Every child needs a home Aarti Home provides real opportunities for children in need Aarti Home 1/713, Dwaraka Nagar, Cuddapah AP 516004, INDIA Tel: +91 8562 47106 (Aarti) +91 8562 44999 (Office) http://www.aarti-home.com/ Contact by email February 2001: Amidst the perennial scourge of drought and poverty, one cannot remain indifferent. The Vijay Foundation Trust was born of this concern in Cuddapah, Andhra Pradesh, with 13 members, intending to make a better tomorrow for our children, and to strive towards social betterment though public awareness programs. The foundation's first endeavor was to establish a home for children. Aarti Home, named for a young girl who died tragically, was established in 1992, in a small rented house, with personal contributions from the members. What began in a small way with four children has now increased to the present strength of 51. Rewarding the services of the Aarti Home, the government allotted it a piece of land in 1995, on which a permanent home was built for the children in 1996, with the help of contributions from friends and well-wishers. A lot has been achieved in five years, and in the process doors of opportunity have been opened to those who might otherwise have become just another statistic for homeless children. Our endeavor is to provide the children a good home and bring them up in an atmosphere of love and caring, says Sandhya Puchalapalli, the secretary of the organization. At Aarti Home, the staff and volunteers provide real personal care for the children. The service Aarti Home provides is not merely to fulfill the essential needs of children, but to bring them up in a caring environment as well adjusted individuals who will be productive future citizens that can make positive contributions to society. Nutrition and Medical Care: All children are given nutritious and balanced food according to a diet developed by a qualified nutritionist. Medical care of the children is taken care of by a panel of well qualified physicians from Cuddapah who provide free service. Education - The primary aim is to make the children self supporting by giving them good education. Children up to 7 years are taught in the Aarti Home itself while older children are sent to reputed private schools in town. Aarti Home staff and sponsors take pride in the fact that their children successfully compete with other more privileged children enrolled in these schools. Apart from providing the children excellent education at Government approved schools, strong cultural values are also imparted to the children at Aarti Home. Tailoring school - A tailoring school for the underprivileged was started at Aarti Home a couple of years ago. The school consisting of two teachers and the necessary infrastructure aims at imparting tailoring skills to disadvantaged women in order to make them self-supporting. Computer Education - A Computer Center is under construction on the second floor of the facility. The construction is expected to be completed by Summer 2001. The objective is to provide modern computer training to the children. Aarti Home received funding for the construction of the computer facility from a U.S. donor. A Microsoft employee of Indian origin was also kind enough to donate Windows 2000 and Office 2000 software. Aarti Home administration is happy that the facility is noticed and supported by donors from U.S.A. How can India Together readers help? There are two ways in which interested persons can help. The first is to support and individual child's needs financially, and the second is to help fund the construction of facilities needed for the children. Sponsoring an individual child. - Rs. 600 per month/ Rs. 6000 per annum and sponsor a child - Rs. 250 per month/ Rs. 2500 per annum and sponsor a child's education - Rs. 75 per month/ Rs. 750 per annum and sponsor a child's medical aid Those who want to make contributions in India may send their tax-deductible contributions to Vijay Foundation Trust, Cuddapah. U.S. residents may send their tax-deductible contributions through 'Volunteers in Service to Education in India'. Address in India: Aarti Home 1/713, Dwaraka Nagar Cuddapah 516004 Andhra Pradesh INDIA Address in the United States Dr. K. Raman Volunteers in Service to Education in India(VSEI). P.O. Box: 713, CT - 06101 Phone: 860 233-5684 Email: vsei@ntplx.net Note: Please mention specifically that the contribution is for Aarti Home, Cuddapah. Contribute towards the building fund: As the Aarti Home gains more recognition in the district, the number of children requesting admission to Aarti Home is growing. Hence, there is an acute need for more space to accomodate the increasing number of students. Plans are afoot to build an extension to the current building. Also, there are plans to build a modest reading room / library which would be largely furnished with donations. For contributing towards the building fund or reading room, please indicate "Aarti Home Building Fund" or "Aarti Home Reading Room" in the memo line of the check. Checks may be mailed to the address of Dr. K. Raman given above or directly to Vijay Foundation Trust in India. If you wish to name a room or a project in memory of a loved one, it is certainly feasible to do so. Please contact us by mail (see address above), phone (91 8562 47106 or 91 8562 44999) or email at aartihome@lycos.com. Sashi Reddy February 2001 Read other India Together stories from Andhra Pradesh. Feedback: Tell us what you think of this article.