home away from home...

With Aashayein Foundation, today, we went to an institution for young boys...there were about 22 boys - a mix of orphans, semi-orphans, runaway kids and kids from poor families - all living and sharing their lives in a modest one storey house...I've talked about the inmates quite a lot in all my trips with Aashayein Foundations in the past ...this time, I should probably introduce you all to some of the people behind these acts of love and care...

the organization was conceptualized and started in Italy 3 years ago by 5 visionary people...these 5 friends wanted to do their little bit in making life of the street kids a little better than how it would've been otherwise...the two women you see here are Gaia and Chiara from Italy...they come and stay here with the kids for a few months and then go back to Italy to be with their family, only to come back a few months later, to be with their 'family' here...2-3 out of the 5 people take turns to come down all the way from Italy and spend a few months, taking care of these children...they also run programs and put their effort back in Italy to raise funds for the organization...some of the kids have already 'graduated' out of the organization and have moved out to find jobs and such...these two ladies tell their stories with twinkle in their eyes...when she told us that some of the kids wish to earn money and help them take care of the organization, I could see a lot of pride and joy in their smiling faces...I don't know what drives these people to be so far away from their own home, family and country just to take care of a handful of complete strangers...I couldn't stop admiring their courage and spirit...

Stefano - the gentleman in the picture is a traveler from Italy who met these two girls in Rajasthan some time ago and found what these girls are doing really interesting...and being a 'true traveler', decided to come down and spend a few days with these kids...he is also a photographer and we had some interesting conversations regarding the art and true spirit of photography...

the intent is not at all to understate the effort and sacrifices of the people who are 'behind the scene' in other organizations I have written about earlier...they all are worthy of all the respect but I thought that the story of these girls was worth being told in blipland...

website of the organization - in case you're interested to know more...

slideshow of the rest of the pictures from today...

on a related note, I came across this TED India video...Mallika Sarabhai - a renowned artist and social activist talks beautifully about the role of art in instigating a social change...really inspiring video...a bit lengthy (15 mins) but a must watch...

lots of link today :)