One of my inspirations and motivations for this blog is to highlight the work of Anantha Ashram, my family’s nonprofit charity in south India that helps children, women and families who wouldn’t otherwise receive medical care, a home and education and the chance to improve their health and wellbeing. Each summer, my father, Samuel Koilpillai, the president and founder of Anantha Ashram, provides a report of accomplishments for Anantha Ashram and points out where we continue to need financial and other support. I want to share the key facts and figures with you, in my next few blog posts. Today, I highlight the work of the Children’s Home.
-------------------------------
Anantha Ashram’s Children’s Home continued to provide shelter, nurture and loving care to abandoned and destitute children. The level of services continued at about the same level in most areas—as the following table would show.
There were 34 admissions of new babies and older children in year 2009-10—compared to 26 in the previous year. As usual, most of the admissions were girl babies. You’ll be interested to know that since its inception in 1991 the Children’s Home has taken in 462 abandoned babies and orphaned and destitute children—a truly mission of mercy, made possible by your generous support.
The program to give children in adoption under Tamilnadu government’s mandate was continuing unabated as well. During fiscal year 2009-10, 26 new childless couples were made happy receiving a beautiful baby from Anantha Ashram under foster care agreements. And, for 51 children, their legal adoption was finalized at the courts entitling them to all rights with their adoptive parents—a remarkable accomplishment indeed.
At the end of the year, i.e., as of March 31, 2010, the Children’s Home family had 40 children. Of these, 16 were school-going kids. One of them had completed 10th standard, and another (Kumar, our “first-born son”) had completed “Plus 2” (12th standard). Kumar is now waiting for admission to the professional college. Thus, education of the children is now a significant focus of care by the Children’s Home, and a significant part of its budget. This budget would include special tuition fees for the several delayed-growth-and-development children who are doing poorly in school.
--- stay tuned... more to come!
Posts
