Looking at Aman, a second grade student at a prestigious English-medium private school in India, you would never realize he has such a difficult background and family situation. Aman is the third of his parents’ five children. Although his mother works selling used saris door-to-door, his father’s alcohol habit uses up most of the family’s resources.

For years, his parents sent Aman and his older siblings out onto the streets to beg. Thanks to the efforts of the Ashraya Initiative for Children, Aman and his siblings can finally go to school. Although the household’s income is still only between 2,000 and 3,000 rupees per month ($35 – $50), nowhere near enough to support their family of seven, Aman’s parents have stopped sending him out to beg because he now receives daily meals at the AIC Education Outreach Centre instead. With fewer mouths to feed, Aman’s parents are willing to allow Aman to go to school, and not just any school! Aman was very lucky to earn admission into such a prestigious school, and he also benefits from the packed lunches that he is able to take with him every day through AIC.

Upon returning back to the Education Outreach Centre after school, Aman eats again before attending two hours of intensive tutoring time. The meals he eat are fresh, nutritious and delicious, which keeps a former street child like Aman coming back for more. Aman’s future is brighter than ever — due to the free daily meals, his parents remain committed to his education as well.

Thank you Karen, Ken, Julian, Jami, and James for supporting the Ashraya Initiative for Children and Aman.

Bhavesh is an eight year-old student who has just started secnd standard at an English-medium school in Pune, India. He is the second-youngest of his parents’ four children.

Bhavesh’s father earns about 6,000 rupees ($100) per month as a part-time caddy at the golf course across the street from Bhavesh’s slum. It is not considered acceptable for women in Bhavesh’s family’s community to work outside of the house so his mother tends to the household and ensures that Bhavesh and his siblings attend school and afterschool classes at the AIC Education Centre every day. Through the support offered by AIC, Bhavesh receives daily meals and snacks. These meals include chapati (flat bread), cooked vegetables or curries, an egg, fresh fruit and extras like yogurt and pickle. As an after-school snack, Bhavesh typically has milk and biscuits, but always looks forward to special occasions when there might be a special snack food like sweets!

With the rising food prices and stagnant wages, Bhavesh’s family is thankful for this support. Most importantly, Bhavesh is able to focus on his education instead of where he will find his next meal!

Thank you, Michael and Karen, for supporting the Ashraya Initiative for Children and Bhavesh!

11 year-old Chhaya is a spunky and bright 7th standard student that receives educational support services through the Ashraya Initiative for Children in Pune, India. She joined AIC’s Education Outreach Program last year when her mother was hired as the kitchen manager at the AIC Education Centre. Chhaya is the second youngest of her parents’ five girls, and although they lament the fact that they have no boys to carry on the family name, her parents are committed to letting Chhaya and her sisters complete their educations as long as they are financially able to do so.

Chhaya’s father works as a gardener, and her parents earn between 6,000 and 10,000 rupees per month ($100 –  $170), depending on availability of work for him. The seasonability of work makes it hard for the family to plan for the future, especially as Chhaya’s oldest sisters are approaching marriageable age and her parents are now trying to save for their weddings. Thankfully, Chhaya has been able to stay in school and is thriving with the support she receives at AIC.

One of the most valuable forms of support that Chhaya receives is daily, nutritious meals and snacks. For a family like Chhaya’s, which relies on variable, seasonal income, it is reassuring to know that their daughter will continue to receive healthy, filling meals every day that she attends school.

Thank you all for your support of Ashraya and Chhaya!

Ganesh and his two younger brothers were orphaned last year in Pune, India when their father died from tuberculosis. Since then, they have been virtually homeless and shuffled around between neighbors’ houses and extended relatives because there is nobody who is willing or able to take long-term responsibility for them.

This is a huge burden on the shoulders of Ganesh, who is merely 12, and has struggled to keep an eye out for his brothers while also staying on track with his own studies in the 7th grade. Thankfully, Ganesh and his brothers do have a lifeline of support during this difficult time — they are recipients of educational support through the Ashraya Initiative for Children. In addition to school supplies, clothes and tutoring, Ganesh is grateful for the meals that he receives, because most days, these meals are the only food he eats. The meals are hot, healthy and tasty, and because of his home situation, Ganesh and his brothers are sent home from the AIC Education Centre with some leftovers every day.

Although these meals have not completely eased the challenges faced by this trio of brothers, it is likely that they would have dropped out of school and begun begging on the streets again to fill their stomachs if they could not count on the assurance of daily, nutritious meals. Thank you all for supporting Ashraya and Ganesh!

The Waghri and Sikligar tribes have traditionally been considered ‘denotified tribes’, and do not receive the Government support extended to other tribes. Traditionally, the Waghris were old garment traders, and the Sikligars were master blacksmiths. Since both these trades are now nearly obsolete, members of these communites engage in informal activities like garment sales, restaurant service, and brewing illegal liquor.

Of the 18 million street children in India, many belong to these two and other similar ‘denotified tribes’, and are caught in a poverty cycle from which there is no escape.

Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC) provides residential care to orphaned children, and education, nutrition, health care facilities and vocational training to the other members of the Pune, India community to empower them to break out of the poverty cycle.

Thank you Prashant, Taryn, Becky, and Jeanne for coming together to provide Aarti a year of parenting classes. Your generosity ensures she can better provide for her child!

16 year old Swati lives in Pune, India with her older sister, her sister’s husband and their two children because her parents are unable to provide her with a stable home. Recently, Swati’s sister, Jyoti, heard about a basic tailoring class held daily at the Ashraya Institute for Children (AIC) Health and Community Outreach Centre, and the two sisters immediately jumped at the opportunity to join.

Sometimes, Swati regrets she wasn’t able to study past the fifth grade, but since starting the tailoring class, she has a renewed sense of purpose and motivation. She is committed to work hard, better herself, and continue her learning in a variety of ways. The class is taught by a skilled instructor that takes the girls and women under her wing and accommodates their wide range of skill and literacy levels. Swati and the other ladies in the class have begun learning the basics of tailoring, and, after they graduate from the six month basic course, will also have the option of moving up to the intermediate class.

Swati is determined to finish the entire series because she knows that, with her limited education and difficult family circumstances, this opportunity is her best chance at securing a future for herself. She is also very concerned about her mother’s health, as her mother suffers from liver problems and requires ongoing treatment. Your generous donation, Robin, will help ensure that Swati can generate income from her tailoring work and support her mother.

Lalita is a young mother of two, soon to be three! Her marriage to her husband was arranged when she was only a teenager, as is common in her community, and by age 20, she already had two children, a 2 year old boy and a 3-year old girl.

Lalita lives in Pune, India with her husband and his family: her mother-in-law, father-in-law and several of her husband’s siblings. The family largely makes a living through roadside metalworking, but Lalita’s husband is one of the few in her community with a salaried job ­- he earns 3,000 rupees ($60) a month as a caddy at the golf course down the road from their slum community. Lalita is grateful that her husband has a real job, but his earnings fluctuate greatly depending on the season and weather ­- it is hard for the family to be able to put much away for savings with so many mouths to feed.

For this reason, Lalita and her husband were happy that they were able to sign up for free, comprehensive antenatal care through Ashraya Institute for Children (AIC) at a health and community center near their slum. Through this program, Lalita is able to come for regular check-ups, receives medication and nutritional support, and is accompanied by AIC health workers to appointments throughout her pregnancy.  This has taken a huge burden off Lalita and her family, and she is looking forward to her new arrival. She has even been attending parenting classes for the past year and is excited to have the opportunity to put her new skills to use from the get-go with the arrival of her new baby.

Thank you Dara, Jeff, Madhu, Grace, and Krishna for ensuring Lalita and her soon-to-be-born child are healthy.

Bhanu is no stranger to the parenting classes held at the Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC) Health and Community Outreach Centre in Pune, India. In fact, prior to the birth of her youngest son this spring, she attended a year-long parenting class with her second-youngest and learned a great deal about toddler care and development. With the birth of her fifth child in late spring, she was grateful to join the parenting class for mothers and infants to learn more about how to be the best mother possible for her new baby.

Bhanu has known hardship all of her life. Her marriage was arranged when she was hardly a teenager, and over the years, she has struggled to provide for herself and her family by selling used clothes and cloth material on the side of the road. Her children range in age from 11 years to a mere 4 months old. During the course of Bhanu’s last pregnancy, she was diagnosed with a life threatening condition and her husband abandoned her and her children, leaving the family to fend for themselves. Her infant son spent nearly a month after birth in and out of the hospitals, at times in critical condition, before his health stabilized and she could bring him home for good.

Although she benefits from the information conveyed during the classes – birth spacing and family planning, breastfeeding, nutrition, medical care, infant growth and development – Bhanu feels like she has most benefited from the support, guidance and camaraderie of the classes. During her darkest hours, when she was struggling with abandonment, a life threatening medical condition, and nearly losing her new baby, she always felt like she could count on the love and support of the health workers and the other new mothers in the class.  The classes have also provided her with a great deal of guidance related to managing her own illness as well as taking care of her medically-fragile son, who is now flourishing. Finally, she is always grateful for the nutritious snacks and small attendance gifts (hygiene products like baby shampoo, soap, etc) that she receives for attending the class.

Thank you, Tim and Sherie, Joe and Karen, and Microsoft for giving Bhanu the support she craves to make it through this difficult time.

Ritesh, who lives in Pune, India, is the youngest of his parents’ four children. His father works as a part-time waiter in a small restaurant and his mother sells secondhand clothes on the side of the road in the market. The family also raises pigeons for supplementary income, bringing their monthly earnings to about 5,000 rupees ($100) per month, depending on the season and availability of work. Although his parents are attentive and hard-working, their income is often not enough to provide for their family of six, and Ritesh and his siblings benefit from the daily meals that they receive at the Ashraya Initiative for Children’s Education Outreach Centre. These meals help to ensure that Ritesh is able to focus on his studies and be a normal child – playing and making friends in his free time – without feeling dizzy and tired or having to worry where his next meal is coming from.

Ritesh has just started second standard at an English-medium school and is making rapid progress. His parents are very grateful for the support that he and his siblings receive through this program, and the peace of mind that it gives them to know that his nutritional needs are being looked after. Thank you, Nanda, Patricia, Ojus, and Microsoft, for helping Ritesh live a healthier life!

Five-year-old Kabir is an exuberant, playful kindergartener at the Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC) Pre-Primary School in Pune, India. Kabir’s father works as a part-time caddy at a golf course near the family’s slum community, earning about 2,500 rupees ($50) per month, and his mother stays at home with Kabir and his three sisters.

Kabir’s mother is believed to be mildly mentally challenged, and often struggles to be an attentive, engaged mother, leaving many of the childcare tasks to her oldest daughter, Neha, age seven. For this reason, receiving daily meals at the AIC Education Outreach Centre has made a huge difference for Kabir’s growth and development. These meals include chapati (flat bread), bhaji (cooked vegetables), boiled eggs, fresh seasonal fruit, yogurt, milk and several other items, ensuring that Kabir’s nutritional needs are met. With the nutritional supplementation he receives through this program, Kabir has started to flourish academically and socially in his kindergarten class, and his teachers are very excited to see where he goes from here. Thank you all for providing Kabir with a year of meals at AIC!