Greetings with love and compassion!

On behalf of all of us at the Sakya Hostel, we want to express our sincere gratitude for your continuing support of our mission and wish you a joy-filled and successful new year. As we mark our seventh year of existence, we are excited about the progress we have made in such a short time. The Sakya Hostel was initiated by Sakya Group and NTI Alumni Tamil Nadu along with the support of Karuna trust UK, Jambudvipa trust Pune, TBMSG Nagpur. Currently, the Sakya Hostel is run by the Visuddhaloka Welfare Association, which is registered under Societies Act, Government of Tamil Nadu. Visuddhaloka, Chennai. 2012 was another great year for Sakya hostel, and we thank you for making it possible!

Please Support

At present, 21 boys and 28 girls are served by Sakya hostel.  The children, who stay in the hostel, attend the nearby Government school. Some of our children, having graduated from high school, have joined engineering colleges and technical institutes. The hostel was initiated in response to the 2005 Tsunami-hit Dalit (Scheduled Caste/ so-called “Untouchable”) children who were discriminated against by the local and international relief and rehabilitation efforts. While admitting children, the special attention was given to the children who are orphans, children of single parents, families affected by domestic violence and alcoholism, those of landless laborers and children from the poorest of the poor families. Sakya Hostel was started with a motive to uplift the children who have come from the Dalit community, who have been deprived of education for centuries due to caste-based discrimination. Apart from Dalit students, the hostel also accommodates a few children from other categories who are economically marginalized.  The children are from different districts in all over the state of Tamil Nadu. Since all students are from the marginalized sections of the society, they don’t have proper care and protection in terms of family support, health, education and legal rights. The hostel is trying to provide all aspects of social life to them, including their psychological needs. The hostel tries to ensure that they attain strong physical and mental wellness. The hostel aspires to remove all disadvantages of the children, which they have faced in their respective villages. Through the children, who benefit from the hostel, their communities are also empowered. So far the hostel has produced 2 Engineers, 1 Diploma Graduates, 4 Technical Graduates, 1 Nurse and 2 Teachers. Currently 1 student is pursuing Post- Graduation in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and 3 students are pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees. These achievements would not have been possible if these students had remained in their respective villages. Obviously they are the role models for their communities of empowerment through education. Through benefiting the students, the hostel plays a major role in the empowerment of all marginalized sections of the society in general, and Dalits in particular.

As we look forward to 2013, we are excited about our plans to purchase our hostel building. For this project the hostel is mainly focused on raising funds through individual donors. Local funds are also raised through Sakya volunteers and well-wishers. And the hostel receives partial support from organizations such as The Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Scholarship, Jai Bhim International of The U.S., Marc Sauquet Foundation of Spain, The Asha Jtoti Community Welfare Society of Canada, and Citizens’ Run Trust of Chennai. Sakya Hostel has identified regular donors in local areas, who have pledged for the next five years to carry forward our work into the future.

We are asking for your generous contribution to Sakya Hostels, either through volunteering or by making a financial donation to support the costs of our hostel. Your support is greatly appreciated.

On behalf of everyone at Sakya Hostel, I extend my very best wishes to you and your family. I wish you good health and a very Happy New Year.

With all my metta,

S. Jayasridhar,

General Secretary – Visuddhaloka Welfare Association

Sakya Hostels, No. 12/95, Subramani Nagar, Manali New Town, Chennai – 600 103,

Tamil Nadu, India. Ph: + 91 9841 255 342 E- Mail: visuddhaloka@gmail.com