Minutes of Asha meeting held on 6/17/1999 at Memorial Union

Attendees: Kamal, Murali, Neeraj, Param, Vineeta, Vinod

Topics of Discussion:
x Work an Hour (WAH) Projects
x Vote for Asha Secretary
x Plans for WAH'99 at Madison
x Administrative costs

WAH'99 Project for review: (refer to www.ashanet.org  for project descriptions)

Murali briefed the group about Udhavam Karangal (Helping hands).
The funds will be mainly utilized to purchase computers and software for use at the
Udhavam Karangal school. The project proposal was made by Asha LA stars and
not Udhavam Karangal. Amount requested is $10k.
The opinions and issues raised are:
1. Aim of the project is not clear
2. Impact for the given money spent by Asha might not be significant compared to other proposals
3. Udhavam Karangal is a large well established organization

Kamal talked about Seva Nilayam
 The project would to construct a home for orphan girls and two rooms for classes.
The amount requested is $18k. This is one of the few projects targeting girls.
Opinions and issues:
1. Where are the girls from - what does Seva Nilayam do to find the children?
2. Are the girls in safe hands?
3. What do they do after 18? (It was mentioned that Seva Nilayam is for age group up  to 18)
4. The project seems fairly self-explanatory in its goals.

Param talked about Maharogi Sewa Samithi
MSS was setup by Baba Amete. The project is to set up a vocational training center
for disabled children and kids of leprosy patients and other children, who have
completed seventh class. The amount requested is $35k over 3 to 5 years. The MSS
is a large NGO with an annual budget of Rs.5crores.
Opinions and issues:
1. Is Asha willing to commit WAH funds for 5 years?
2. What will they do next year if there is no continued support?
3. Project  has been site visited by Ravi and Aravinda and they highly recommended it.

Vineeta asked whether the funds for projects like MSS and Seva Nilayam can be
channeled through Share and Care to obtain matching funds.

Vote for Asha secretary was left to Chandru, Sastry, and Vidhi to decide. They might
have met the candidates at the Asha conference first hand and would be able to make
a better judgement.

Possibilities for WAH'99 fund raising at Madison
? Call up people by telephone and ask them money
? Another news letter during  summer
? Mail out WAH fliers to families
? Have an open house at Dr Bhargava's house
? Publicity during other events in Madison

Asha Madison needs a policy for administrative costs.