Work An Hour 2008

About Asha for Education

Past • Objectives • Volunteers • Present • Future • Contact us

This page gives an overview of Asha for Education. You can find a lot more information about Asha on its website.

Asha : The beginning

In the summer of 1991, a few students including V.J.P.Srivatsavoy^@, D. Gupta^#, and S. Pandey^* 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 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 as well as the hope felt by our volunteers, in being able to create an equal and just society. In that summer of 1991, Asha was born at the University of California in Berkeley.

The Beginnings by V.J.P.Srivatsavoy: Writeup about Asha's history

^@ V.J.P.Srivatsavoy was working in India with Unilever, Mumbai. He passed away in May 2000. Please read the article about our late founder - Remembering Sri.
^# Deepak Gupta is currently a Professor at IIT, Kanpur and continues to be involved with Asha in shaping its vision.
^* Sandeep Pandey is currently in India and is devoted to grass roots work full time. He was the recipient of the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay award for emergent leadership

Asha : Mission and Objectives

Asha for Education's mission is to catalyze socioeconomic change in India through the education of underprivileged children. In pursuit of this goal, Asha primarily focuses on education in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. We collaborate with several non-governmental and governmental organizations in India to empower individuals and provide them with access to education, health care, equal opportunity, social justice etc. Asha for Education's interventions fall within the broad categories of community based interventions, disabilities, formal schools, non-formal education, supplemental education, fellowships, orphanages, residential schools, resource centers, and curriculum development to name a few.

The objectives of this group are:

To provide education to underprivileged children in India.
To encourage the formation of various local groups across the world to reach out to larger sections of the population.
To support and cooperate with persons and groups already engaged in similar activities.
To raise the required human and other resources to achieve the group objectives.
To provide opportunities to individuals living outside India who wish to participate in Asha activities in India.
To address, whenever possible, other issues affecting human life such as health care, environment, socio-economic aspects and women's issues.

Asha : The volunteers

Asha for Education is a unique organization in that it is 100% volunteer-driven, has no hierarchy and has zero overhead costs. As a zero-overhead organization, all operational costs are borne by volunteers enabling 100% of all donations to be sent to our project partners in India. All donations made to Asha for Education in the United States are tax-exempt under IRS code Section 501(c)3 to the fullest extent permitted by the law. Our volunteers come from all walks of life - students, scientists, professionals, artists, the young and the aged; all possessing a common spirit of service. Structurally, Asha functions through chapters as well as various focus groups, which are dedicated to the different aspects of the organization such as projects, publicity, fundraising, coordination, etc.

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, worldwide events like the Asha-Wide Conference, Work-An-Hour, and the Asha India Conference.

Asha : Where we are today

Asha for Education has come a long way since its inception in 1991. Asha had 15 chapters in 1995, 27 chapters in 1997, 31 chapters in 1999, 34 chapters in 2001, and over 60 chapters in 2003. Asha for Education now consists of international chapters in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Asha has grown to include over 1,000 dedicated volunteers from all walks of life across the world, and several thousand supporters. Over the past 17 years, Asha has collaborated with more than 385 project partners in India to disburse approximately $4,000,000. In 2003 alone, Asha worked with over 220 project groups disbursing over $1,000,000. Most of the Asha chapters in India work closely with our projectpartners and have a strong understanding of grass-root level issues. Some Asha India chapters located in the metro cities have also started fundraising activities. Each chapter works individually toward the collective goal, by partnering with groups in India that work to improve the lives of people through education and empowerment. The chapters have a high degree of freedom in their activities including the identification, research, support, and ownership of various projects. However, there is also a great level of cooperation within Asha, as is evident by multiple partnerships on projects across chapters and international events like Work An Hour.

Perhaps more important than these numbers is the personal leadership that the volunteers take in carrying out Asha's activities. Further, Asha is more than a mere funding agency. Involvement with Asha for Education has produced awareness about developmental issues in India and has inspired a range of volunteers to get involved in other social causes. Thus, Asha for Education, while making a difference in the lives of underprivileged children of India, is also preparing a group of more socially aware and responsible individuals.

Asha : The future

In the future, Asha for Education hopes to continue playing an important role in bringing about socio-economic development in India. We realize that there is still a lot to be achieved since there are millions of children in India who do not have access to education. Debates and discussions are constantly underway among the volunteers about how we can make a greater impact on the situation. As part of this learning process, we are working closely with our projects to evaluate our efforts over the past decade. In the end, we hope to be able to better understand the impact we have had, and where the focus of our efforts should lie.

All said and done, the future holds even more significant challenges for all of us as a people. It is more important than ever that every concerned person pool in his efforts and start working towards addressing these challenges. We, the volunteers of Asha, believe that we are upto these challenges that the future holds for us.

Asha : Contact Us

If you would like to find out more about us, our activities, and/or, if you would like to participate and contribute to our efforts in any way, please contact members of the chapter nearest you. We want you to be part of the movement!