Posted: 07/02/2007
President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee and MLA Ram Babu Sharma was welcomed as Asha’s Chief Guest at an inauguration ceremony for a refurbished health and children’s resource centre yesterday. Mrs Darshana Jatav, Municipal Councillor, presided over the occasion and Dan Pooley from City Life Church in Southampton (UK), and Padma Shri Dr Kiran Martin, founder and director of Asha, attended as Guests of Honour.
Dan Pooley’s team of 7 volunteers spent over 10 days working on the centre. The group have varied backgrounds and skills include nursing, web development, church work, building and retail management. They are also proficient painters, as the refurbished centre now boasts colourful murals of underwater and jungle scenes. Dan told the crowd how privileged the team felt to have the chance to work within the community and to have contributed to Asha’s work. He added that the Church intended to build on its links Jeevan Nagar by sending more volunteers to work in the area each year. 
The Asha centre will benefit over 5,000 people who live in Jeevan Nagar. The centre also has a children’s resource area with a library and games as well as a homework club.
After being shown around the centre, Ram Babu Sharma gave a speech commending the work of Asha in Jeevan Nagar and all its project areas. He also congratulated the City Life team for their hard work and commitment to building a relationship with the slum community. Mr Sharma promised to help Asha’s efforts wherever possible, and pledged to provide a new toilet block and improved water supply for the settlement.
After these speeches, children from the community performed songs and dances for the assembled guests.
The best thing about the loan scheme is how quickly people have seen benefits, whether they are able to earn more or improve their homes...The direct relationship with the banks helps them a lot, and I'm glad to have been part of it.
Ramesh, Asha Programme Officer
