ASHA: Minutes of meeting (Mar 4th)

[Subramanya Sastry <sastry@cs.wisc.edu>]

Attendees: Chandru, Kamal, Murali, Navin, Param, Sharmila, Subbu,
           Vidhi, Vineeta, Vishal

Meeting was from 6.05pm to 7.45pm; 302C Union South

Newsletter:
-> Made some final decisions about the newsletter (content/size/name).
-> Decided to retain the "Asha Kiran" name from the asha-wide newsletter
    since it appears to be very apt.

Amartya Sen visit:
-> Vidhi mentioned that Amartya Sen is visiting Chicago at the request of
    IDS-Chicago and will be speaking there.  She suggested the possibility
    of us getting him to UW-Madison.  Vineeta will be following up on this 
    by contacting certain UW departments (development economics,
    Center for South Asia, etc.)

Projects:
-> It was decided to discuss a project (new project or projects being funded
    by other chapters) periodically (at least once every 2 months).  This
    exercise will be serve many purposes: keep us informed about the projects
    that are funded by other chapters, keep up the motivation, serve as a good
    learning experience for everyone - especially the newcomers.  Vidhi also
    suggested that whenever we visit India, we should make it a point to visit
    some project site.  She felt that it is a very good learning experience.
    Towards this end, the project discussions will keep everyone well-informed.
    Navin suggested that these discussions be carried out in an informal setting
    like a potluck.
-> Sharmila mentioned that her Rotary contact is currently out of town.  But,
    she'll keep us informed and try and get her in touch with us so that we
    could interact with them.

WAH update:
-> The voting for WAH '98 projects closed on Feb 28th.  The votes favoured
    the Ballia (Asha center & Non-Formal Edn.), Astha (Delhi-based project that
    works with handicapped children) and Kanpur (works with the children of
    migrant labourers) projects.
-> There was an open-ended discussion about the Ballia project, Asha center and
    our expectations from this project (with respect to plans, results, etc.).

--
Visit ASHA         at http://www.ashanet.org
Visit ASHA-Madison at http://www.ashanet.org/madison