Testimonials
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| Photo: Nivedha (on left) with her sister |
Even if the notorious tsunami of late 2004 had never happened, there would still be hundreds of thousands of people on India’s south west coast struggling to keep body and soul together. It’s a struggle that seven-year-old Nivedha’s father gave up, taking his own life while she was still an infant.
Today, Nivedha lives with her sister, mother and alcoholic step-father in the fishing village of Tharangambadi. She attends the local HOPE foundation School, where she studies in second standard and attains good results. Although Nivedha is a competent student, this is largely the result of great efforts by her HOPE foundation teachers. It has not always been this way.
When Nivedha first arrived here, she stood out. Not only was she scholastically weaker than her peers, but she was very poorly groomed – her clothes were often unwashed, and her hair was rarely combed. Even her manners were poor. The teachers became concerned and investigated the girl’s home life. It became clear that there were significant domestic conflicts and that the family was very, very poor. Since they had only one source of income, Nivedha’s mother would depart very early each morning to work, leaving her two daughters to look after themselves. Inevitably, the girls were neglected and Nivedha, the younger of the pair, suffered the most.
HOPE foundation staff quickly undertook to give special support to Nivedha and to her sister, Nishanthi. Uniforms and stationery were provided free of charge and personal assistants were allocated to help the girls with life skills. It is clear today that the care has paid off. Nivedha, in particular has benefited. In the year she has been here, she has grown from a scared street urchin into a competent, confident and well-presented pupil.
Riya
Six year old Riya loves to draw, sketch and colour. Her thank you cards have touched many who have visited the Asharan. Due to some problem Riya cannot talk and can only babble. So her drawings have become a way to express her thoughts and display her different moods. She may come across as a stubborn child who wants to have her way. But we do understand the frustration she feels when she sees that others are not able to understand her. We are patient and firm with her, and are confident that as she would grow in her trust for us she will grow in her confidence and peace. She is a quick learner and her artistic aptitude is making her quite popular.
Anshu
When Anshu was brought to the Asharan on 6th January, 2010, she looked severely emaciated. She refused to eat what we brought to her but liked the dry ‘roti’ (Indian bread). We wondered if that was what her mother must have fed her to keep her barely alive! But we at the Asharan were confident that we would be able to nurse her back to good health like all those other kids whom we had served, before her. A month had passed when she started to show some signs of improvement. She began to accept new food items on her plate and we became sure that she would soon attain the healthy diet for herself.
But we were saddened when we were told by the doctor that she could be suffering from severe mental retardation which would hinder her growth. It was difficult for her to sit without any support or even walk. But we pledged to keep up our efforts to improve her health and keep her happy.
Her occasional smile warms our heart and gives us the encouragement to continue our efforts in bringing care to Anshu and many other children at the Asharan. If you too want to play a role in bringing hope to her life, please donate.
S. Maheswari - Testimonial 
18 years old S.Maheswari was asked to stop studying as her father, a carpenter by trade, was earning very less income, while her mother too struggled to earn well working as a helper in a school. But when Maheshwari came to know about the launch the Manpower Vocational Training Centre and its training courses, she enrolled in the computer training course. While she was still studying at the centre, she found a job in the Indian Overseas Bank as an apprentice for a year period with the salary of Rs.1090. Maheshwari is elated that even before she completed her course, she has got a job.
Lathika's Story 
HOPE foundation works with Wal-Mart to transform real people's lives in the slums of India's cities. One young girl, Lathika (the same name as the fictional girl in "Slumdog Millionaire") has had her life changed through the work of HOPE.
Lathika’s parents were worried about her as she was spoiled and petulant. When they heard about the ICoH school, they immediately admitted her to get her away from home. Lathika was not very happy with this transition and did not like coming to school. However, she also looked very sad as she missed her home. But, due to the loving attention showered on her by Geetha, the teacher of the playschool, she slowly started changing. She has also started to be involved in extra-curricular activities like singing and dancing. Her parents thank Wal-Mart for changing her for the better and bringing into her an awareness of the world that is outside.
Manimehala 
Like many, Manimehala did not know what ailed her. She was too weak to even walk. Her husband, a coolie (porter) could not do much as she was often home alone too tired to move. When her family finally took her to the doctor, he could not diagnose her ailment. Then she was taken to the hospital where she met one of our staff who diagnosed her of having tuberculosis. Scared of being ostracized by the society, she trusted us to help her fight the disease. As she was too weak to go thrice a week to have medicines from the hospital, our staff visited her every week to give her the medicine. Manimehala has successfully fought tuberculosis and won. We are happy to be part of this fight.
Eliamma
Eliamma is a diabetic with several other illnesses and she is 75 years old. When she was 17, she got married to an alcoholic who abused her and had several affairs with other women during the course of their marriage. After spending time in prison for murdering a man, he left her for another woman. She was forced to go back to her father’s house. Her father was the only one who welcomed her back and he left some property in her name. After his death, her siblings threw her out of the house. She sold the property to buy a small house and started working as a housemaid. In spite of this, she was not able to support her children and was forced to put her two sons for adoption. Now, her sons are not willing to take care of her and her daughter cannot because of her in-laws. A pastor brought her to HOPE’s old age home. She is extremely happy to be here and grateful to HOPE foundation and the donors. She says God heard her prayers and brought her to the right place.
Rishi
A wonderful boy was born to an unknown mother in one of the hospitals in Hyderabad. This child who was later named Rishi was born with different congenital defects of his urinary bladder and urinary system. Rishi came to Asharan orphanage in 2004 when he was four years old. Till then, he had already gone through three painful surgeries to rectify his congenital defects. At Asharan orphanage he was diagnosed to have a stone in his urinary bladder for which he had to undergo his fourth surgery at AIIMS, one of the leading hospitals in Delhi. The surgery was done for removal of stone and also for bladder neck repair to stop the dribbling of urine. Although the dribbling stopped, Rishi could not pass urine. He had to be catherised every three hours to remove the urine. Rishi’s life after each surgery had been agonizing. But still he was cheerful and was one of the most obedient children we have ever seen. While Rishi was recovering, a family from U.S. was very excited to adopt Rishi and take care of all his future treatment. They even organized for him to be treated at the prestigious John Hopkins hospital. Rishi’s life has changed through Asharan.
