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As we approach the end of this year, it is with immense gratitude that we celebrate our efforts and achievements.
The world post-Covid has been difficult for all, and therefore it is essential to recognize even the smallest of accomplishments. Celebrating our children as they reach new heights and spread their wings, Aasraa has been on the receiving end of boundless support and recognition.
Despite the challenges of the past year, this year has proved fruitful for us. We thank all our donors for their unflinching support, which has enabled us to provide equal opportunities to the underserved youth of this country.
Thankyou for being a beacon of hope! We at Aasraa will remember 2022 as a year of milestones.
Inauguration of our Girls’ Shelter Home, addition of 1 Mobile Learning Centre & 1 Mobile Computer Lab and Tinkering Lab for the curious minds have been two wonderful occasions when we have felt humbled by all the support that Aasraa gets from its patrons. The recognition that we receive only spurs us to reach even greater heights. The faith that our supporters repose in us is our constant motivator.
A heartfelt thanks to all our donors. Without you, this journey would not have been possible.
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| MILESTONE REACHED: AASRAA INAUGURATES A NEW GIRLS’ SHELTER HOME! |
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Aasraa Trust inaugurated a new Shelter Home for 200 underserved girls on Rajpur Road in Dehradun on the 6th of September, 2022. 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.
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| THE TINKERING LAB FOR OUR THINKERS & TINKERERS IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL! |
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The Tinkering Lab is a workspace where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands-on activities and do-it-yourself kits. Learning by doing helps them to develop skills vital for innovation. Fostering curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds, the Tinkering Lab is a cradle for creativity for the children at Aasraa. We acknowledge with gratitude the unstinted support given by ASED (Action for the Support of Deprived Children) and their country head Ms. Sudha Parthasarthy for constructing The Tinkering Lab.
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| A NEW MOBILE COMPUTER LAB AND A MOBILE LEARNING CENTRE INAUGURATED! |
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The handover ceremony of “The Project for the provision of Mobile Learning Bus, Dehradun, Uttarakhand” under the GGP scheme of the Government of Japan was held on 8th December, 2022.
Present at the occasion were Ms. Hokugo Kyoko, Minister for Economics and Development), Mr. Nishi Ryuhei, First Secretary, Ms. Aota Yuka, Economic Cooperation Assistant GGP, Embassy of Japan in India, Ms. Divya Anthony, GGP Project Coordinator, from the Embassy of Japan in India, Mr. Aftab Seth, Former Ambassador to Japan & Mr. Banshidhar Tiwari, Director General – Education, Uttarakhand.
We are deeply grateful to the Embassy of Japan for its magnanimous support of Aasraa’s mission of reaching the underserved. The MLC & MCL will become several children’s first step into education & computer literacy, benefitting 700 underserved children across 9 slums of Dehradun.
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| AASRAA WINS THE SDG GOALKEEPER AWARD! |
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| Aasraa Trust was awarded the #SDGGoalkkeeper Award 2021 on 10th June 2022 for its valuable contribution to #SDG4, Quality Education. |
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The award aims to identify and recognize the remarkable initiatives of various individuals and organizations in Uttarakhand and declare them as ‘SDG Goalkeepers'. Aasraa was one of the 27 organizations to receive the prestigious award. This honor has impelled us to extend our reach to every underserved child further; to nurture, protect and be a force of change in the lives of street children.
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The Education Team & the Secretary of Aasraa Trust, Mrs. Neelu Khanna, received the Nation Builder Award 2022 in September, presented by the Rotary Club Doon Shivalik Hills and Skill-ed School. Mrs. Khanna & Aasraa Trust were one of the 15 educationists honoured. As a gesture of acknowledgment and gratitude, Mrs. Khanna dedicated the award to the team of educators at Aasraa.
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| These extraordinary individuals have enhanced the quality of education through their exemplary work and positively impacted the lives of thousands of children. |
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| SELECTED AS ONE OF GROW'S 100! |
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In January, Aasraa Trust was selected as one of GROW's 100 – a collection of stellar grassroots organizations from across India! The GROW Fund is a first-of-its-kind initiative by EdelGive Foundation aiming to build a resilient civil society and strengthen 100 grassroots organizations from across India over 24 months.
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| A NEW COMPUTER LAB ESTABLISHED! |
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Inaugurated by Smt. Savita Kapoor (MLA, Dehradun Cantt.); Aasraa Trust established a new computer lab at Government Primary School, Shastri Nagar part of our SQEP (School Quality Enhancement Program).
Computer education is as important as the three Rs. With the world going digital, computer literacy is mandatory. Thus, with a computer lab, we aim to educate and equip our children with digital literacy. Our children are thrilled to gain access to this facility.
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| 1684 CHILDREN SUCCESSFULLY INOCULATED AGAINST TYPHOID! |
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Aasraa’s medical intervention took care of thousands of children’s needs this year. From taking them to regular doctor visits, providing them with medicines, and looking after their surgeries when needed, the team was on a 24x7 watch and kept the children’s needs on top. This year too, the team with dedication visited various centres of Aasraa and inoculated 1684 children against typhoid between the age groups of 5-12.
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| OVER 3000 WINTER CARE PACKS DISTRIBUTED THIS YEAR! |
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Aasraa distributed 3000 winter care packs to its children in its ongoing winter drive this year. The drive aims to ease our children’s suffering and keep them well-clothed through the harsh winter months in the Dehradun.
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| A SOUL TO SOLE CONNECTION: MR. RONALD POELMAN FROM SOHO SHOES PAYS A VISIT! |
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Aasraa's children and staff were delighted to host Mr. Ronald Poelman from Soho Shoes Ltd on 3rd December, Mr. Poelman visited various projects and also spent quality time with our children.
Soho Shoes, a London-based footwear supplier, has supported Aasraa's children for 6 years by providing all of them with footwear and contributing to their wellness. This year too, the children are excited to walk in their new shoes.
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Grateful thanks from thousands of happy feet to Soho Shoes for keeping them laceration free and warm.
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| 75 CHILDREN IN HIGHER EDUCATION WITH 25 NEW ENROLLEMNTS IN COLLEGES IN 2022! |
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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.
25 of our students who cleared their class 12 exams have been enrolled in various courses in different prestigious colleges following successful interventions from Aasraa. From joining technical courses like B. Tech to being liberal arts majors and pursuing Bachelor of Arts in the subjects of their choice, many of our children also went on to pursue diploma in skill-based courses like beauty & wellness, data entry and office administration etc. Most of our children are the first generation of learners. It fills us with pride as they step into their college life
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This year children from Boys Shelter Home in Aasraa bagged several medals in the Khel Mahakumbh, District Level and State Level Championships respectively.
While Ritik Chauhan was awarded the CM Udaimaan Scholarship of INR 1500 every month, 24 medals were bagged in various sports in athletics with the Kabaddi team reaching the State-level championships.
Our special needs child Deepak too proved his mettle in sports and came third in the badminton competition held by Uttarakhand Sports Society for the deaf.
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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, well trained educationists 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.
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| STORY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR! |
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We present to you our achievers of this year:
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| Raman starts his winning journey! |
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Raman has won 12 medals: 8 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze medals in athletics this year. His tryst with winning started when he participated in a local district-level sports competition in September 2022. He participated in the 100m and 200m races there and bagged gold. He successively ran in various district and state-level competitions and won every time.
Coming from a large family of 7 people, Raman has a mother who looks after them and has 5 siblings. His father passed away when he was 6 years old, and his mother started working as a caretaker at one of Aasraa's centres to provide for the family. Two of his brothers are also supported by Aasraa Trust. He joined Aasraa's Boys' Shelter Home in class 9 and completed his class 10 with 72% marks in his board exams. Currently, he is pursuing his class 11 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and is also preparing for National Level Athletics competitions. Aasraa wishes him great luck in all his future endeavours!
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| Sunil becomes a Banker! |
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Sunil Dimri successfully cleared the IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) examination and secured a job at the Indian Bank at Allahabad as a clerk.
His journey was not always as easy. He lost his father & had to leave our shelter home, where he had lived since 2014, to return to his village. With the support and motivation from his sister, he completed his graduation through IGNOU’s distance learning program. He also prepared simultaneously for bank exams which he cleared in 2021.
As Sunil stands tall today, he makes us all so proud and motivates us to continue working with enthusiasm.
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| Mr. Nadal spends a day at Aasraa! |
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We are grateful to Mr. Matias Nadal from Fundación Heres who visited Aasraa and took the time to interact with the children and staff. Fundación Heres has supported Aasraa’s various interventions with incredible generosity. From donating to us our first study-cum-vocational training centre, a dormitory for our senior children to donating a Mobile Learning Centre (bus), a medical van, and supporting Aasraa’s Centralized Kitchen, they have stood with us to further the mission of empowering the underserved.
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| A Special visit from Ms. Garima Garg! |
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It is always special when a well-wisher visits us, and we get to take them through Aasraa’s incredible journey in person.
Aasraa was delighted to host Ms. Garima Garg, Head - Max India Foundation. The children and the staff absolutely loved interacting with her. Max India Foundation has always supported Aasraa’s mission with incredible generosity.
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| Girls from Welham Girls’ School meet the girls of Aasraa! |
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The Welham Girls School family has always been close to Aasraa's heart. They not only support our mission in spirit, but they also take up every chance to extend love and kindness toward our children. Students of WGS visited our girls at the shelter home, distributed books, played games and spent time with our children. They absolutely loved interacting with them, exchanging ideas and getting to know each other’s dreams and aspirations.
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All this wouldn't have been possible without your amazing love and support of Aasraa and its children.
To another year of hope, happiness and growth...
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| The Aasraa Family wishes you a fantastic start to the year. Happy 2023! |
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