Ashanilaya Orphanage

MASARD (Mass-based Association for Social Service and Rural Development)

1201/B, Mittal Towers, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bangalore – 560 001, Karnataka State, India

Telephone: 91-080-25585467 E-mail: welgifts@vsnl.com

In 2004, MASARD established Ashanilaya orphanage at Egipura in Bangalore. Poor sanitation, inadequate housing, illness, poverty and an unsafe environment all contribute to the need for care of a large number of children living in Bangalore’s slums. All of the children cared for at Ashanilaya are orphans, have been abandoned by the parent/s or do not have relatives that are able to adequately care for them.

Ashanilaya currently cares for 20 orphaned children and employs three full time staff to provide 24 hour care. All of the children are educated at a nearby school and have the opportunity to take part in activities such as dancing, singing and sports at the orphanage under the supervision of Ashanilaya staff. The children stay at the orphanage until they have completed their studies and are able to join the workforce.

All of the staff and volunteers at Ashanilaya help to create an atmosphere where the children can feel at home. Ashanilaya endeavours to:

Make the children feel wanted and loved
Provide a safe and secure environment
Provide guidance and support
Encourage healthy habits and humanistic values
Make it possible for the children to imagine a better future for themselves

Until recently, Ashanilaya had been relying on the generous contributions of members and staff of MASARD who have been contributing part of their monthly salaries to the cause. In addition to this, eight children at Ashanilaya receive monthly/yearly contributions from their sponsors to meet the costs of education, food, healthcare etc. However, at present the funds received through these means is inadequate to meet the day-to-day running costs of the orphanage.

Our aim is to increase the number of children supported by sponsors and to seek out independent sources of income above and beyond this to improve the facilities at the orphanage.

Increasing the amount of funds we currently receive for the maintenance of Ashanilaya will become more urgent in the coming months. In the wake of the tsunami that hit coastal areas of India in December 2004, MASARD set up a temporary facility in Tamil Nadu to care for children orphaned by the disaster. This temporary facility will be closing in the coming months and MASARD expects that 10-12 children will need to be brought to Bangalore to be cared for at Ashanilaya.