Michelle Stephens Profile 2: How The Mahaan Aasha Foundation Came To Be

I admire that Michelle Stephens, age 34, has made helping the children of India the focus of her life’s work through her creation of the Mahaan Aasha Foundation. India is a hard place to visit because of the extreme poverty. My heart was broken so deeply there I can’t imagine going back anytime soon. Yet she’s committed to going back every year to help more children and build human connection.

During the interview for Michelle’s profile (read part one here!), I decided that the making of the Mahaan Aasha Foundation is such an inspiring and courageous story in itself, it deserved its own profile.

So here it is, straight from Michelle’s mouth:

“The Mahaan Aasha (or Great Hope) Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on helping destitute children in India. Through my recent travel there I’ve learned that the key to making a difference is through education, infrastructure, and humanity.”

The trip that sparked Mahaan Aasha

“For our 5-year wedding anniversary, I told my husband I wanted to go to India.  Everyone thought we were a little crazy and couldn’t comprehend why we would want to go to a place known for so much poverty.  But I knew there would be more to India, and boy was I right!  India is alive with fashion, food, culture, dancing, and all things color.  We saw amazing sites and had a wonderful time.

One day in Mumbai, after visiting a temple, we decided to walk around a little.  We turned down one street and were shocked when we saw that it was lined with women and children, the poorest of the poor.  These children had nothing.  Most weren’t even fully clothed and none had shoes.  They sat on flattened cardboard boxes if they were lucky enough to have them, but most just sat on the dirty street side, where run off collected and garbage was thrown.

With every step we took down the street, my heart broke more and more.  Then my feet actually stopped moving.  I told my husband, “I can’t take one more step until we turn around and go find these children some food.”

And that’s exactly what we did.

Back at the street corner there was a little food stand selling fried foods like samosas.  It’s surprising how much $8 will buy you!  We bought bags and bags of food, and ice cream popsicles too. When we could carry no more, we walked back down the street.

I opened up the samosa to give to the first woman I saw. With smiling eyes she motioned toward her child saying, “give it to my child.”  From there word got out pretty quickly and we were soon surrounded by all the street children.  In all the excitement and hunger, the food and popsicles went pretty quickly!

After we had handed it all out, we hailed a cab.  Right before I got into the cab, I looked back down the street.  A crowd of children, all holding ice cream popsicles, stood smiling and waving at us.  I didn’t change their lives or their situation in life that day, but I did instill a little joy though my gift of humanity.  I knew right then.  I was coming back and I was going to do something big.”

Desiring to do something great

“Fast forward two years and my daughter is now five-years-old about to start kindergarten. My husband and I were having a conversation about life goals and accomplishments.

“Do you feel like you have accomplished your life’s goals?”  I ask him.

“Well, yes.  I believe so.  I’ve accomplished a lot in my career and built something I’m proud of,” he said. And he totally has – I’m very proud of my husband! “What about you?” he asks me.

“Well, no.  I gave up my career and my dreams for my family.  Even though being a mother is wonderful, I still desire to do something great,” I tell him.

“What do you want to do?” he asks.

I tell him about Melinda Gates who keeps coming up on my Facebook feed.  I’m so moved by her!  She’s making such a big difference and doing it in a way that I love.  She’s sitting down with people in remote villages and big cities, hearing their story, striving to understand their life, their struggles, their culture, connecting on a human level.

That’s how I believe you really make a difference.  Until you connect with someone on a human level, you’re just scratching the surface of helping them.  I told my husband that was exactly what I wanted to do.

“What’s stopping you?” he asked.”

A critical connection to move Mahaan Aasha forward

“I was ready to start the Mahaan Aasha Foundation!  Now, how do I do that?  I needed a contact.

I went to a wonderful Indian cooking class at a restaurant called 21 Spices.  The chef, Asif, is very passionate about food and the art of cooking.  Afterwards, I reached out to him via Facebook Messenger and he instantly asked me to come in for a meeting.

I told him about Mahaan Aasha, that I wanted to do something to help destitute and impoverished children in India.  He told me how he gives back to families in his home town of Hyderabad and I quickly learned his passion for food was just as big as his passion for helping others.  He has a big heart!

“My family is going to India this summer,” he said. “I’ll introduce you to my wife who can help too.  Meet us in Hyderabad and I will introduce you to people there to get us started.  Then, I’ll sponsor a big fundraiser event here at 21 Spices.”

From there the Mahaan Aasha Foundation has continued to spiral and grow!”

To learn more about the orphanages and schools Mahaan Aasha is supporting in India, fun upcoming fundraisers, and to donate, visit www.theMahaanAashaFoundation.com.

[activecampaign form=5]