Aster delivers its commitment to build 255 Aster Homes for the flood victims of Kerala
Bengaluru : Aster DM Healthcare, one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in GCC and India has fulfilled the promise of providing 255 homes to the victims of Kerala Floods who lost everything to the devastating calamity. Built by Aster Volunteers with support from philanthropists, partners and employees of Aster, these 255 Aster Homes are spread across the State of Kerala and reiterates the commitment that was made by the organization to the Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan in 2018 to standby his resolve to Re-build Kerala.
At a grand ceremony held in Thiruvananthapuram, keys to the beneficiaries were handed over by Honourable Governor of Kerala, Shri Arif Mohammad Khan in the presence of other guests namely Shri P Rajeev Minister of Law, Industries and Coir Government of Kerala and Shri VD Satheeshan, Leader of Opposition, Kerala Assembly along with Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare. On the occasion, a new website for Aster Homes, www.asterhomes.org, geotagged with the details of the 255 beneficiaries, the individuals, NGOs and Associations who supported Aster in this mission was also launched. The website was unveiled by the esteemed dignitaries present at the event.
As per the promise made,
• New homes have been built for people who have lost their houses and own a land, for whom individual sustainable housing designs have been considered
• Cluster homes for a group of people on the land provided free of cost by few Philanthropists
• Retro-fitting of partially damaged homes
Handing over the keys to one of the beneficiaries, Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director, Aster DM Healthcare said, “Natural calamities can devastate and uproot people — and that is what happened during the floods that ravaged the state of Kerala in 2018. Many people died and thousands lost everything including their houses on that fateful day when nature struck with a vengeance. Helping people in need is a value that is embedded in the DNA of Aster ever since we started the journey in 1987. Our volunteers were on the ground for weeks providing medical assistance to help people in need. Later, to rehabilitate the people who lost everything including their homes, we made a promise to the Hon. Chief Minister of Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan on 30th September 2018 at Trivandrum to build 250 Aster Homes. This was a mammoth task which was accomplished through perseverance and hard work of the Aster Volunteers, with support from likeminded organizations and people. We feel accomplished that today, that promise has been fulfilled with dedication of the last batch of the 255 houses to the beneficiaries by the Hon Governor, Shri Arif Mohamad Khan here in Trivandrum itself. We are happy that together we could walk the talk and deliver the promise.”
As floods ravaged the state, Aster DM Healthcare was one of the first responders as a private organization to come out and plan rescue operations along with launching initiatives to rebuild Kerala. It had announced Rs.15 crores as Aster Homes Fund to be used to build new houses and repair damaged houses of flood-affected victims in the state. Aster Homes project was announced in September 2018, with an aim to build 250 homes for people affected by the floods. 60 Aster employees had joined hands in this initiative and contributed Rs.2.25 Cr to build 45 Aster Homes.
The devastating floods had seen more than 54000 lives being displaced and more than 400 lost their lives in the calamity. At that time more than 200 medical and non-medical volunteers from Aster DM Healthcare’s network of hospitals in India and led by Aster Volunteers Global Programme, the Aster Disaster Support Team worked with local government relief centres in Wayanad, Ernakulam, Calicut, Malappuram districts to conduct medical camps, provide health check-ups and essential materials for sustenance.
Aster Volunteers, the CSR arm of Aster DM Healthcare has been continuously serving through its various initiatives. Recently, the Aster Volunteers team reached out to Silchar and neighboring areas in Assam where floods had completely left the area devastated rendering thousands homeless and without much medical help. Not only in India but even in UAE where recent floods had left houses damaged, Aster Volunteers team sprung into action and helped victims clean and re-build their houses along with providing daily provisions and medical assistance.