Karishma lives with her family in Pune, where her father works as a laborer on daily wages while her mother stays at home to take care of the children, including Karishma’s youngest brother, who has special educational and medical needs.

Because of their parents’ struggle to keep the family afloat, Karishma and her younger siblings rely on the daily nutritional support they receive at the Ashraya Initiative for Children Education Centre. There they eat nutritious, freshly cooked meals and an afternoon snack, which makes it easier for Karishma to continue to excel and follow her dreams of attending college and then university!

Karishma is consistently described by her teachers as an ”all-rounder”, ­ a student who excels in everything. And it is true ­ Karishma produces beautiful artwork, is an amazing dancer, can draw lovely rangoli (sand art) designs, participates in any available extracurricular opportunity and is at the top of her class in all subjects! In fact, watching this talented 10^th standard student outperform the rest of the students in her private, Marathi-medium school, you would never know that she comes from a very poor family and lives in the slums. Nor would you know that she and her siblings do not always have enough food to eat.

Thank you, Kowsilliya, Kashif, Adrian, Cathy (x2) and Erica (x7) for coming together to provide one full year of meals for Karishma. With your support, she can continue to dream of going to college one day, and eventually moving herself, her family and her community out of poverty.

Rekha (name changed as per recipient’s wishes) and her husband have eight children, most of whom are married and now have their own children, resulting in a very large joined family living together in one house.

Rekha is a tuberculosis patient undergoing treatment at AIC’s Health Outreach Program. As tuberculosis is an infectious disease, all in the house are at risk, and unfortunately, Rekha’s husband and teenage daughter have also been diagnosed with TB and are receiving treatment as well.

With so many people living in such close proximity, it is imperative that Rekha receives government-provided DOTS medication every day at the AIC Health Centre, lest the infection continue to spread among family members. There the AIC doctor directly observes the medicine administration and talks with Rekha regarding her health and treatment. Any additional medical tests (x-rays, blood tests) recommended by the doctor are also provided by AIC’s Health Outreach Program, so that Rekha’s recovery can be closely monitored.

Although Rekha is a very consistent, compliant patient and comes daily without fail, in the event that she does not come for her medication one day, an AIC health worker is on call to make a trip to her house to check in with her and ensure that she does not miss a single dose. As the demand for their roadside clothes business has been dwindling in recent years, Rekha and her husband only earn about Rs 3,000 per month ($65), which is hardly enough to feed the family and pay the rent, let alone allow much to be saved for their last two daughters’ weddings.

Thus, Rekha has also been taking advantage of the option to receive daily nutritional supplementation in the form of a mid-day meal and daily vitamins at the AIC Health Center. With all of this combined support, Rekha no longer worries that her children and grandchildren will contract TB from her, and is looking forward to having her full health back!

Thank you for giving good health back to Rekha!

Vinod (name changed as per recipient’s wishes) discovered that he had developed active tuberculosis not long after his wife was diagnosed with the same illness. Shortly after, one of his daughters also tested positive. Now all three are being treated for tuberculosis, to ensure that none of the other family members, including Vinod’s seven other adult children, their spouses and numerous grandchildren, contract the illness as well.

Vinod is lucky to receive support from the AIC Health Centre, where he goes daily to take his government-provided DOTS medication, as his treatment is continuously monitored by the AIC physician and health workers, to ensure that he does not miss any doses of his medication.

Whenever additional tests or supplementary vitamins are prescribed by the doctor, he receives those free of cost from the AIC Health Centre as well. Finally, Vinod has the option of benefiting from a mid-day meal from the AIC Health Centre when he comes to take his medication, as his family§s economic status is quite poor and managing three meals a day are not always possible for him.

Vinod is thankful that now that his tuberculosis treatment is being well-managed, he will be able to fully get back to work selling clothes on the side of the road, as he has to continue setting aside money for his two youngest daughters’ upcoming marriages.

Thank you for giving good health back to Vinod!

Eighteen year old, Suman is a selfless girl. She prides herself on doing everything that she can to help her family out, even though it has meant dropping out of school in 7^th standard so that she could start venturing out onto the streets selling clothes to help support her parents and her six sister and one brother.

Unfortunately, due to their desire to have male children, Suman’s parents have continued to have many children in the hopes that they will have a second son, despite the fact that they are entirely unable to care for so many children with their meager income of Rs. 2,500 ($56) per month selling used clothes.

Suman has vowed not to repeat her parents’ mistakes, and has decided to join AIC’s Basic Tailoring Class to secure a brighter future for herself. She attends every afternoon after a long morning of selling old clothes on the roadside, and is excited to be learning basic sewing skills. After this six month class is over, she hopes to be able to attend the intermediate class as well, thereby continuing to improve her skills so that one day she can earn a living without having to work on the streets.

Your generous donation, Lynda, will enable AIC to bear the cost of Suman’s tailoring course.

Your support will ensure that Suman learns  a marketable skill that will hold her in good stead and provide for her family!

Thirty-five year old, Nisha, works as a maid in a wealthy family’s house and has three children to support. She works hard, so that they can go to school and have bright futures.

She dreams of leaving her job as an under-paid maid and being self-employed as a tailor. To move one step closer to her dream, she has recently joined the AIC Basic Tailoring Class and is looking forward to spending the next six months building a foundation of skills.

By the end of the class, she will be able to take measurements for a variety of women’s and children’s garments and can stitch them in her home or on the machines in the AIC Health and Community Centre.

Nisha is especially proud to be setting a strong example for her two young daughters and her son by showing them that it is possible to aspire to do more through hard work and perseverance. Though she has just started the class, her teacher says she is already showing talent, which, combined with her dedication and motivation, will surely take her far.

Your generous donation, Lynda, will enable AIC to bear the cost of Nisha’s tailoring course fees. In a few months, Nisha will hopefully, be able to quit her job as a maid and live her dream by becoming self-employed and raising the living standards of her family.

Thank-you so much, Lynda, your support means a lot to Nisha!

Aruna is one of nine children in her family. At 14, she studies in the seventh standard in a local government school. Both of Aruna’s parents earn a living selling old, used clothes door-to-door, for which there is dwindling demand, hence they have a very low combined income ($50 per month).

Normally, the AIC Basic Tailoring Class is only for women and girls who have dropped out of school, but Aruna made such a compelling case for wanting to learn to sew that an exception was made and she happily attends the class every day after school.

Aruna is excited about the opportunity to branch out and learn a new trade, especially as it is one that she can pick up while still attending school to earn a bit of extra money for her family in her spare time. She is thoroughly enjoying the class, and often arrives early, to get a bit of extra practice with the teacher. We are excited to see what she is able to do in the future with the skills she is learning!

Your generous donation, Laurent, will enable AIC to bear the cost of Aruna’s tailoring course.

Your support will ensure that Aruna learns  a marketable skill that will hold her in good stead and provide for her family!

Thank you, for this kind gesture!

Sheetal and her husband work together to sell used clothes ­ Her husband trades for the clothes door-to-door, while she washes, irons and packages them, and both sell them on the side of the road. Together, they earn about Rs 2,500 ($50) per month.

Sheetal recently found out that she is pregnant with her first baby. As is the case for many first time mothers, she is very excited and is eagerly awaiting the birth of her child. She knows that she will have to continue to work hard throughout her pregnancy, so that she and her husband will be able to support their new baby on such a low income.

However, one less thing for Sheetal to worry about during her pregnancy is her medical care and nutrition, because she has started receiving support from the AIC antenatal program. Sheetal looks forward to the regular counseling, monthly check-ups and medical care (including during delivery) for the duration of her pregnancy. She also has the benefit of coming to the AIC Centre for mid-day meals to ensure proper antenatal nutrition, and enjoys socializing with the other expectant mothers during this time.

Your generous donations, Sophia and Larry (x3), Laurent (x3) and Julie (x2) will enable AIC to provide comprehensive antenatal care to Sheetal.

With all of this support, the doctors say that Sheetal is off to a great start with her pregnancy!

Rupa, trades old clothes on the side of the road, and due to her poor economic status, she is already anticipating having to continue working right up until the day of her delivery, as she did during her first pregnancy.

Rupa is currently expecting her second child. Unfortunately, her husband does not provide for them, and has an alcohol habit that further impoverishes the family. Due to these factors, Rupa was identified as a woman in need of antenatal care services provided at the AIC Health Centre, and has since been signed up for the program.

Through the program, she receives regular counseling, monthly check-ups and medical care for the duration of her pregnancy, nutritional supplementation (mid-day meals and vitamins) and assistance during the time of her delivery. Given all of the challenges that she faces in her daily life, Rupa’s regular visits to the AIC Health Centre will help to ensure that she has the healthiest pregnancy possible, for which she is very grateful!

Thank you, Laurent, for helping AIC provide comprehensive antenatal care to Rupa to enable her baby to develop and grow. Thanks to your support, she has the best chance of giving birth to a healthy, normal child.

Growing up in a family with six children living in the slums, 10-year-old Pallavi knows what it feels like to go to sleep hungry on occasion. And recently, her youngest brother had an open-heart surgery, and her mother had to stop working to stay at home with him during a difficult recovery period.

That left only her father, who sells old, used saris on the side of the road, to support the entire family with a monthly income of less than 2,000 rupees ($45) per month. During this time, Pallavi and her siblings would have most certainly gone hungry almost every day, as her father’s low earnings only provide for one meal per day.

Luckily, Pallavi and her siblings are enrolled in the Ashraya Initiative for Children’s Education Outreach Program, which means that, in addition to a good education, Pallavi receives breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack at the AIC Education Outreach Center.

During her younger brother’s recovery period, Pallavi even received additional food (eggs, milk, fruit, etc) to take home from the Center in the evenings, to ensure that food scarcity would not become a problem while her mother was unable to work. Thanks to the meals she receives at AIC, Pallavi is able to continue an uninterrupted focus on her studies, irrespective of whatever challenges come her way.

Thank you so much, Venkat (x3), Sophia and Larry (x3), Laurent (x3) and UBS (x3) for ensuring that Pallavi continues receiving nutritious meals so that she will one day be able to achieve her dreams.

Thank you all, for coming together in support of Pallavi!

Fourteen year old Jaya lives in a slum community in Pune, Maharashtra. Her mother suffers from a chronic medical condition, and the family has had to take a number of loans at usurious rates  to ensure her treatment. Her father makes around Rs. 2,000 ($ 45) per month, which is barely enough to meet the needs of the family, much less pay back the loans. The entire family is often forced to go hungry for days on end, since the money lenders demand that the interest payments are made on time.

Despite being little more than a child herself, Jaya wants to contribute her bit to the family income. However, her lack of education and marketable skills come in the way of her getting a regular income.

Jaya recently sought and was grated admission into the Basic Tailoring Class conducted by AIC. By the end of the 6-month course, Jaya will have learned many skills that will allow her to complete basic sewing projects to supplement the family income.

Jaya, however, does not plan to stop at the Basic level – she is already talking about continuing on to the Intermediate Tailoring Class so that she can learn more advanced tailoring techniques, which will enable her to take on the more demanding  projects which pay better. The tailoring instructor reports that Jaya is punctual, always participates and demonstrates a clear desire to learn and improve her talents. With such zeal for learning, we are confident that Jaya can reach any goal that she sets for herself.

Your generous donations, Tesu, Laurent (x3) and Rahul (x2) will cover the entire cost of the Basic Tailoring Course that Jaya is going through. In a few months, Jaya will be a qualified tailor, who will then be able to supplement her family income, and help raise the living standards of the entire family.

Thank you all, for coming together in support of Jaya! Your generosity has not only empowered the girl, it will make a huge difference to her entire family.