Princeton	Asha for Education - Princeton Newsletter            Vol. 1 Issue 1                   Jan 1999

    Asha-Princeton is a chapter of Asha, a non-profit voluntary organization dedicated to promoting basic education among underprivileged children in India. Since its inception in 1991, Asha has grown in strength and number and now has over 25 chapters in the US and India.
    Asha-Princeton was formed in August 1998 by a dedicated group of students from Princeton University and professionals in New Jersey. Our aim is to mobilize the local community to collectively support and provide financial assistance to educational projects at the grass-roots level in India. Our driving force is the firm belief that an educated population is the critical catalyst for social and economic change in India, and that each of us can make a difference.
    Currently, Asha-Princeton is growing rapidly. We have drawn up a list of potential projects which have approached us for funds. Towards this, we are organizing events and have initiated work for fund-raisers to be scheduled in the near future and seek active participation and support from the Indian community residing in the NJ and Delaware Valley. 100% of your tax-deductible contributions go towards supporting Asha's projects in India since all administrative costs of Asha are borne by the volunteers. We invite you to join us in our efforts in giving the gift of education to those less fortunate than us.

Can our contributions really make a significant impact in the big scheme of things? Are people like us, living abroad, too small to do anything more than for moral satisfaction?
Consider this: Non-Resident Indians earn more than the GNP (Gross National Product) of India each year.
And this: If we all contribute 0.5% of our salaries to good developmental organizations like Asha (2% is what an average American family contributes to US charities), what we have to work with is more than the Government of India budget allocation for education, health and family planning in all the villages of India, all put together.

This is our collective potential. The task ahead of us is great but so will be our efforts to match it.

Science on Wheels visits remote rural schools

Vasundhara has approached us for supporting their mobile science laboratory -- "Science on Wheels", operational in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra. Two science educators travel in a van to remote rural schools to conduct training programs and guide students in doing basic science experiments. The van also carries display material for creating awareness in personal health and public hygiene, environment and ecology.

Vasundhara, a trust registered in 1995, has been working actively since mid-1997 as a Peoples Education Project in Sindhudurg. Shri C.B.Naik, the managing trustee for Vasundhara, worked with Baba Amte's Anandwan earlier.

Sindhudurg is a backward district with 41% of the population below poverty level and an absence of post-literacy programs to follow up literacy campaigns.

The requested support is Rs. 2,50,000 for 3 yrs (total of Rs. 7,50,000) and the project is expected to benefit approx. 100 schools of the district per year.

Asha-Princeton reviewed the project proposal in Oct. '98, obtained clarifications to some questions from Shri Naik by Dec. '98 and is waiting for more feedback from our contact person based in Pune.

- Rohini ( rohinigupta@hotmail.com )

Non-formal and Remedial Education for poor children

Fountain of Development Research and Action (FODRA) needs support for its child education program which consists of a remedial and a non-formal center. It has been working since 1997, with the people of Pratap Nagar and Samboli Gadda, two slums in the outskirts of East Delhi.

The proposed non-formal education center is for children who have dropped out of school and those not going to school at all. It would prepare them in a couple of years to attend Government schools.

The project will affect 100-120 children, with half this number attending each center. One teacher, employed at each center, will be teaching the children in a shift-system. Free or subsidized educational supplies will be given to the children.

The budget requested from Asha-Princeton is Rs. 84,800 for 1999-2000 which is 80% of the total expenses. The remaining 20% will be raised locally.

Asha-Princeton reviewed the project proposal in Jan. '99 and has requested a Delhi-based Care-India volunteer (Princeton alumnus) to assess the project.

- Sai ( gopisety@princeton.edu )

Night schools for drop-out and illiterate children

People's Association for Community Health Education (PACHE) plans to bring all the drop-out and illiterate children in the age group of 6 to 14 under the umbrella of night schools, provide them with primary and life-oriented education, and attain 100% literacy among children in the target villages. PACHE is a charitable trust working on health education and awareness in villages. It operates in the Chellampatti block of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu.

"Child labour is very rampant in this area. Boys drop out of school due to economic reasons. They tend to animals and during agricultural season they go and work in others' lands for low wages. The girls mostly remain at home to look after their younger siblings and do household chores while their parents and elder brothers go to work. This has brought about a vicious circle in their lives and literacy and education take a back seat in their priorities. This vicious circle has to be broken." says Shri.P.Manoharan, the Director of PACHE.

The project will affect about 250 children in ten villages of Chellampatti block. The total budget is Rs.82,000 for one year, of which Rs.9,000 will be from local contribution.

Asha-Princeton reviewed the project-proposal in Nov. '98. Sridhar Desikan (Princeton volunteer) visited the schools in Jan '99 and has expressed satisfaction with their functioning.
- Shankar ( krishnas@research.att.com )