DR. Kiran Martin, founder of Asha, enjoyed a brief visit to Ballymena last week when she had an opportunity to meet up again with some of the organisations and people who support her work.
The Hindi word 'Asha' translates as 'hope' and is the name for a Christian charity dedicated to improving the lives of slum dwellers in New Delhi, India.
Formed in 1988, Asha now reaches out to over 350,000 in 50 slum colonies all over the city. S
lum development is achieved through working in close partnership with communities there in the areas of healthcare, infrastructure improvement, empowerment, education and finance.
Over the years, many people from Ballymena have lent a hand with Asha's work in different ways, including going on short-term practical work teams, contributing financially, or by providing vital prayer support.
During her visit, Dr. Martin met with pupils at Ballymena Academy and Cambridge House to explain a little more about her work.
She also spent time at the Presbyterian churches in Kells, Harryville, Wellington, Brookside, (Ahoghill), and Cuningham Memorial in Cullybackey.
There, Dr. Martin recalled how she began treating victims of a Cholera outbreak in a south Delhi slum 20 years ago. Conditions were appalling, with families of six or seven people sharing single room homes and numerous others dying of preventable diseases.
After winning the trust of the community, Dr. Martin realised that they needed much more than healthcare. She began to organise the communities' women and children into groups, training them in primary health care and showing them how they could approach government departments to get access to clean water supplies, sanitation and other improvements in infrastructure.
Today, Asha's work is supported by large numbers of dedicated community volunteers and dramatic improvements can be seen in the health and life-chances of slum residents. In 2002, the Government of India formally recognised Dr. Martin's achievements by awarding her with the Padmashri, one of the country's highest civilian awards.
Visitors, politicians and dignitaries from many other countries have also visited Asha and learnt from the success of its model.
Dr. Martin appreciates greatly the support of many people from the Ballymena area and Northern Ireland as a whole. She has visited here a number of times and looks forward to returning in the future.
