Making known the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities

Asha Niketan is a community of hope where men and women who are living with intellectual disabilities and who are often rejected by family and society, can become a source of life for others.

Asha Niketan is a place of healing and celebration of life. We welcome and respect difference. We are home to men and women of different ages, different cultural traditions and different religious background, of different physical and mental abilities… with different stories, needs, fears and hopes.

In Asha Niketan we seek to make a difference in the lives of these differently-abled people by creating an environment which empowers each person to develop and share his or her gifts.

Asha Niketan – FMR India is an affiliated member of L’Arche, an International Federation of communities throughout the world where people with intellectual disabilities (core members) and those who share their lives (assistants), live committed and mutual relationships in family style homes, workshops and day care centers.  Initiated by Dr. Jean Vanier in France in 1964, there are now 140 communities in 36 countries around the world.

L’Arche FMR India exists to strengthen our local communities, welcome more people into our life and works; engage in advocacy on behalf of those often on the margins of society, and to raise awareness of the gifts of persons with intellectual disabilities.

In India, L’Arche is a registered Society – FMR India (Fellowship with Mentally Retarded) and is an affiliated member of the international federation. The communities under FMR India are known as Asha Niketan (Homes of Hope). The first Community was started in 1970 in Bangalore. Today there are five communities located in Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Nandi Bazar (Kerala) and Asansol (West Bengal).  Each of the communities is governed by a local Governing Council consisting of men and women who voluntarily give their time and skills and are committed to the members of Asha Niketan.

Learn more about each of the communities:

Asha Niketan, Asansol

Asha Niketan, Bangalore

Asha Niketan, Chennai

Asha Niketan, Kolkata

Asha Niketan, Nandibazaar

FMR India – Asha Niketan was registered in April 1970 as a Society under the Mysore Registration of Societies Act of 1960. It has obtained S 80 G exception under the Income Tax Act of 1961 and has been granted the facility for the receipt of foreign funds under the FCR Act of 1975.

L’Arche is an international federation of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together. Communities offer people with intellectual disability a home where they will be valued and respected, their gifts welcomed and celebrated.

L’Arche began in France in 1964 when Jean Vanier, a Canadian, invited two men from an institution, Philleppe Sieux and Raphael Simi, to live with him. From these humble beginnings in rural France, there are now 140 communities in 36 countries. The communities, while sharing the same values are very different according to their context and culture.

L’Arche communities bear witness to the reality that persons with intellectual disabilities possess inherent qualities of welcome, wonderment, spirituality, and friendship. We make explicit the dignity of every human being by building inclusive communities of relationship, transformation and sign where people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together.

L’Arche communities are faith based. We welcome people of all faiths and none. We believe that in order to grow we need to nurture the whole person, including our inner selves. We therefore make time for regular prayer and reflection within community life. This spirituality is central to what we do and who we are.

Servant Leadership & Subsidiarity

We share our identity and mission and common policies but L’Arche is not a typical organisation with a top down management structure. Instead, we are committed to the concepts of servant leadership and subsidiarity: wherever and whenever possible decisions are taken by those who they affect most. People with disabilities play a vital role in this process.                                                                 

L’ Arche International is legally incorporated in France, and governed by a 9 member International Board. Executive leadership is exercised by two international leaders. With the support of a small international team, they are responsible for maintaining the unity and spirit of L’Arche, and shaping the overall direction of the Federation through the provision of training, communication tools and personnel, administrative and financial back-up. In each country where L’Arche is established, we seek the official recognition for our work by the state, each community operating autonomously as a member of the International Federation of L’Arche.