Wednesday’s event, the official release of Ed Sewell’s A Journey of Hope, took place in the gardens of the British Council. A Journey of Hope is a collection of images that document the lives of Asha’s slum residents and their pursuit of education, civic services, financial resources, and healthy lives.
HE Sir James Bevan, British High Commissioner, attended the book launch as our chief guests. Other honoured guests for the evening included Hon’ble Alex Chernov, Governor of Victoria and HE Jan Henderson, New Zealand High Commissioner. In welcoming them to the event, Dr. Martin expressed her gratitude for the enormous contributions of the international community to Asha’s work over the years.
Above: HE Sir James Bevan accepts a token of appreciation and thanks from Dr. Martin and Rajeev, an Asha college student, for the support his country has extended towards Asha for the past many years
Photographer Ed Sewell spoke with good humour about the hard work and numerous challenges of putting together A Journey of Hope. Meeting and photographing the residents of Asha’s slums has been a life-changing experience, he reflected.
Above: During the event, HE Sir James Bevan presented Dr. Martin with a memento of appreciation for 25 years of her work in slums of Delhi
Some of the people featured in the book came and delivered speeches about their lives. Sunil, an Asha college student, discussed the different kinds of support he had received through Asha, from study materials to college admissions to internship and mentorship opportunities.
Above: Sushila, (another slum resident featured in the book) and her family share their story of being benefitted from the work of Asha
A selection of photographs from A Journey of Hope is on display at the India Habitat Centre for the month of February. During this event, guests were also able to view a small sample of the photographs from the exhibition and peruse and purchase the book.
Above: Photographer Ed Sewell takes HE Jan Henderson through the book
Inspiring stories and demonstrations of support like those that we heard this evening continuously invigorate Asha’s ongoing ‘A Journey of Hope’.
If you wish you get a copy of A journey of Hope, please write to us at info@asha-india.org.
For more photographs from the event, visit our Facebook page,www.facebook.com/ashasociety1
