A Visit to Vaidehi Ashram and A Call for Raffle Prizes...

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Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival. ~ Dalai Lama

..and one of my 2012 resolutions was to be more sensitive and compassionate towards people around me. Quite unexpectedly (and thanks to my mom), I got to spend my New Year day at Vaidehi Ashram  for Destitute Girls located near our house here, in Hyderabad. 

January 3rd is my grandpa's birthday and my mom wanted to do something in memory of him. My grandfather (mother's father) was a man of few words and a heart of gold. He, despite of his hard childhood with no mother since a little kid lead a life of honesty and benevolence and there could have been no better way to celebrate the day, with the little girls of the Ashram.

On inquiring on what they needed the most, myself, my parents along with my uncles pooled together and donated - 60 Kg of Toor Dal, 30L of Vegetable Oil and 20 Kg of Sugar. The very thought that we could do something for the little girls filled our hearts with warmth and happiness. :-).

I wanted to do more for them, hence this post and a Fund Drive that I wish to organise next month. *fingers crossed*.

Vaidehi Ashram is home for about 108 girls (from 3 to 22 years of age) who have no parents or a single parent who can no longer take care of them. Each one have a story of their own which will melt your heart and bring you to tears. The smallest one, Samatha as I was told was wandering on the streets near a railway station with her baby sister, when the police rescued them both and brought into the ashram.

It was New Year. So we were invited with these beautiful rangoli by one of the elder girls.

The lady who runs the ashram and makes sure everything is in order is Mrs.Suvathsala. She is one of the kindest women I have ever met in my life, whose smile is so infectious that you instantly fall in love with her. Everybody in the ashram endearingly call her as Mataji (which means mother). Her accounting skills are impeccable. It doesn't matter how much you donate and what you give to the ashram. You will get a proper reciept for everything and anything. Such is the commitment of the people and volunteers who come here day and night.

Mrs.Suvathsala a.k.a mataji

There are three storeys in the ashram, each of them with a big hall where the children sleep in rows. No beds, just cupboards where they can store their belongings.

All the girls eat their food as one big, happy family - the communal way. You can see in the photograph below my uncle, my mother's youngest brother (in grey suit) serving food to the girls.

Watch the video which I managed to shoot with my DSLR where the children sing and thank the Lord for providing them food and shelter.

Lunch Prayer at the Ashram.

Not a single grain of rice is wasted by any of the children as they seem to know the value of it. Absolutely NO wastage. Isn't it something we ought to learn and implement in our day-to-day lives as well.

If you don't know Telugu, then the below notice board has details of the donors who sponsored their food and clothes for that particular day.

The girls here are multi talented as they participate in various cultural programs organised within the Ashram campus. I have got a special invitation for their Annual Day celebrations sometime in April, this year. :-)

I don't think I can ever forget the way the youngest lot, who are no more than 3 years old ate their food that was served with no qualms or complaints. I have seen children of their age cry their hearts out. But, these kiddos made me realise how valuable life is, especially how much of a difference parents bring in a child's life.

Each year, this bulletin board is updated which has details about which class each of the girls are studying.

When we were there in the Ashram, another group of people came with sweets and fruits to be distributed among the kids.

The girls here are also taught fine arts such as music, painting, dance and handicrafts etc. They are also provided with sufficient knowledge about good food and health which they in turn use to educate and empower women in nearby slum areas, which I thought is quite commendable.

This necklace was made by one of the kids which I bought for a nominal price. 

There is one person because of which all this happened. That is my Mother. She got to know about this ashram through one of her colleagues who volunteers here couple of days a week. My mom was looking for a place where she can donate all of my old clothes and that is when she found out about this Ashram. :-)

Ashram Details:

Vaidehi Seva Samithi

17-1-473/V/3&4

Beside Sri Saraswati Sisu Mandir High School

Krishna Nagar, Saidabad, Hyderabad - 500 059

Ph No: 040-24075544

Mobile: 9032152105

Email: vaidehisevasamithi@gmail.com

[Update] If you wish to send your contributions directly, please draw a cheque or a demand draft in favour of - M/s Vaidehi Seva Samithi and send to the above mentioned address.

All donations are exempted from I.T Under 80-G and accorded permission under FCRA.

A Call for Raffle Prizes - Fund Drive for Vaidehi Ashram of Destitute Girls starting from January 26th 2012.

To help out the children at the Ashram, I am planning a Fund Drive from January 26th 2012. Something on the lines of what Indira organized years ago.

This is a call for raffle prize sponsors only. ...A blog post with full details about the Fund drive will follow in couple of days.

A "raffle prize" can be anything interesting which will encourage people to donate & bid for it.

Here is how it works - A handful of sponsors will contribute raffle prizes. Once the Fund Drive begins on January 26th, others who would like to donate money (details about the various payment options will be published soon in a separate post) will bid for any of the prizes that interest them the most.
1 raffle ticket = 10$ or 500Rs.

For Example - If a donor donates 20$ or 1000Rs, then he/she gets 2 raffle tickets which can be used to bid on any of the raffle prizes listed. At the very end, a randow drawing (by the Ashram kids themselves) will be conducted to decide who gets each of the prize(s). If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to drop me an email info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com.

All the proceeds collected during the Fund Drive will go to the Ashram in the form of provisions and any other necessaries they might have. I assure you with all my heart and soul that every penny will go to the care and feeding of those dear girls at Vaidehi Ashram.

Click here for the post  which has information about all the raffle prizes and their contributors. A Huge Thank You to all of them for their generous support. I will be updating the list as and when I get more prizes. If you wish to sponsor any, please feel free to drop me an email at - info(dot)siri(at)gmail(dot)com.

Read more about my second visit to the Ashram..
List of 40+ raffle prizes my amazing blogger friends are sponsoring for the Fund Drive.

[Updated on February 14th 2012] - Many have inquired about costs involved in sponsoring education, food etc for the Ashram girls. I visited them again and gathered the below information about various projects currently happening. Please send them an email at vaidehisevasamithi@gmail.com or call at +914024075544 or             +91 9032152105       to discuss regarding the project you wish to sponsor. If you need any other help from my side in terms of coordination, please let me know. I will be more than happy to do it.

1. Adopt a girl for one year (Includes clothing, food, education and other necessities)    [20,000/- Rupees]

2. Vidyanidhi (Education costs a girl for one year)                                                            [5,000/- Rupees]

3. Mangala Nidhi (One time deposit to cover a day's food expenses commemorating any auspicious occasion every year)                                                                                                               [20,000/- Rupees]

4. Smrithi Nidhi (One time deposit to cover a day's food expenses in remembrance of your beloved every year)                                                                                                                             [20,000/- Rupees]

5. Kishori Vikas Yojana Nidhi (Expenditure to run one Centre of Development Project for Adolescent Girls for one month)                                                                                                           [1000/- Rupees]

6. Vaidehi Mahila Vikasa Samithi (One month expenditure to train Unemployed Youth & Women. Also includes cost for food and shelter)                                                                                [10,000/- Rupees]

7. To sponsor a meal for all the Ashram girls:                                                                [2,000/- Rupees]


Click here to read all the posts written on Vaidehi Ashram.

until next time,