Achievements

Since the registration of the ASKMSC on 6.7.98 major emphasis had been put on finding suitable land to build a home for street children. Some land had been provided by a member of the society, but the need was felt to set up and register a fund raising organisation in Germany in order to buy more land and to secure steady flow of funds during the construction of the first building. This was established in 1999 with the registration of the German organisation "Aktion Lebenshilfe für Indiens Strassenkinder e. V" and soon after that preparations were on the way for the planning and sanctioning of the first home for the children.

In January 2000 construction could eventually commence. Meanwhile attempts to get in contact with other NGOs concerned with the welfare of street children were made to seek scope for possible co-operation in this field. The ASKMSC has now a close relationship with NGOs in Kolkata
such as CINI-Asha, OFFER, SANLAP and others.

In November 2000 the construction of the first building was complete and the first 10 street children moved in. In the first months major emphasis was put on preparing these children for admission to school according to their age and to attend to their various health problems they had acquired during a life on the street. Within a span of only 4 months it was possible to get the first batch admitted to a local English medium school where the children were doing very well. A doctor from the neighbourhood kindly offered his service in case of emergency and whenever required. He also started to visit our project once a month to do regular medical check-ups and to monitor their general development.

In the years 2001-2002 more children moved in and in 2002 full capacity of the first home was eventually reached and 27 children all born between approximately 1993 and 2001 had found a home for the first time in their lives. Personal sponsorship for all these children was arranged by the German NGO "ali sk e.V." which also contributes to the running costs.

The Italian organisation "Südtiroler Ärzte für die Dritte Welt" also contributes a lot to the cost of maintenance and has also provided money for the school fees and for an eye operation of one of the children as well as other medical costs. With the help of all these organisations it was possible to purchase two more plots adjacent to the first project to build a second home for the children and to provide them with a play ground.

Meanwhile running the first home for street children had become a routine. Seven jobs for local staff could be created and foreign as well as local volunteers regularly contributed to help running the home. All children had been admitted to various English medium schools with high standards and were well on their way to a better future.

In the year 2004 construction of the second building started and from April 2005 more children could be accommodated there. By now more than 40 children have found a home in our project and 14 full time jobs have been created.