A Community of Hope

Majority of our residents formerly lived in the brothels of Kamathipura, an area where within its 14 lanes, over 40,000 women and children are held as slaves. In a 10×10 room that can hold up to 6 beds for business, infants can be found under beds while mothers work.

The open spaces of our campuses were purposely created to help our women and children know that they are truly free, and let them experience on the outside, what we want them to ultimately feel inside. The freedom to love, to hope, and to live again.

Peace

Ashagram exists for the forgotten and rejected members of India’s society.

Whether it be women used in prostitution, children born to these women, or children who somehow end up on the streets and are then addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Ashagram embraces them and seeks to instill in them a feeling of self worth. Our homes give them physical safety and emotional peace so that they can focus on healing and building a better future.

“My favorite subject is science because I love to learn about the solar system. One day, I went to the library and I read about Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman who went to space. I was surprised that people could actually go to space. That day I decided I will also be like Kalpana Chawla. When I go to space, people will also read about me and say, ‘I want to be like Mansi Yadav’.”
Mansi, BTC Ashagram

Love

“When my teachers told me that I would be able to go to college, I couldn’t see it myself, but I learnt that if I pursued my studies with diligence that I would be able to accomplish this. The last 14 years have given me great hope, not just for my future but for my sisters’ too, who’ve been with me from the day I came to BTC at the age of 6; when I didn't even know what technology meant let alone what a computer was. Today I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in IT, with the hope of becoming a software engineer. I am excited that my sisters after me will receive an education even better than mine. Thanks to all those who invested their lives in the life of a six-year-old girl, and saw something in her, which she did not see herself.”
Darshana, BTC Ashagram

Majority of the residents of Ashagram have experienced deep betrayal from the very people who were meant to love, protect and nurture them.

At Ashagram we realize that breaking down the walls of anger, doubt, and fear that have been built as a response to betrayal is a patient, faithful, and diligent journey in which we seek to guide them to healing love.

Hope

At Ashagram, we dare our people to dream bold dreams.

We provide them with an education; we prepare them for college, and we take care of financial needs related to college, and beyond, at times.

For women and children alike, we provide vocational training. The goal is that through these opportunities, they discover their unique potential and feel empowered.

“One especially violent day my father was threatening to go after my mother with a knife; my little sister Anita opened the door and started shouting, hoping the neighbors would hear her. When he saw her do this, he took a soap dish and hit her in the face. She has a scar now, just for trying to help my mother. My mother decided that we had to run away. As fate would have it, my mother started working in Kamathipura. One day, she took me to BTC’s gathering and I saw children there dancing and singing and everyone was so happy. My mother learnt that BTC had a free children’s home so she spoke to uncle Devaraj about bringing us there. Soon after, my siblings and I started living in Ashagram. I was so happy for all the love we got from the residents and uncle Devaraj. It was beyond anything I’d expected. It was the beginning of everything I was looking for.”
Monica, BTC Ashagram