Aasraa aims to empower the most vulnerable children in Dehradun to help shape their lives and give them a meaningful existence. These children have always been treated like liabilities, we hope to help them become assets, for themselves and for the society. We bring them in, with the help of our Outreach team and help them achieve basic literacy through our Street Smart centers. With dedicated help from our teachers and relentless hard work from the children, we help them mainstream into regular schools.

Our children come from some of the most poverty ridden areas of the city which makes it hard for them to have an environment at home that is conducive to learning. They live in cramped quarters with no electricity or a desk. They lack adult guidance for academics, at home. All this essentially leads to poor understanding of concepts which take a toll on their performance in classrooms. That’s where Aasraa’s program Wings comes in. We give them teachers, proper nutrition, love and encouragement to learn to their heart’s content. With the right environment, a child can thrive and that’s what we aspire to provide these children with.

The most exciting among the recent developments at Aasraa is the triumvirate partnership between Aasraa Trust, The Education Alliance and the Government of Uttarakhand. This gives us the opportunity to convert these under-performing government schools in centers of quality education. This project, School Quality Enhancement Program(SQEP) has helped us enhance the quality of education for the students already enrolled in these schools, as well as the out of school children that Aasraa have mainstreamed to them. The six government schools that come under this particular project are all running our program Wings after the school hours. With over 700 students enrolled under the wings program in these schools, -- have been mainstreamed from Aasraa. We are brimming with pride for our students who are showing constant improvement every day.

Wings program is mandatory for all mainstreamed slum and street children to attend, so we at Aasraa can make sure that they don’t lose track of their progress with their curriculum. This block of time after school provides them with guidance and support for homework and conceptual understanding.

With the amalgamation of technology with traditional forms of learning, we aim to improve computer literacy. The children are eager to use android tablets and computers in our Computer Aided Learning(CAL) classes, that we have been able to provide them for the classes because of our generous donors.

Aasraa aims to bring every vulnerable child under the umbrella of literacy. The first step to this is our Street Smart program in which we provide basic education to all the children that are brought in to our centers by our Outreach team. A baseline survey which assesses a child’s ability and grasping power is our 1st step towards their education.   No child can study well if they are not hearty and healthy, which is why we provide them with adequate nutrition so they can learn to the best of their abilities.

Under the loving guidance of our teachers, the students are made to feel at home so they can be open and develop healthy friendships with their peers.  After the assiduous efforts of the children with guidance from the teachers, we mainstream them into regular schools.

The most exciting among the recent developments at Aasraa is the triumvirate partnership between Aasraa Trust, The Education Alliance and the Government of Uttarakhand. This partnership gives us the opportunity to convert 6 under-performing government schools into centers of quality education. The project, School Quality Enhancement Program(SQEP), has helped us enhance the quality of education for the students already enrolled in these schools, as well as the out of school children that Aasraa has mainstreamed to the school through our Street Smart centers.   

Because of the SQEP program, now we can supervise all facets of their further education and ensure that they are receiving the best possible guidance. With Computer Aided Learning(CAL), the students are able to grasp concepts better.

One such student, who was mainstreamed from Street Smart, Haven to one of our SQEP programs is Radhika. She’s a quiet child but with a cheerful disposition. She is exceling at academics and all the teachers are proud of her relentless progress.                                     

In a family of four brothers and six sisters, the means of livelihood often fall short. Her father is an alcoholic who doesn’t try too hard to provide for the family, leaving them in miserable living conditions. Two of her brother’s ran away from home to get married to their choice of bride. The family lacks bread earners.

Even in such conditions, Radhika continues to study hard and participate in extracurricular activities like drawing and dancing. One of her strongest qualities is her ability to empathize. She has developed a strong attachment to one of her teachers and is always delighted to spend some time with her and learn from her. She has an inclination to help those who seem emotionally troubled.

With help of our benevolent donors, we are able to help children like Radhika and rescue them from the vicious cycle of poverty.  Our heartfelt and grateful thanks to each one of you for joining us in our crusade to educate the underserved.

Dipika, an 8-year old daughter of a daily wage worker and a house maid servant, is a keen learner. Her determination to study knows no bounds.

Her parents refused to enroll her in school. She had to baby sit her younger brother at home while they were out for work. Her elder siblings have never been to school or have dropped out. Dipika always wanted to study. She tried to convince her parents several times but was left disappointed.

In 2017, she learned about Aasraa and how it was helping children like her to go to school. She wasted no time and asked her parents if she could join Aasraa’s learning program at Welham Boys’ School in the evening. They denied. Our outreach team intervened and finally convinced her parents to send both Dipika and her younger brother to the centre.

She was overjoyed with the thought of studying. Every minute at the centre was a blessing to her. As months passed by, her commitment grew stronger. She wanted to dedicate more time to studies. And this was when Aasraa launched a new mobile learning program at Chuna Bhatta area, close to her home. This was a morning program. Dipika jumped at the opportunity and became a regular student at both morning and evening programs.

Dipika is an ambitious child. She wants to become a doctor and treat poor children for free. She says, “My elder sister is a rebel. My mother forced me to take care of our younger brother and did not send me to school. I want to wear a school uniform. When I will join a school, I will help my brother get admission too.”

This year, Aasraa plans to mainstream 230 children from the Street Smart program into formal education; 180 into regular schools and 50 into National Institute of Open Schooling.

Dipika is one of them!

Our mission to fulfill dreams of children like Dipika would not accomplish without you. Your unwavering support strengthens our capacity to hand-hold more marginalized slum and street children. Thank you very much for your kind generosity!