December 2008
• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. Laden with books, pillowcases, towels, shoes, clothes and a new over (exactly what the girls asked for), Aasha friends Sid Cherian, Smita Singh, Regina Martinex, Jenny Lomibao and Carmela Laiom celebrated Christmas with hte girls at the Tahanan Center in Manila, Philippines.

Along with the essentials and gift items for the girls, we also donated a new oven for the center.

Tahanan Center is a transitional crisis center for girls aged 8 to 16. Their history includes physical explotation; most have been controlled through addictive substances.
 

• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. We hosted a holiday party at the Sharanam Centre, where we provided individually wrapped gifts for all the girls, as well as food, cake and decorations.

Gifts this year included colorful hoodie sweatshirts, wristwatches, and an assortment of lip gloss, nail polish and hair ties.

  [photos to come]

September 2008
• Aasha Sisters. This year we launched a new program with wonderful group of high school students from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.

Led by Kayla Lewkowicz, the Aasha Sisters send monthly packages of letters, candy, photos and craft supplies to the Sharanam girls. They have regular partners and the Sharanam girls write letters back in English. The girls love the ongoing interaction and have loved learning about their partners' lives in the US.
  [photos to come]

July 2008
• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. As the Sharanam girls headed back to school this month, we took them out shoe shopping, over 3 weekends, in groups of 10. We went to a block in Mumbai's Bandra neighbood, famous for its many shoe shops.

As so many of the girls' clothing items are donated, or purchased in bulk quantity, this was the first time every that they were able to look at the choices in multiple stores and make their own selections.
  [photos to come]
• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. This month, we coordinated an outing with the Sharanam girls to a nearby modern multiplex to see the Hindi film "Kismet Connecton." After the movie, the girls enjoyed the video games and dinner in the food court.
  [photos to come]
• Aasha Education. Each July, students in Mumbai return to school. This year, Sonam and Indira enter the 11th standard (called "Junior College" in Mumbai) and switch from Hindi-medium to English-medium education. This is a significant achievement and we're proud of all the girls for their successes in their studies.

This year marks our 4th year funding the private school educations for the Sharanam girls, including supporting tuition fees, after-school tutoring, transportation, bookbags, and uniforms.
  [photos to come]

June 2008
• Summer Vacation: Professional Visits. During the Sharanam girls' summer vacation we organized visits with local professional organizations to help familiarize the girls with different career paths.

At Mumbai's Oberoi Trident Hotel, the girls were able to see the inner workings of the hotel and learn about careers in hotel management.

At Integreon Managed Solutions, employees shared their inspiring personal stories and life paths, and provided valuable career and educational advice, while also providing information about the outsourcing industry. The visit was especially meaningful for the girls because they've known many of the Integreon employees for a number of years.
  [photos to come]
• Summer Vacation: Computer Classes. Using the laptops donated in 2007 by Aasha friends Josh & Meredith Levine, Aasha co-founder Karen provided computer classes throughout the vacation. Each girl, regardless of age, received 2 hours per week of instruction time.

They improved their general computer and internet navigation skills, learned to love the games on pbskids.org, learned to use PowerPoint, improved their typing skills using a PC-based typing tutor, and created websites in Google Pages.

After every other summer activity, the girls created PowerPoint presentations about their experiences.
  [photos to come]

May 2008
• Summer Vacation: Lonavla.This month, we traveled with the Sharanam girls by bus to Lonavla, a mountain resort town 2 hours from Mumbai where we stayed at Kumar's Resort and Waterpark. It was an amazing experience for the girls, who spent 2 days swimming at the waterpark.

Hotel rooms, all meals and waterpark fees were donated 100% by Kumar's Resort. The trip was arranged by Aasha friends Mathew and Dhanya who run Rainmaker's Shack in Lonavla.
  [photos to come]

April 2008
• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. In April, we arranged an outing for the Sharanam girls to the IMAX theater to see the English-language IMAX nature film "Dolphins." After the movie, we headed to 5 Spice, a Chinese restaurant, for dinner.
  [photos to come]

February 2008
• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. In February, we arranged an outing for the Sharanam girls to see the historical epic drama "Jodha Akbar" movie. Prior to the movie, we visited Juhu Beach, where the girls waded in the ocean and played in the sand.
  [photos to come]

January 2008
• Aasha Recreation and Life Skills. After New Year's, we organized a movie outing to see the Hindi comedy "Welcome". We were joined by Aasha co-founder Jenn Ryan and Aasha friends Kathi Watson and Stacy Rice. After the movie we went to 5 Spice, a Chinese restaurant for dinner.
  [photos to come]


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