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Asha
for Education is a secular organization dedicated to socio-economic
change in India. In pursuit of this goal, Asha focuses on basic
education in the belief that education is a critical pre-requisite
for socio-economic change. In keeping with this focus, our volunteers
get involved with and support projects that are secular and have
an education-related component in them. The objectives of this group
are:
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To
provide education to underprivileged children in India.
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To
encourage the formation of various local groups, both in India,Germany
and the U.S.,
to reach out to large sections of the population.
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To
support and cooperate with persons and groups already engaged
in similar activities.
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To raise the required human and other resources to achieve the
group objectives.
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To provide opportunities to individuals based in Germany, the
U.S.and other countries to participate
and contribute to the activities of Asha in India.
To address, whenever possible, other issues affecting
human life such as healthcare, environment, socio-economic aspects
and women's issues.
How
it started
In
the summer of 1991, a few students including V.J.P.Srivatsavoy§, Sandeep Pandey*, and Deepak Gupta# got together to think of ways
in which they could play a role in the development of India, the
country of their origin. These young people shared the belief that
education is a critical pre-requisite and an effective catalyst
for social and economic change in India. Basic education became
the agenda for the action group that emerged from this gathering.
The group was named Asha to represent the hope that had brought
these individuals together and the hope that they aimed to bring
into the lives of children in India. In that summer of 1991, Asha
was born at the University of California in Berkeley.
§ V.J.P.Srivatsavoy was working in India with Unilever, Mumbai. He
passed away in May 2000.
* Sandeep
Pandey is currently in India and is devoted to social work full
time.
# Deepak Gupta is currently a Professor at IIT, Kanpur and continues
to be involved with Asha in shaping its vision.
Asha for
Education Today
Asha's focus
of basic education for children has galvanised a number of volunteers
across many cities of the US. Today, as Asha nears a decade of existence,
it has over 45 chapters in the US, 7 in India and 6 international
chapters in London, Zurich, Munich, Eindhoven and Melbourne. The
organization has 1000 active volunteers and several thousand supporters
around the world. Volunteers in each of these chapters take a personal
interest in identifying education-related projects in India, and
supporting them through funds and other means. As part of the Asha
charter, all Asha chapters have a high degree of freedom in their
activities including the identification, research, support and ownership
of projects. However, there is also a good deal of co-operation
among chapters and volunteers across chapters. This co-operation
is evident in the joint ownership of projects across chapters, formation
of focus groups across chapters, cross-chapter discussion on issues
of interest, national level events like the Asha conference, Work-An-Hour,
and the like.
For more details
please visit www.ashanet.org
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