Ashadeep Association
is a charitable organisation founded by the Late Dr. Adelheid Hueffer in 1976. Dr. Adelheid Hueffer was born on 26th October 1915
in Muenster, in Germany. She was the eldest
of three children. ‘Heidi’ as she was called by her family, grew up in a well-to-do and traditional catholic
family. At the age of 10, she displayed tendencies which were not in tune with the normally high standards of the family.
Whenever her mother took her to the family weekend house, where many prominent ladies use to gather, Heidi regularly disappeared
and was found enjoying herself in the stables and barns of the farm nearby. There she developed interests in social work,
which became very useful for future life in rural India
namely Orissa(a state in India). After graduating
from high school in 1935 she first studied social work and then medicine which she completed in 1945.
For a short time she
practiced as a Doctor in Germany, in the St. Franziskus Hospital in her home town Muenster. She is still well remembered and appreciated
by the members who run the hospital.
In 1951, apparently
under the inspiration of the Bishop of Muenster, she went to Rhodesia
for medical work among the poor.
In 1952, Bishop Westermann from Orissa succeeded in persuading her to come to India
to work in his diocese Kalunga in Orissa.
She immersed herself
in social and medical work among the rural population for 35 years.
In 1967, she began
constructing a new hospital in Batki / Madhya Pradesh, known as Pushpa
Hospital. After having experienced a healthy growth of Pushpa
Hospital over the years she entrusted the
project to local personnel who had undergone their training in Germany.
In 1976, after 25
years of medical and social work in remote areas of India, Dr. Adelheid Hueffer came to Mumbai. A small rented room in the Kajuwadi slums served
as a makeshift clinic to carry on her medical work. During her practice she was disturbed by the problems existing there.
Beside sickness and infant mortality, alcoholism and unemployment caused untold misery. Also a lack of basic amenities like
toilets, electricity and water made life extremely difficult for women, who queued up for long hours for a single bucket of
water. After gruelling hours of work, children unable to go to school and insufficient care of the old also caused concern.
All of these urged and inspired her to start ‘Ashadeep’ - a ray of hope.
In 1976 Dr. Adelheid
Hueffer successfully persuaded 7 Indians and 7 Europeans living in Mumbai, to become
founder members of Ashadeep Association so that its work in the future will be assured. In Muenster, “Hilfswerk
für Ashadeep Association” was setup, because the work in Mumbai needed financial support from European friends.
Some of them were
present at the Silver Jubilee Celebration and still keep in constant touch through fund raising and visits to Ashadeep. In
1983, Dr. Adelheid Hueffer was honored by “Award of Officer’s Cross Of The Order Of Merit of The Federal Republic
of Germany”. The award was made by Dr. Lindemann, Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Mumbai.
After several years of successful & selfless
work, she died on the
1st of
July 2000, at the age of 85 years. Though she
is not among us, we can feel her presence and her sprit guiding us in our day to day work.
