14th Foundation Day
One of the most celebrated days in India, 26 January, happens to have an added importance for all Aasrites. Reason being, it is the foundation day of AASRA.
As is the norm, Aasra celebrated its foundation day in the NIT premises. Attended by 201 children from the workplaces, all Aasrites, several dignitaries and alumni, it was a grand success.
Events and Happenings:
The children were brought into the campus by 7:45 via buses. Waiting for them at CC were full plates of Upma and curry and some gentle rain. They were then escorted to the BBA for the main event.
The event witnessed its sunrise as the chief guests Prof. S.K.Patel (Registar), Prof. S.K.Das , Prof.R.K.Biswal , Prof.S.Jayanthu, Prof.Saurav Chatterjee, Prof.S.N.Alam, Prof.Thirugnanam, Mrs.Sukhanti Maharana, Mr.K.C.Maharana, Mr. Suman Upadhyay (senior counsellor, SOS Village) and our alumnus Anup Agarwal (2012 batch) lighted the diya. All the guests were presented with a glass painting and a bouquet as a memento.
The national anthem was sung by sector 2 children. Glueing the 500 odd eyes to the big screen, a video introducing Aasra and its work throughout the year was shown.
The annual magazine of AASRA was launched by the guests. The dignitaries shared their views and ideas and praised AASRA for its efforts. The link to the annual magazine is given below.
The top two scorers in 10th class, Mamata and Sangeeta Kumari of sector 2 were awarded scholarships of INR 2000/- and INR 1000/- respectively by Prof. Thirugnanam sir. This year saw the introduction of a new award of the Best boy and girl of Aasra by our alumnus Anup Agarwal bhaiya for all-round activities throughout the year. This will be a regular award and will be continued every year. Two young and energetic nation builders, Vikash of Jagda and Sanjana of Sector 5, became the best boy and girl respectively.
Finally, the time had come for what the enthusiastic audience had been eagerly waiting, the performance of the children. 1st up were children of sector 21 with a dance, finishing to raucous applause. Following them were performances from children of all the 9 places (7 sectors, SOS and Birsamunda Bidyapitha).
The talent on show won many hearts as the songs, skits and dances lit up the program. Deserving special mention are group dances by sector 2 and SOS village children, song by Khalsa children and skit by sector 21 children. They subsequently bagged first prizes in their respective categories.
The talent on show won many hearts as the songs, skits and dances lit up the program. Deserving special mention are group dances by sector 2 and SOS village children, song by Khalsa children and skit by sector 21 children. They subsequently bagged first prizes in their respective categories.
At about 2:45, everyone left for community centre for lunch. Some really delicious food was served as all the children and Aasrites ditched their strict diets for a day.
A few more performances followed lunch at CC as the light rain perfectly complemented the jubliant children. Prizes for the best performances were distributed.
They were then safely ferried out to their homes by the buses arranged. After the children left, the new executive was announced along with the captains and the vice-captains of 8 sectors. Thus ended the eventful day.
The program owes its huge success to the time spent by the guests, the hard work of the event co-ordinators, services of all Aasrites and the efforts of the children. Standing strong together, AASRA offers its note of thanks to everyone mentioned and many others as it looks forward to another year of empowerment of the society.
Alone, we can do so little;
together, we can do so much.
- Helen Keller
- Helen Keller
Signing off on behalf of the whole of AASRA family
Prabhudatta Mohapatra
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