Aster delivers its commitment to build 255 Aster Homes for the flood victims of Kerala
- Around 255 families have received a new home over the last four years across different parts of Kerala
- In a grand ceremony in Trivandrum graced by Honourable Governor of Kerala, Shri Arif Mohammad Khan and other eminent guests, the final set of homes were handed to thebeneficiary families
- Each and every Aster Home built by Aster Volunteers has been geo-tagged in the new website: , www.asterhomes.org
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala; August 26, 2022: 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.
About Aster Volunteers
Aster Volunteers programme, the global corporate social responsibility initiative of Aster DM
Healthcare, was launched on occasion of the company's 30th anniversary in 2017 and provides a platform which bridges the gap between people who would like to help with those in need. Driven by Aster DM Foundation, through various initiatives, the programme has been able to impact 3.8 million+ lives across geographies. Aster Volunteers have been able to treat 623,146+ individuals through mobile medical camps; 193,742 people have benefitted from Basic Life Support (BLS) awareness trainings and 47,250 free surgeries as well as clinical investigations were conducted; supported with the recruitment of 132 differently abled people of determination and treated 641,401 people through medical camps. Aster Volunteers have also been at the forefront of the battle against COVID – 19 and has impacted 2 million+ lives through various social activities.
About Aster DM Healthcare
Aster DM Healthcare Limited is one of the largest private healthcare service providers operating in GCC and in India. With an inherent emphasis on clinical excellence, we are one of the few entities in the world with a strong presence across primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary healthcare through our 29 hospitals, 120 clinics, 371 pharmacies and 114 labs & patient experience centres in seven countries, including India. We have over 25,800 plus dedicated staff including 3,200+ doctors and 7,000+ nurses across the geographies that we are present in, delivering a simple yet strong promise to our different stakeholders: "We'll treat you well." We reach out to all economic segments in the GCC states through our differentiated healthcare services across the "Aster", "Medcare" and "Access" brands.
