ARUN AASHRAY DONATION DRIVE

A home to nurture with loving care, those children who have no family of their own

The core committee members of the STEM CLUB of The Bishop’s Co Ed School, Pune recently visited the Arun Aashray Orphanage in Pune as a part of the club’s outreach program to donate to under privileged children of the society. As Gia Sangtani, Secretary of the STEM Club describes it, the experience was very new and emotional for them all.

The orphanage is run by Ms. Radhika Dalvie, a renowned educationist and Social Worker, who operates the orphanage in a small bungalow and houses 15 children at a time. Gia describes the children as very friendly, loving and affectionate who thoroughly enjoyed the company of our team, playing with them, sharing stories and clicking many fun pictures.

The children are schooled in the orphanage itself, and are looked after by voluntary helpers who give their time and energy into making life a little comfortable for these young ones. The children who range from the ages 4-5 years, have been subjected to cruelty in the past and are still learning to trust their surroundings. Many of them, namely Anay, Nakul, Snehal, Kartik bonded very well with the new visitors.

“The language barrier was evident, as many of them majorly speak only Marathi,” says Gia.

However, the teachers at the orphanage are taking utmost efforts in making the children comfortable and confident in all languages.

The orphanage provides a very happy and positive environment for the children, with books and games for them to engage in and sisters who help them pray on a daily basis. It also has all safety provisions in place and is kept very clean and hygienic. It is currently running low on funds, and the STEM Club wants to do as much as it can to help.

The STEM Club is looking for donations to buy items like a wheelchair, milk powder and diapers to provide to the orphanage. What our team realised is that the children out of everything need love, attention and a model figure to look up to.

The greatest learning for us was that we should we grateful for what we have – especially the love of a parent, and cherish those we love. “Life for us has always been a bed of roses, we haven’t seen half the hardships these young children have. It makes us realise how truly privileged we are.

Here at the STEM Club, we are taking a small but important step, we encourage everyone to do their bit in making someone’s life better,” says the team, who cannot wait to go back and visit these little munchkins again.