We’ve given you a glimpse into the lives of the children of the Asha House and into the couple who lead the children. And finally we want to introduce you to the staff of the Asha House. These are the people who support Victor and Simini in the hard work of raising 32 kids. Spending 3 weeks with these beautiful people gave us an inside perspective at what caring for these children day in and day out looks like. Its funny that we don’t often think about the fact that running a children’s home also includes raising children; there has to be time outs, teaching to share, sleepless nights, nursing sick kids, potty training, wiping snotty noses, bath times and yes, even cleaning up after 32 kids! We witnessed this first hand and it was amazing to see the hard work and day to day diligence of the staff to not only serve the needs of each of child but to also love them all individually and unconditionally.
Lincy
Lincy has been at the Asha House since the very beginning. Eight years ago, at the age of 23, when her daughter Sandra was just 11 months old, Lincy’s husband passed away. Ever since this tragic time in her life, Lincy has been so committed and faithful to serving poor and abandoned children. Lincy is Simini’s sister so when Victor and Simini said they were going to start the Asha House, she was eager to help them. Lincy also has a huge heart for the elderly of India, who are often abandoned in their old age when poor families cannot continue to care for them. Lincy is a wonderful mother who has overcome much tragedy and sadness by continuing to serve the needs of others with her daughter alongside her.
Neha
Neha has been at the Asha House for 1 year. Being an orphan herself, she knows the value of children’s homes. Once she grew out of the orphanage she was raised in, she sought out a place where she could give back to other orphan children. She was referred to the Asha House and it was a perfect fit. Neha has a beautiful spirit and is an extremely hard worker. She makes the majority of the food for the children, and cares for them deeply, especially the little ones. She hopes to save enough money to attend college and then continue to work with children.
Sapna
Sapna is Victor’s sister. Before working at the Asha House, she spent about a year working part time helping the teams that would come from the US to visit the Asha House . She then decided to move in and work full time at the Asha House. She has been here for about 3 years now. She always knew she wanted to help kids, but didn’t really know how. She said that three things changed her. Seeing Victor and Simini’s work with the kids, seeing the hopeless faces of the kids that kept coming to the Asha House and caring for Mannu. When Mannu came to the Asha house she was 8 moths old and left by her parents. Sapna took her in and has treated her as her own child. Mannu now considers Sapna her mother. In the past Sapna says she valued her solitude very much and wanted to be alone a lot, but now she can’t imagine her life with out the children. She hopes to continue to work with the children and someday she hopes to adopt.