Ashraya Initiative for Children
A non-profit organization that runs four interwoven programs designed to benefit vulnerable children and communities in Pune, India.
Education was not a widespread institution in the Sikligar community during AIC community member Sikandar’s youth, but the institution of marriage was. After the 6th standard, Sikandar left school to be married to his childhood friend, Sunita.
He was 14, she was 13. Continue reading “From Child Marriage to a Future of Equal Opportunity”
Keval’s family is AIC through and through: his aunt is one of the Education Outreach Centre’s longest-running caregivers, and his mother, other aunt, and grandmother are all stalwarts of the Community Outreach Program and have worked at AIC in various capacities over the years. He himself has cycled in and out of the Education Outreach Program, although the firm rules on attendance have proved an obstacle. Keval was a normal, fun-loving teenager until May of this year, when he suddenly lost his ability to walk. AIC supported him and his family through the diagnostic process, which involved countless scans, probes, and tests spread over weeks of visits to specialists and hospitals. It is an intimidating and scary ordeal for any family, but especially so for Keval’s, as they are illiterate and unaccustomed to dealing with doctors and official procedures. Finally, the diagnosis came: rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of muscle cancer. Continue reading “A Reason to Give ~ Keval”
The monsoon arrived in Pune in July, bringing rain and the seasonally damp air that now, three months later, are starting to be replaced by sunshine and drier days as the rains subside. The monsoon is welcome as it is necessary for the success of crops and for replenishing the municipal drinking water reservoirs after the dry, hot summer months, but it also causes health and safety concerns for many of AIC’s families. Continue reading “Monsoon Days”
It’s no secret that active parental involvement in a child’s education enriches the learning experience. This year, one of our main areas of focus in the Education Outreach Program is to provide more opportunities for parents to partner with us and to concentrate on creating deeper, working relationships that ultimately set a standard of solidarity on which children can rely for support and encouragement in school. Continue reading “Partners in Learning”
It may not seem like much, but it is at least a small start toward addressing the increasingly skewed sex ratio (which in Maharashtra is 883 girls under six for every 1,000 males, significantly below the 914:1000 national average) and attempting to draw attention to the systemic undervaluing of Indian girls. Continue reading “Celebrating girls”
Rashmi is already dreaming of one day being able to hire an in-house doctor to treat our patients and cut costs, as well as completing the construction of a large open lecture/class hall on the first floor of the new building, funding permitting.
