Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

A dream come true for them

Staff Reporter

Night shelter that can accommodate 160 children inaugurated

VIJAYAWADA: The long-cherished dream of a night shelter for street children in Vijayawada city has become a reality with the inauguration of Saraswathi Gora Youth Centre, a night shelter-cum-vocational training centre at Kanuru.

Reeta Roy, the divisional vice-president of Abbott Fund, a philanthropic foundation of the US-based Abbott, a global health care company operating in over 130 countries, dedicated the centre to Saraswathi Gora, a freedom fighter and social reformer. The project is funded by the Abbott Fund.

Addressing the inaugural function, Ms. Roy said it was hard to close eyes to the conspicuous need of a shelter for the hundreds of street children who slept on the pavements. Reacting positively to a plea by the Vasavya Mahila Mandali (VMM), a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) engaged in community-based care and support programmes for people affected with HIV/AIDS, the Abbott Fund agreed to sponsor the project that has come up at Kanuru, near KCP Siddhartha Adarsh Residential Public School. The centre can accommodate 160 children and would offer to the inmates courses in tailoring and computers to begin with, said Chennupati Vidya, former MP and president of the VMM. The NGO would also help the children find placements by negotiating with industrial units.

Minister for Animal Husbandry Mandali Budha Prasad said the centre was a dream house for a street child, as he could find a place to groom himself into an ideal citizen. The Kankipadu MLA Devineni Rajasekhar (Nehru) assured VMM of all help from the Government.

The meeting was preceded by a colourful ballet presented by girls from Vasavya Nrutya Vihar.

The vice-president of Abbott Fund Jeff Richardson, Kanuru sarpanch Anne Sujatha, G. Samaram, G. Rashmi, P. Deeksha, B. Keerthi, Vijayam and others of the VMM and others were present.

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