Posted: 09/09/2010
*Asha's YouTube channel has been updated! Click here to see what Ms Carruozzo had to say about her visit*
Asha was pleased to welcome Ms Sasha Carruozzo, wife of the Premier of South Australia, Mike Rann, on a visit to Dr. Ambedkar slum on September 9th. Ms Carruozzo was very interested to see the work of Asha and wanted to gain a sense of how people in the slums live in Delhi.
Visiting the children’s resource centre, Ms Carruozzo was impressed at the students’ levels of knowledge of computers, saying that they could probably teach her a thing or two.
She then met with members of the women’s group, who told her how much their area had changed for the better in the years since Asha had been working there. Once they lived in makeshift shacks, susceptible to the elements and communicable diseases; today they have brick houses, electricity, paved roads, water pumps and sewage drains. The community health volunteers explained how they spread awareness among the local people on health-related issues, such as disease prevention and ante-natal care for pregnant women.
Ms Carruozzo was then pleased to speak to around 20 students from Dr Ambedkar slum who are attending Delhi University. Students shared their experiences and the challenges they faced in gaining admission to college. Most had faced financial obstacles and some had experienced family opposition to entering higher education. Several students described the personal support and counselling they had received from Dr Kiran Martin that had encouraged them to pursue admission. All students were looking forward to a brighter future than the slums can provide.
Ms Curozzo concluded her slum visit by speaking to a bank loan recipient who had opened his own electronic repairing business. She said that she thought the slum residents’ hard work and achievements were really fantastic, and she felt extremely honoured that they had been so open and welcoming.
Later she met Dr Martin and they discussed the work of Asha and the realities of Delhi’s urban poor. Ms Curozzo is active in her native Australia with charitable causes and schemes for underprivileged children.
I was suffering from Tuberculosis and my son couldn't cope with looking after me so he moved out. The TB got worse and I relapsed. An Asha community health volunteer noticed my illness, made sure I took my medicine and gave me rations of nutritious food. If Asha was not here I would have died by now.
Arshafilal, Mayapuri
