ASHA DEEP, PANAJI.

 The Shelter during September, had a daily attendance of 40 to 45 children. A total of 84 children visited the Shelter and 66 of these children attend formal school and are the pride of the staff of the Shelter. These children are also an example in their community which attracts other children to our Shelter. This month however the attendance reduced as the children and their folks went to their own villages for the Ganesh festival. Yeshu Killedar has adjusted well at Montfort and is enjoying his training in Automobile Mechanics and visited the Shelter during the Ganesh holidays. (more…)

The month of August had an average of 45 to 55 children per day visiting the Shelter. Two new children were admitted to school this month and a total of 17 children have been admitted this year. The children who come for Day Care are encouraged and prepared for admission into formal schools in the coming academic year. These children belong to poor families with most of their parents employed as labourers in construction work or as helpers in the market. The parents being occupied with work form early morning till late night, the responsibility of household chores is often on the children. They carry water for their homes, wash clothes and even cook food, their little hands and feet often carrying tell- tale signs (burn marks, calloused palms) for the hard work they do. (more…)

ASHA DEEP (“Hope and Light”: Hindi), our underprivileged children have a hope for the future and that’s what we at “El Shaddai” are striving for bringing Light into their lives and to reach out to as many, and we are extremely satisfied with those already Shinning in Life. (more…)

The new Academic season and the month of June were exciting for the Children and the Staff alike. We had a total of 111 children visiting the shelter during the month, of these, 54 are our regular school going children while 11 are fresh admissions. (more…)

ASHA DEEP, PANAJI.

Many of the regular children visiting Asha Deep are out of state either on their summer break or with their families tending to their homes and fields. Due to this reason the number of children who came to the Shelter this month dropped down to about 35 to 40 on a daily basis. March had a total of 93 different children visiting the shelter. Many of these children were new and visited the shelter for the first time. Since our regular school going children were on their summer vacations, our staff was able to concentrate better on the new children. However we know that once schools reopen and the Heavens open and rain comes down the number of children visiting will increase. Two of the night shelter children, Kissan and Sanjay will be shortly placed in our homes. One of our Night shelter child Ajay, who was with us for about a week, has returned to Mumbai with his mother.

A few boys from Victory House, former children of Asha deep, visited the shelter and spent their time as a part of their vacations. We were really glad to see our former children John, Irfan and Akola who used to spend their days and nights on the streets and were taken into Asha Deep last year. After staying for a few months, they were placed in a Home/Boarding School (Margaret Bosco Bal Sadan) in June 2007 and are doing extremely well.

Our Staff spent maximum time with the children and helped them in all their activities at the shelter. Lokesh and Ramdas effeciently completed the field work and also helped in cleanliness, hair-cutting, nail-cutting, repairs and maintenance etc. Lawrence, a trainee is now been able to professionally handle the cooking.

We had a number of children treated at the Health Centre or G.M.C. this month for various ailments. Sanjay, our night shelter child was sick with diphtheria and was hospitalised for 4 days. He needed a lot of medication, and after he recovered was immunized for other illnesses (as he had not received these immunizations at birth). Shankar was taken to the hospital for an injury to his arm. Kiran, Babu, Rohini and Ramesh were treated for fever and infections. Ravina was treated and given a tetanus shot as a nail had pierced her leg near her house (she lives in a construction area).

Our staff was busy preparing children for school in June. They taught English and Konkani letters, numbers and nursery rhymes etc. About 15 children will be enrolled into school in the month of June. A few of our regular school-going children were also present and they were taught sentence making, spelling, writing numbers in figures, multiplication, etc. They also learnt some craft, embroidery and doll-making.

The prize for the ‘child of the month’ (for studies and behaviour) was given to Kissan and Nagir. In addition, we also gave prizes for school-going children, who stood first in their classes for the final exams: Nagir – std.I, Sonu – std.II, Alaudin – std. III

Lokesh efficiently carried the field work this month, as a result of which a number of new children began visiting the shelter. The field workers have the important task of convincing as many parents as possible to send their children to school the coming academic year. They have also been administering first aid on the field.

‘Dadima’, Kirti Gaonkar has been faithful and came almost everyday, helping with teaching, cleaning, grooming the children, playing with them, teaching them craft, etc. She also sponsored snacks for them. We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Morris for giving 3 DVDs for the children to enjoy, Joehfa Jekhna for donating clothes and a mattress, and Mukta Pearls, for the delicious sweets they brought for the children. A big thank you to Mr. Rajiv Shirodkar for donating 25 kg rice, 10 kg dal and 4 boxes of sweets, and to Sharon and Rob Kay for the contribution towards raincoats for the children.

Thanks to all the staff, management, visitors, for making it all possible. We are very happy with the work we do towards the underprivileged children and we seek to reach to many more. Asha Deep truly is a hope and light to many a street child and we thank God that He has used us as a vessel to bring joy and hope to so many children and their families. We close this month with a prayer to Him for his protection and look forward to a new season with hope to share His love with many more.

We had expected the number of children attending the Shelter to fall down as every year most of them go to their own homes during the summer months. Nearly all the children live out of Goa and so this month on an average only about 25 children attended. The good news is the fieldwork has been so effective that more and more fresh faces are seen at the Shelter. (more…)

March was spent by the children deep in their books. All school going children were serious with studies as the final term examination was fast approaching. It gave us a sense of pride to see that children had developed a love for books and lessons. Non formal education at the Shelter was also pretty focussed this month. (more…)

The month of February was a quiet month compared to the hectic month of January with all the celebrations and parties. This month on an average 35 children availed the facilities provided. 72 children came to Asha Deep this month. (more…)

This month has been a blessing to the children of the Shelter. Right from the beginning they have had one occasion or another to celebrate. Health has been good apart from a few cases of common cold and mild fever. Two of our girls under treatment for skin allergies have responded very well to medication. (more…)

On an average about 45 children attended the Shelter everyday. A total of 120 different children were attended to this month. Basic necessities and medical attention were also provided. Treatment at hospitals was also given when necessary. This month we had no Night Shelter children staying with us. Fieldwork has been carried out and the response has been good. (more…)