Since 2000 and going strong!
Our Story
Hope for a better tomorrow!
Since 2000 and going strong!
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1999 Nitya Seva Society established in Bhopal India.
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2000 First Children's home opened in Chandbarh, Bhopal.
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2004 Second Children's home opened in Pipalner, Bhopal.
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2010 Nitya Seva USA established.
Asha von der Fink (previously Asha Gopal) is the cofounder of Nitya Seva. She is the first woman to enter the Indian Police Service in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India back in the mid-seventies. She earned a name for herself at that time as an honest and daring policewoman. She is a role model to many a young woman in India. She is married to Claus. Asha and Claus met because of their mutual concern and passion for poor children. Friends at first, their relationship blossomed and they tied the knot in 1999.
Claus von der Fink, the founder of Nitya Seva, is a retired ranking member of the police department in Hessen, Germany. Claus had been engaged in social work in India for a long time. Prior to the establishment of the homes, he raised money to help street and tribal children in Mumbai and in district Thane in Maharashtra. For his dedication and commitment to helping homeless children and his social work in India, the German Government awarded Claus one of its highest honors, the Federal Cross of Merit in the year 2004.
In 1998 Claus formed Nitya Seva Germany to exclusively focus his effort to help destitute and poor children in India. After Asha and Claus were married they embarked on their first direct venture which led to the children’s homes in Bhopal as they exist today. What led to their focus in Bhopal was the plight of the “platform children” at the railway station. Grubby, malnourished, sleeping, and eating discarded food at the platforms. Begging, or hawking small stuff on trains, they are orphans, runaways from home, or children of parents who are themselves too poor to take care of them. They are a sight which is hard to miss at India's railway platforms.
Asha and Claus’s first effort was a shelter opened for these children on property donated by the government. It was an open house at first, the children came and went as they pleased. The shelter provided hot meals, and a bed at night for those who wished for the security of a roof over their heads. Asha and Claus offered counselling to the children and some children started to stay permanently. The number grew and kept on growing. Asha and Claus began to focus on their education and health. They made arrangements with local schools providing the school fees, the supplies and the uniforms for all the children. And out of this effort grew the first Children’s home in Chandbarh. It was inaugurated formally in July 2000 with 30 children. To accommodate the increasing number of children, the second children's home was built. Inaugurated in 2004, it is a beautiful, large, modern facility. The chandbarh childrens home too has also been renovated over time and extended in recent years.
Asha and Claus have mobilized family and friends in their effort. After seeing their commitment and dedication to underprivileged children, Shri Bali and Dr. Chhaya Bali decided to join their effort by forming Nitya Seva USA in 2010, a tax exempt charity under section 501(c) (3) of the IRS code, with the sole purpose of raising funds for the Nitya Seva Children's Homes in Bhopal.