ASTHA is one of the few cross-disability organizations working actively with children and persons with disabilities in urban slums and resettlement colonies in Delhi, India.
Vision: To work towards an inclusive society where children and people with disabilities are respected and valued
Mission: To work in partnership with children and persons with disabilities and their families, with a focus on the most marginalized empowering them to access their rights.
ASTHA has focused on strategies for community development and the inclusion of children with disabilities through the model of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR). Strengthening and capacity building of community-based groups, interventions for inclusive education; Early Child Care and Development (ECCD), and rights consciousness in the community have been some of our thrust areas.
ASTHA provides holistic Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) services which include screening of children, assessment of their barriers to nutrition, training for mothers to enable them to better accept the child, early intervention through regular individual as well as a group session with the child, providing stimulation according to the needs of the child, supporting nutrition, early education, socialization, and protection, among other important domains. Medical intervention and providing aids and appliances are also a major part of our work. Astha slo links children and families with government schemes and entitlements for their financial upliftments, including children with anganwadi and schools for their education.
Location of work
ASTHA is a community-based organization that has been working directly in the urban slums of Delhi. Our main center is located in Kalkaji. There are another six centers spread across South East Delhi for the better part. Out of a total of six such centers, two of our centers are located in Okhla Industrial Area; two in communities near Jamia University; and one in Tughlakbad village, near Tughlakbad For. Yet another center is located in North East Delhi, Nand Nagari
We have reached out to organizations in Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. We work in collaboration with such organizations on a set of research projects named, ‘Role of community-based strategies in enabling people with disabilities’, ‘Long-term illnesses to access rehabilitation care during Covid-19 Pandemic,’ and ‘Inclusive Education during Covid 19 in Bihar and Delhi’
Partner updates
The WIPRO-funded project is ‘Early Childhood Care and Development’ where we have been working with children in the age group of 0-8 years.
ASTHA has been working in 10 camps in the Okhla Industrial area and Tughlakbad Village. These are the Indra Kalyan Vihar, Mazdoor Camp, Sanjay Colony, Rekha Camp, Manav Camp, Harkesh Nagar, Tehkhand, Gola Kuan, Bengali Camp, Janta Jeevan Camp, and Chawla Camp. Most people here are migrants from various states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and even from places like Nepal. As far as the Tughlakabad area is concerned it is an unauthorised colony. People living here include Bangladeshi refugees and rag pickers from lower caste backgrounds.
In Okhla industrial areas most of the children are acutely malnourished as both parents remain engaged in strenuous activities throughout the day. Such work settings are also very hazardous, and injuries can put the breadwinner out of work. Malnourishment in children is a major cause of disability. Parents are unaware of the importance of early childhood care and development. Lack of childcare services in the community is also a major issue.
Most of the mothers work as domestic servants who have no time to look after their children properly. The basic facilities are absent. There are no aganwadis. This project caters to all these needs and ensures proper intervention and inclusion of all children with delayed development, disabilities, and malnourishment. Five to six anganwadis have been opened due to the intervention of ASTHA in Tughlakabad village where young children are getting supplementary nutrition as well as preschool education.
ASTHA, as an organization, has witnessed that children with disabilities, in a vulnerable socio-economic setting, are much more susceptible to development risks. Often, children with disabilities are most in need of early childhood care and they are the ones left out of mainstream services. There are high chances that the disability could become more severe or complex in the absence of mechanisms of early identification. ASTHA’s experience of implementing a community-based Early Intervention program in the urban slums has shown that training families of children with disabilities is one of the most effective strategies for the rehabilitation process of the child.
Learning and challenges
Our key learnings are the following:
Challenges faced:
Plan of action
In the coming future, we propose to:
Wipro Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) entity of Wipro Limited. Going back over two decades, we focus on social initiatives in the domains of Education, Primary Healthcare, Ecology, Disaster Response, and Cities & Public Spaces.
Sachin Bansal heads finance function for Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting in India and South Asia.
He moved to Wipro Consumer Care in 2022 and prior to that was the head of finance of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN). He joined WIN in 2007 and over the last 15 years has essayed several roles including Plant Finance, India Hydraulic Business Finance, Global Operations Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions.
A qualified Chartered Accountant and a Black Belt in Six Sigma, Sachin has led several successful initiatives to streamline and strengthen the Finance function. As part of the leadership team of WIN, he played a pivotal role in driving profitable growth with improved focus on ROCE, Productivity and Cost Optimization.
Isaac George has held several positions at Wipro across Sales & Marketing, Consulting, and IT Operations for over two decades. Since 2014, he has been leading People Function and Employee Relations at Wipro Infrastructure Engineering. Isaac also heads the group’s social initiatives efforts and works towards creating an inclusive environment for Persons with Disabilities.
Samir Gadgil is the Head HR for the Chief Growth Office and all Corporate Functions at Wipro. He is also Wipro Cares’ Pune Location Head.
Previously, Samir has worked as Head – HR for Digital Operations & Platforms and managed multiple initiatives under HR and People Supply Chain Functions, including Talent Acquisition, Talent Transformation, Workforce Management, Facilities & Transport.
A seasoned professional, Samir has also served as the Global Head- Compensation, and Benefits at Wipro and worked with best-in-class Manufacturing, Consulting, Financial, and IT Service Companies in a career spanning over two decades.
Narayan P S is the Global Head of Sustainability and Social Initiatives at Wipro Ltd. He is also the Managing Trustee at Wipro Foundation, the social initiatives arm of Wipro Ltd. He has been instrumental in the creation of Wipro’s sustainability initiative and has stewarded it since its inception in early 2008. Wipro’s sustainability charter is built on the core principle that business and social purpose must reinforce each other in addressing several key challenges around ecology and the environment, education, and communities.
In addition, Narayan is Visiting Faculty at the Azim Premji University where he teaches ‘Ecology and Development’ in the MA ( Development) program. He is also a Visiting Faculty at Xavier School of Sustainability, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar. Narayan also conducts learning sessions regularly on Sustainability at IIM Bangalore and IIM Indore.
Narayan’s interests center around (i) the broad interplay between Ecology, Economics, and Humanities (ii) the role of the business sector as a change agent in sustainable development (iii) Sustainability in Education, and (iv) Sustainable and Inclusive Cities.
Prior to the current role, Narayan was the Global Head of Information Systems for Wipro’s IT business, when he was chosen as one of CIO’s global 25 Ones to Watch.
A graduate in Electrical Engineering with a post-graduation in Management, Narayan has more than twenty-seven years of cross-disciplinary experience in Business Development, Enterprise Systems, and Corporate Sustainability. He is also involved in sustainability advocacy as a member of several industry forums on sustainability. He is currently the Chairman of the CII-GBC Greenco forum for Bangalore.
Vikrant has recently joined to lead the human resources function for Wipro Enterprises which includes Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN) and Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting businesses.
Vikrant comes with 25 years of diverse global leadership experience in Strategic Talent Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Organization Design, Cultural Transformation & Change Management, D&I, and Leadership Coaching & Development across Services, Manufacturing, Retail and Technology industries. Besides Human Resources, Vikrant has also led roles across Finance & Audit.
With a career spanning L&T, GE Healthcare, Nike, Accenture, HCL, and Harman International, Vikrant has a distinguished track record and is an alumnus of the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.
Aparna C. Iyer is Wipro’s Chief Financial Officer.
Aparna joined Wipro in 2003 and over the years has held several finance roles, including Internal Audit, Business Finance, Finance Planning and Analysis, Corporate Treasury, and Investor Relations (IR).
Most recently, Aparna was Senior Vice President and CFO of Wipro FullStride Cloud, leading finance operations for one Wipro’s fastest growing global business lines.
Prior to taking over as CFO of Wipro FullStride Cloud, Aparna was the Corporate Treasurer and Head of Investor Relations for Wipro Limited. As a part of that role, she was responsible for building and executing forex risk management framework, investment of surplus cash, working capital management, customer credit risk evaluation, driving capital allocation decisions, managing balance sheet exposure as well as investor and analyst relationships.
As the Head of Treasury & IR, Aparna devised Wipro’s forex strategy, aiding the operating margin performance of the company, and driving improved predictability.
Aparna is a Chartered Accountant (CA) and was a gold medalist of the CA 2002 batch.
Saurabh Govil is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Wipro, and a member of the Management Team. He leads all Wipro’s HR functions, including talent acquisition, talent engagement, and learning and development programs.
Saurabh has been a HR practitioner for over two decades, and has worked with organizations like ITC and GE. Since joining Wipro in May, 2009, he has been instrumental in transforming the organization. His work with people, processes, and organizational structure over the last three years has contributed significantly to Wipro’s growth, improving operations and introducing many new initiatives.
Saurabh is an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur where he completed his master’s in human resources. He is on the advisory board of SHRM India. Saurabh has been a regular speaker at NASSCOM’s HR summit. He also contributes to NHRDN’s journal as an author.
Anurag Behar is the Chief Sustainability Officer of Wipro Limited & Vice-Chancellor, Azim Premji University.
Anurag is a member of the Committee that has developed India’s National Education Policy (2019), the first comprehensive education policy for the country, since 1986. He has been deeply engaged with efforts to improve education in India, for the past seventeen years.
He has been a vocal advocate for the critical importance of public systems, in particular the public education system. His many years in business have given him an insider’s view of both the possibilities and limits of markets. For the past few years, he has also been engaged with environmental and ecological issues. He writes widely, including a fortnightly column for the national newspapers Mint & Hindustan, and other publications.
Anurag has earlier played leadership roles in business. As the CEO of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, he led the business from being No. 20 in the world to being the No. 1 in 5 years. He has also been responsible for many corporate functions for Wipro including Brand, Quality, and Innovation. He continues to provide oversight to the social and ecological initiatives of the Wipro Group, as its Chief Sustainability Officer. He is a member of Wipro’s Group Executive Council.
Anurag has served on various boards including that of Wipro GE Healthcare Ltd, The University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences, and of the TERI University. He serves on many government & sector councils, such as MHRD’s EQUIP, the National Mission on Teachers and Teacher Education, the Government of India implementation committee for the Justice Verma Commission, Karnataka Knowledge Commission, and with the CII’s National Climate Change Council.
He has an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, and a BE in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Trichy. Both institutions have honored him with their Distinguished Alumnus award. He was elected as a ‘Young Global Leader’, by the World Economic Forum in 2008. He enjoys long-distance running.
Narayan P S is the Global Head of Sustainability and Social Initiatives at Wipro Ltd. He is also the Managing Trustee at Wipro Foundation, the social initiatives arm of Wipro Ltd. He has been instrumental in the creation of Wipro’s sustainability initiative and has stewarded it since its inception in early 2008. Wipro’s sustainability charter is built on the core principle that business and social purpose must reinforce each other in addressing several key challenges around ecology and the environment, education, and communities.
In addition, Narayan is Visiting Faculty at the Azim Premji University where he teaches ‘Ecology and Development’ in the MA ( Development) program. He is also a Visiting Faculty at Xavier School of Sustainability, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar. Narayan also conducts learning sessions regularly on Sustainability at IIM Bangalore and IIM Indore.
Narayan’s interests center around (i) the broad interplay between Ecology, Economics, and Humanities (ii) the role of the business sector as a change agent in sustainable development (iii) Sustainability in Education, and (iv) Sustainable and Inclusive Cities.
Prior to the current role, Narayan was the Global Head of Information Systems for Wipro’s IT business, when he was chosen as one of CIO’s global 25 Ones to Watch.
A graduate in Electrical Engineering with a post-graduation in Management, Narayan has more than twenty-seven years of cross-disciplinary experience in Business Development, Enterprise Systems, and Corporate Sustainability. He is also involved in sustainability advocacy as a member of several industry forums on sustainability. He is currently the Chairman of the CII-GBC Greenco forum for Bangalore.
