Message from the Vice President

Alka, my daughter, was born on April 12, 1975 at Royal Alex Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She attended school at Richard Secord, Steinhaur and D.S. MacKenzie public schools in Edmonton. Before Alka became a teenager and a student of Class VIII, I took her to India in 1989 so that she could learn our Indian tradition and language. Both Alka and my son, Prabhat were accepted into Delhi Public School in Haridwar. In 1991, Alka completed High school with distinction in Mathematics.

On October 9, 1991, the owner of the house, we were renting from was attacked by bandits. Unfortunately, he, his family, and as a consequence, Alka were murdered. Prabhat and I were not spared either and both suffered serious head injuries. My injuries caused me to loose my memory for some time. Eventually I regained my memory and learned that Alka had passed away. This was deeply shocking to me and I thought of her day and night. Later, in honor of her memory I thought about creating a Memorial Scholarship to be presented to students at her school.

After thinking we both realized that usually students attending Delhi Public School are from Haridwar’s upper class families and are not in need of any assistance. The most impoverished students in India attend government schools so I suggested to my husband for helping these students. Finally our joint plan evolved into Alka Charitable Center where we can be closely involved with the students we help.

Chhaya Rani Kulshreshtha