ms. Sangeeta Sharma, General Manager Sales, India, Lufthansa Group, Shri Vikas Varma, Chief Operating Officer, Mastercard South Asia, and Mr. Henning Neuhaus, Communication, help alliance.

Aasraa is grateful to have the support of the Government of Uttarakhand and help alliance for making the shelter home a reality. Help alliance, the aid organization of the Lufthansa Group, were the main sponsors, along with Mastercard and RTL (German TV channel).

Situated on the campus of Government Girls’ Inter College, Rajpur Road, Dehradun, this shelter home is a refuge as well as a center of learning. It will empower our girls to work for a better future with equality, determination and hope.

We believe ‘it takes courage to dream, confidence to begin and hard work to make your dreams come true’. In this Newsletter we would like to apprise you of the impact our combined intervention has had on our children. We are both humbled by and so proud of what our children have been able to achieve; children who have aspirations and have worked hard; children who have graduated from school and are actively pursuing their dreams.

Roji, an Aasraa child who always wanted to pursue a career in medicine, completed her class 12 this year. In August, she was enrolled for a Diploma in Medical Imaging Technology, NIOS program for two years at Dr. Ahuja’s Diagnostic & Imaging Centre. With a mother who works as a helper at one of Aasraa’s centres and an alcoholic father who abandoned them, Roji didn’t let her hardships deter her. She is determined to move ahead and break the cycle of poverty they are trapped in.

Prem Kumar completed his class 12 last year. Son of a daily wage earning painter, we helped to enrol him for a Diploma in Medical Imaging Technology, NIOS program last year in November. Today, he is deployed in Histo/Cyto pathology department and has learnt techniques of blood sampling ,collection and receiving.

Braving all their hardships, out of the total students who appeared in classes 10 and 12, 90% cleared their board examinations in the academic year 2021-22.

9% cleared it with distinction, 41% with first division, 36% with second division and 3% with third division.

15 of our students who cleared their class 12 exams have been enrolled into various courses ranging from Btech, B.Com, B.A to B.Sc at colleges of repute in Dehradun such as Dehradun Institute of Technology, JB Institute of Technology, D.B.S College (Dayanand Brijendra Saraswati) and Tula’s Institute.

Three of our students excelled at the Instant Poetry Writing Competition organised by National Child Development Council. The first, second and third positions were bagged by Smriti and Shivani of class 10 and Sunny of class 8 respectively. The topic was "My First School Experience". It is heartening to discover the inherent talents of our children.

Empathy, the key to leadership, makes us other-centred rather than just self-centred. To encourage correct leadership and better citizens of tomorrow, children are counselled in the basics of value education before selecting class representatives. Student elections were held at several centres of Aasraa. Children were encouraged to campaign and leaders were chosen by a democratic vote.

To take on initiatives that are for the growth and development of its children 'Bal Sansad' was also formed at all our government partner schools. It is the children’s parliament that identifies issues, initiates problem-solving approaches, and drives impactful changes in the school. Children were assigned roles and responsibilities for health, cleanliness, sports, culture, assembly and discipline.

Congratulations to our newly elected leaders who will enrich and lift themselves up for our children to follow and emulate.

Aasraa conducted an 8-day annual summer teacher training workshop in June.

Training programs enhance the pedagogical and class management skills of our teachers.

Adept educationists from Azim Premji Foundation and professional counselors guided our teaching staff to emphasize activity-based teaching methodology, student-teacher interactions, productive and effective practices of engagement, and social & emotional development. All the teachers and program managers were awarded certificates of appreciation and achievement for their incredible contribution to making the training a success.

Project Rangeet is a mobile application that uses music, art, and storytelling, to teach children the value of self, society, and sustainability.

These activities and projects help children to become emotionally intelligent and socially responsible.

Jodo Gyan curriculum inculcates foundational Math skills through innovative activities. We have found this to be an effective way of keeping children engaged in numbers

Ms. Sapna Bhagat, our well-wisher and a primary school teacher in Singapore, visited a Mobile Classroom and a few Street-Smart centers. Impressed by the level of preparation and involvement, she kindly offered to conduct a workshop on Integrated Learning Methods for our teachers from the primary level. The workshop demonstrated an interdisciplinary approach to learning. It explained how a subject at hand can be studied by combining various concepts from different subjects encouraging well-rounded and inclusive understanding among children.

A Summer Camp of two days for the children from SQEP+SQEP Wings of Doon was organised after the end of their final exams and the beginning of the new session. The camp worked like a crash course for students to develop social skills, interact with peers and become confident. Activities like dance, art and craft, team building games and poetry recitation were organised. It provided good opportunities for the children to engage creatively with their peers & environment.

It takes courage and empathy to bring change to society. We were so thrilled to have volunteers from#UPES, Dehradun and #MarianCollege, Kerala for working with us over the summer, touching the lives of our children and contributing to the difference Aasraa wishes to bring to the world.

Eid-Al-Fitr Mubarak                                          Happy Mother's Day!

Eid-Al-Adha, Buddha Purnima and Harela Celebrations!

Rakshabandhan and Janmashtami!

Independence Day!

AASRAA TRUST

Mailing Address: 119/1 Vasant Vihar, Dehradun 248006
Uttarakhand India
Contact Phone: +91-9045056991
Website: http://aasraatrust.org/
Email: aasraa@aasraatrust.org
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DONATION DETAILS

To Donate online: https://aasraatrust.org/donate-online/
Indian Donations
Aasraa Trust
Account No: 50100228857353
IFSC Code : HDFC0001399
MICR: 248240004
SWIFT Code : HDFCINBB
Branch Address: Ballupur Chowk, Uttarakhand 248001

Foreign Donations
Aasraa Trust
FCRA Account number: 40062849089
SWIFT Code: SBININBB104
IFSC: SBIN0000691
Branch Address: FCRA CELL, 4th Floor, State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch, 11 Sansad Marg, New Delhi, 110001.

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