About Us

The very name "Hastadharan" connote what we insinuate to comprehend. To aid the orphanages fiscally, with the intention that they have enough funds to afford victuals and haven for the vagrants. The plain yet imperative

Obligations - food and shelter.

We came into existence, with the nativity of deliberation in our hearts and moreover entrenched deep in our soul, to lend a hand. A hand in the offing to hold the one in need, to support the less fortunate's, and to embrace the insolvent, wherever, whatever, however and whenever, it is possible.

Hastadharan originated back on May 20th 2009, with measly participation of twelve people, and an eternal motive of supporting the orphanages which are struggling to run their homes due to lack of funds. The initiative we took was a minute step towards the colossal goal, we had in our minds. And this minuscule steps have cemented a potent trail to reach our aspiration.

In the company of our troop, we onset the voyage of visiting the orphanages and evaluating them on the scales of need of fiscal assistance, with that the first stopover of Hastadharan was marked by the trip to Balgurukulam.Our first stride in the line of attack of reaching out to the orphans.

That was our instigation and from then we are never on rest.

We now have approximately forty to forty five members since our onset, and the number keeps going up. The membership of this group is wholly volunteered. The people who have the immense compassion and huge zeal to serve the deprived are the element of the set. They all have the same revere, "Lending a Helping Hand".

To reach out to the mob, which has the identical fervor, we came up with our Blog, a spot where we share our stances and also ventures made so far. This Blog spot facilitate us by providing a middling for extending our horizons, also creating a great deal of societal consciousness and errands towards our fellow beings.

We amass the contributions of all the members and the volunteers who join hands with us and bequeath it to the orphanage we visit.

Hastadharan, with its vision and mission has completed a few expeditions through the manifold helping hands. The idea at the rear of all these visits is the assortment of the solitary orphanage amongst all, which is found scuffling financially, to keep up the motive of cherishing the destitute, and supporting them on chronic basis with unremitting funds.

Our mission is immense and hands are few, but the voyage we commenced will never recede…..since we believe that; As Hastadharan unfolds, indubitably our hands will proliferate……

Join your hands with our hands…….. We embrace more willingly than holding……!!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Event 7 - Atheeswarar orphanage home

The 7th jaunt of our group was to Atheeswarar orphanage home in mudichur. It was children's day, the birthday of our beloved chacha pandit Nehruji and God's grace, in the form of spell of rain was showering heavily on us, the chennaites. The very first vista we had was; kids school dress soaked entirely in the heavy downpour. The situation of the home is so miserable that they are not in a position to dry their clothes indoor also. The home constitutes only two small sized rooms. As we entered the orphanage, we saw the kids having blissful time with Samuel vasanth and his friends who came before us. When it was time for them to leave, we saw these kids sending them warm heartedly. The kids where Looking forward for their visit in next year as well.

Once Samuel and his friends left, it was our roll to spend time with them. The children went to change their dress to have their lunch. The elder girl children were helping the younger ones. The children were so photogenic that they wanted us to capture their each and every, priceless expression. They also wanted us to show them the snaps as they wanted to admire themselves in the picture .Some boys also wanted to use our camera to capture the photos of their brothers and sisters.

After changing their dress all of them sat for their lunch together. We served them the lunch and found that their consumption of food was very less. The children were thirsty and to drink water they didn't have enough tumblers and had to take turns in using the tumblers. We could even see the kids fighting for the tumblers. They hurriedly ate whatever they could and went to play. They started playing inside the home as it was raining heavily outside. These kids had sweet tooth, as all rushed to have their share of payasam which was prepared on this special occasion.

A sudden small accident also took place as due to the cold condition and the cracks in the floor, an abrupt outburst of colony of big black ants followed. The innocent children were playing around the ants and the scared ant's in order to protect themselves bit a girl child and the bite was so strong that we had to struggle to pull out the ant and blood was oozing out. The home was out of stock with the ant powder too.

To talk about the children's education they are studying in near by government aided school. There are more than 30 children in that home of various ages.

We could judge on seeing this that they are struggling to meet their ends and we were correct, as we heard the volunteers staying there. There are four volunteers who take care of the children. They get funds only form the philanthropists visiting their home.

Posted by HASTADHARAN at 7:15 PM 0 comments

Thursday, November 5, 2009

What they Dream………

As sooner than I drift off to sleep, left alone with my thoughts, my mind ponders over various stuffs; and many a times the subliminal part takes over the conscious part of the mind; giving nativity to some deep down deliberations. The same happened the last night and the thought which sprang up to life was: As I recollect my days event and think of upcoming plans…. What an Orphan would be thinking????????

Whilst the darkness wraps the planet in its arms, perching each night on the millions of Orphans all around the world; I wonder what they think about. Besides this, quite a lot of of them are not even in orphanages; they are on the streets. Their thoughts scamper around the lines similar to:

“I survived today; I hope I be able to subsist tomorrow. Perhaps I will be able to perceive tomorrow's Dusk and the Dawn…..Or ….wonder where I am going to sleep tomorrow night. I doubt if I will find anything no matter what, to scoff.”

But, wherever they may be, their only feeling is that how arctic and insecure, they are. Who is there for them?

As they drift off to sleep, every so often their minds are filled with fear. The tiny tot's fear of – spiders, snakes, wild animals – but the orphans’ fears are based on certainty, not imaginations. The younger kids may fear the older kids. The older kids fear that as they get close to aging out of the orphanages, what and where their future is.

Their fear is life. How am I going to survive the … LIFE…? ... TOMORROW…..?

And what more, their closed eye shows them is a deep sense of Craving….. Craving to be cared for, longing to be held close to heart, yearning for love from someone. Longing to see their parents, even if they are deserted by them. They want to be a part of family…. a loving, caring, secure and permanent family.

Alas! Many don’t even dare to think of this, as it is beyond what they can Hope or Dream…!

Blessed are we, to get parents to nurture us and give us all what we wish for….

At this point I reflect that how much we grumble about the things which are provided to us, but we don’t akin to. We love to find the lapse with the things which are just not of our taste, and cast off them as shortly as possible; not even thinking once that these are the very things which can make someone's life easier. These are the things which someone can never even dream to get. We should be thankful to God for all the things which we get before we desire, and should come up to lend it to those who require…

Understand the difference between require and desire……!

The desire can be left discontented at times, but requirements are the necessities…...!

Come to join in the rivulet of supporting and providing these orphans nights where they can sleep serenely and dream of the stuffs which we are dreaming… parents, family, upcoming plans …. Their future..

Let us all aim to contend their basic necessities…

Let's endeavour to reinstate HOPE in their life.

Let's give them a Life with AMBITIONS and VISIONS to chase…..

Let's make them sense LOVE and SECURITY…….. Let's give them a FAMILY..!

- Khushboo Singh

Posted by HASTADHARAN at 7:59 PM 0 comments
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Event 2- Udhavum Ullangal illam

Event 2- Udhavum Ullangal illam
Udhavum Ullangal Illam- an orphanage home started in the year 2001 is situated near St Thomas Railway station. As on date, it houses 125 children who are between the ages 3 ½ years to 15 years.

The children here strictly follow the daily routine of waking up every day at 5:30 am in the morning and doing meditation for half an hour. They are given 45 minutes as study time, after which they have their breakfast and go to their schools. In the evening after coming from their schools they are given time for playing and watching TV. They again have study time allocated, which is around 2 hour, after which they dine and sleep by 9 pm.

The people around the locality of this home sponsor the food for these children on special occasions like wedding anniversary and birthday’s. They get sponsorship for approximately 15 days in a month. For the remaining days of the month they are providing food from the revenue that they gather. On the sponsored day they are provided special meal which consists of a sweet and more than one dish and on normal days their meals have only one dish.

These children are educated in two schools namely Rosily school and A G S Nidhi school, the former being a primary school and the latter higher secondary school. This academic year 10 of these children are going to write their High school board exams. The children who had suffered psychologically need extra help for continuing their studies which is being provided by volunteers. The children of age more than 12 are given basic computer training by Apollo computer centre free of cost. The tailoring class is especially organized for all the girls above the age of 13 years.

The children here are forced to play only indoor games as the home has space constraints.

The home is raising funds by conducting Musical concert every year. It is also getting sponsorship like philanthropists.

The home requires help in purchasing groceries as they are not able to manage it. They also require help in stitching uniform for these children.

Event 1 - Balagurukulam

Event 1 - Balagurukulam
Balagurukulam, a place which houses 45 orphans of various ages, is located in a village called Kalikuppam near Pudur. This home is surrounded by vast water body which gives it a scenic view.

The first impression that we got on seeing the children is that they were much matured for their age; the elder ones were parenting the younger ones. The caretakers are doing a good job, like training them in yoga and meditation. The children here are also taught to paint, make handicraft items and swim. The care takers carry out all the daily activities with the assistance of the children and with the support of another volunteer.

One of the caretakers is an ayurvedic doctor by profession who does research on ayurvedic herbs. He is also a counselor of personality development who takes classes in some colleges in the city. The other caretaker works in a private company as an HR. The Organisation is run partially by the caretaker’s monthly income and through loan that have been raised from banks and donation that they get from various philanthropists.

The Organisation wants to bring into their fold minimum of 100 orphans who would be educated and brought into the main stream of society, who in turn could help other orphans to come up in life.

In Line with this motto, 22 of these children are being educated in top schools of that area, namely Vivekananda vidyalaya and Velammal School. These schools charge an amount of Rs.15000 per annum per child without any concession. This academic year the organization has to pay an amount of Rs.1.2 lakh which has not been yet arranged. The daily expenses for feeding these children with milk and food amounts to Rs.2000.

Every year on January 26th, a christening ceremony is held for all the children who have completed one year in age.