The student will mainly receive education and in some cases, health care (annual medical check ups where available) and nutrition. Every project has slightly different details. Please see the project details.
Also as a mentor you can have a positive impact on your sponsored student's future.

In general, the answer is yes. In certain cases where the student may be pursuing college education, the cost of one sponsor supporting him/her financially may be difficult. In such situations we will ask more than one sponsor to support the student.

We ask for at least 1 year but we would prefer your continued support.

We look for another sponsor. Meanwhile the sponsorship will be continued from Asha's funds.

A student will stay in the sponsorship program ideally till he completes his schooling/training in the project. However there may be cases where the student's family moves out of the area. There might be unforeseen situations where Asha might decide to discontinue supporting the project or NGO, in which case the student will no longer remain part of Asha's sponsorship program.

In most cases all the students in a project will be included in the sponsorship program. However it may differ from project to project. Please see the details of the project or NGO you student belongs to.

Asha has strict guidelines for project selection. Projects are selected only after an Asha volunteer completes a site visit and presents his/her opinion about the project. You can review the guidelines of project selection at our website.

Twice a year we will obtain progress reports from the project and send them to you.

We will send you a photograph as soon as you become a sponsor. Thereafter we will try to send a new photo once a year subject to the project's capacity to take the students to a studio for a photograph session.

Asha requests that monetary gifts not be sent to your sponsored student. There are several reasons for this.
- It is often difficult for other families in the community to understand why a student or the family received money from the sponsor. This can cause jealousy and divisiveness in the community.
- Also, some postal systems are unreliable and there is no guarantee that the monetary gifts will reach the project offices. Thank you for understanding.

We appreciate your interest in having your sponsored student visit the United States. There are several reasons why Asha does not permit visits of sponsored students to the United States: - The safety and well-being of the student.
- The student's readjustment to his or her own lifestyle can be difficult.
- Consent of the student's family.

You are definitely encouraged to do so if you can.
Please contact us before you wish to visit your sponsored student. We will arrange your visit with the project in India. Also, please note that we limit the number of visits by a sponsor to two per year.

A number of Asha chapters have Support A Child program. Click here for details.

We share ideas and learn from each other's experiences but we do not have any joint projects.

You are encouraged to write letters to your sponsored student. Getting to know your student through correspondence can be one of the greatest joys for you and receiving correspondence from you can be a constant source of encouragement and support to your sponsored student. As a mentor the love and encouragement a student receives through your letter can have a lasting impact on his or her life.

Many sponsored students have never written a letter before and it may be intimidating for them to write at first. So, we encourage sponsors to take the lead in communicating with their sponsored student.

Yes if he/she can read and write or with the help of a translator. Teachers or coordinators at the project will translate your student's language and give both your letter and the translation to the student to keep. Coordinators or teachers will also provide translations along with the student's letters to you.

All mails should be sent to the project address. See the projects page for the exact address. Please inform us when you have sent a letter to your sponsored student. We will follow up with the on-site project coordinator to confirm when the letter reaches. We suggest emailing us a scanned copy of the letter if possible. In the event the letter is lost in transit, an electronic copy will be available for re-sending.

Getting a response may take time -- sometimes even several months. Please be aware that postal services can be very show and the project coordinators need time to translate your letter and deliver it to your sponsored student and likewise translating your student's letter to you will take time. Some students may live far off and it may ba a few days before your letter reaches them.

Corresponding with your sponsored student is certainly not required and if you choose not to write you will nor receive correspondence from your sponsored student.

Twice a year we will email you half yearly and annual progress reports. Also in our newsletters we will inform you of any field trips taken by the students in the project and provide you with links to pictures whenever possible.

We understand your desire to send packages to your sponsored student. However we would prefer that you not send packages or money to your student because of the following reasons:

• Possibility of loss, theft, or damage
• Possibility of tension created in the community by one student receiving numerous or expensive gifts.

Again we ask that you send small gifts that will fit in an envelope. It may also be possible to send a small amount to the NGO/Project ($10) who will then buy gifts for your sponsored student as well as other students in the project and organize a celebration. Please contact us for more details.

Asha for Education is concerned about the privacy of our supported projects and their students. We request sponsors not to publish personal information of their sponsored student at online resources such as web pages, blogs and social networks.

We go through a rigorous selection process to pick a trusted NGO and then monitor the project's progress regularly.

Contributions from sponsors are pooled together to support all the students in SAC projects throughout the year. A small fraction goes towards the expense of sponsorship material and postage. The staff/team is entirely composed of volunteer members.

Simply complete this sign up form and we will get back to you. You may want to take a look at the projects participating in the Support A Child program.

You can make payments by credit card or send a check for your contribution in favor of Asha For Education. The annual sponsorship amount must be made at the begining of the SAC year, that is, during April of the sponsorship year.

Asha for Education
Support A Child
PO Box 641741
San Jose, CA 95164-1741

Yes, credit card payments are welcome and preferred.

Yes. We accept credit cards (Visa/MasterCard) as long as the bank issuing the card allows transactions in U.S. Dollars.

Yes, it is possible to do so if your credit card allows transactions in USD. However, you will need to convert the amount you are donating to USD and enter it in the amount field. Your credit card company will bill you in your local currency.

Yes, Your contributions tax-deductible.

• USA: Donations are fully tax deductible under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS code.
• India: donations are 50% deductible under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
• UK: donations are fully tax exempt.
• Switzerland: Asha is registered as Steuerbefreiung Vereine under Kantonales Steueramt Zurich.

Yes we do accept matching donations. A lot of US companies match donations made by their employees. A list of such companies can be found here. If your employer is not on the list, please contact your HR department to find out if your company matches donations and let us know so that we can add your company's name to our list.

Here's how it works:

• Obtain a matching donation form from your employer's HR dept.
• Mail it to us at

  Asha for Education 
  Support A Child 
  P.O Box 641741 
  San Jose, CA 95164-1741 
  

• We will verify your donation and attach our non-profit organization Certificate and send it back to your employer.
• Your employer will send us a check for the amount that is matched.

• higher education scholarship programme at Sowbhagya and SVYM a continuing programme for young adults.

Yes, 15 days before the due date

You could donate, buy merchandise or participate in Asha's fund raising activities. Please visit our website for more details.