"Only a life lived for others is worth living" - Albert Einstein
Education plays a crucial role in the making of an individual as well as the society. Having brought up in a family that places great value on education I was instantly attracted to Asha for Education's vision and mission. Having grown up in India I was aware of the socio-economic issues that deprive many million children of what is now their Right to Education (yes, the government finally recognized its importance and made a law that tries to enforce it). Despite the law, its enforcement remains alarmingly poor and that is where organizations like Asha step in to make a difference. If you are unaware of Asha for Education and the impact it is trying to create here are few facts
-- Asha is currently in its 21st year of existence
-- Asha has about 68 different chapters across the world. US (45), India (17), Europe (5) and Canada.
-- In 2010 Asha supported close to 350 education projects with a total grant expenditure of over $3.1 million USD in different parts of India
As part of getting actively involved in Asha's work, I closely monitor and stay in touch with an institute that Asha for Education has been supporting. The institute - Sandnya Sanwardhan Sanstha, caters to special needs of mentally challenged children. I made it a point to visit the institute to see and experience its functioning during my last visit to India. If you are interested you can read more about my visit here. I've been volunteering with Asha for Education for the 6 years. During these years I've had a chance to be part of Asha in Florida, California, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Its been amazing to see the same passion and dedication of all people involved with this organization. I've seen and known plenty of my fellow volunteers and runners pledge their support for the cause by running 10milers, half-marathons and full marathons as well. If you're wondering what took me so long to decide to run my first marathon, it was a combination of three demons - fear, laziness and failure. Fear - of not being able to do it, Laziness - of not wanting to do it and Failure - tried training couple of years ago but had to quit due to a leg injury. Overcoming these three has been somewhat of a challenge but I'm happy now that I'm on the other side of it. In fact, now I hate to miss my regular runs. Back in April 2010 when I started training, doing 4-5 miles seemed impossible. Now, thats the minimum I run on any given day. While, I've done couple of half marathons, this is going to be my first attempt at a full marathon. I've trained hard on multiple terrains, multiple routes, multiple cities too in all kinds of weather. Yet as I approach the race day anxiety takes over! Finally, I'd like to appeal to you to make a contribution to my efforts (no matter how small it may be) by clicking on the "Donate" link to help me raise funds for the cause I so passionately believe in. I assure you that every penny of your donation will be used for the cause (I am covering all training, gear and event registration expenses myself so that the cause does not bear any overheads).
"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance." - Sir Claus Moser

Think about the moments when our small steps made big difference in the lives of our own and others around us.

To my surprise, it has now become my passion and has enthused a vibrant and positive outlook in me towards realizing and exceeding dreams. I now look forward to my regular training sessions of 7-10 miles on Kelly drive as an opportunity to explore other unmapped abilities and create new challenges.

I have been training for half marathon with the Philadelphia Chapter of Asha. And this 8K was a first step in that direction. I believe education helps people to break the vicious cycle of poverty and enables them to lead a better life. The marathon or half marathon run is a passive way to help the less fortunate children and people. I would request you guys to make contribution to my efforts by clicking on the Donate link to help me raise funds for the cause. The size of the donation does not matter because every dollar counts. Please help me in bringing the change to the life of those less fortunate. Some salient features of donating to Asha for Education are:

o All donations to Asha are tax-deductible

o 100% of all funds raised are spent on the cause compared to about 85% on average among other charities

o Please check with your employer on whether they make a matching contribution.

This year two of my main motivations in life have collided in a spectacular way — supporting education while getting and keeping myself physically fit and healthy as I’m training to run the Philadelphia Marathon in November and raising funds for Asha for Education in the process!!

What you and me and many others take for granted – access to a quality education – is a dream for many all across the world.  In India in particular, UNESCO statistics show that 35% of the world’s illiterate people live in the country and without a dramatic shift in addressing this situation, by the year 2020 over 50% of the world’s illiterate population will live in India.  This is unacceptable.

Why Donate? Education is a right not privilege of every human being. Education for underprivileged children is the key whether we are addressing healthcare, poverty, population control or human rights issues in developing countries like India