Work An Hour 2004

Work an Hour 2004 raised $164000 and funded 5 projects. The theme for projects in WAH 2004 was to fund projects in the poorest states or rural areas of other states of India.

Projects

1. Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha (BTS), Kultali, West Bengal
2. Juanga Orissa , Juanga, Orissa
3. Vanashree, Sagar, Karnataka
4. Project Look Ahead , Jaipur, Rajasthan
5. To Reach You , Mudichur, Tamil Nadu

Financials

Baikuntapur Tarun Sangha

Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha (BTS) is a social organization based in Kultali block, situated on one of the larger islands of the Sunderbans in West Bengal. Kultali is a remote, under-developed area, with a majority of its inhabitants living a hand to mouth existence. During the major floods that hit the Kultali island in 1982, a group of youngsters undertook a series of relief measures, physically helping victims to reach safer places, pleading with the government and administration for relief support and organizing relief camps. The youngsters were greatly disturbed by the apathy and a total lack of support even from their elected representatives to the government. They resolved that they would strive to provide better facilities to their poor brethren. Thus “Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha” (known in short as “BTS”) was born. It was registered under the West Bengal Society Registration Act and later received the certification under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

For more information about the project, visit the project website.

Juanga Orissa

The Michael A. Daube Charitable Trust was created in 1996 to help provide rural development in and around Juanga in Orissa. Although Juanga is only 50 km from the city of Cuttack, it is nearly inaccessible due to poor road conditions and monsoon rains. The State Government does not provide the villages in this region with adequate access to medical or educational facilities. Primarily the Trust founded a hospital in the village of Juanga to serve an area of approximately 25 km and a population of approximately 70,000 in the surrounding villages.

The Juanga Orissa School was built in 2001 after the supercyclone of 1999 destroyed almost all of the existing decrepit government schools. The Juanga Orissa School is central to a network of villages on the south bank of the Mahanadi. The school began with 184 students and has progressed to 226 students, many from scheduled castes and some who have lost their relatives in the supercyclone.

The Juanga Orissa School is known locally as the Vivekananda Public School, and has made great progress with the help of Asha for Education. The funds donated have been respectfully and prudently used to improve the condition of numerous children and consequently their families, giving hope to the community and inspiring concrete examples of how that hope can be turned into reality.

For more information about this project, visit the project website.

Vanashree

Vanashree trust is a non-profit organization based in Sagar (Karnataka), which works for the overall development of tribals in that region. The tribals live in the hills near Jog falls, Shimoga district, Karnataka and belong to primarily three Marathi tribes - Lambani, Kudumbi, and Gonda. Vanashree runs residential schools in Sagar and Bachodi. Further, the group has worked towards improving the socio-economic status of the community, by working towards providing solar power, constructing a rope bridge, laying of roads etc.

Asha works with the Vanashree residential school in Bachodi, a village near Jog Falls; this is the only school in that region. It is a residential school that has been functioning since 1990. The school provides education to children from classes I to VII. After class VII, the children of Bachodi go to school at Sagar, also run by the trust, which has classes VIII to X.

Currently, in the Bachodi residential school, there are 32 girls and 88 boys housed in a small building without proper bathing and toilet facilities. They have to rely on the stream nearby for taking their morning bath. Also the school lacks furniture, and the children end up sleeping on the floor. Further, among these 120 children, several are orphans. The families of the rest of the children live in the hills, and the only means of commute from the school to their homes is by walking.

For more information about this project, visit the project website.

Project Look Ahead

Project Look Ahead targets the education and employment needs of 50 blind girls and 50 blind boys for a year by partnering with two organizations in demonstrating pilot case studies - one in Drishti Viklang Sangh, Jaipur, Rajasthan and another in Kamla Mehta School for blind girls, Mumbai, Maharashtra. Since transportation is a crucial issue for the blind, for the purpose of training as well as employment, these computer centers are being initially established in major cities of India. Gradually however, Project Look Ahead intends to shift its focus to villages.

Drishti Viklang Sangh, located in a region with the lowest female literacy in the country, and run by a blind executive, helps up to 50 blind students a year. Most of the enrolling students are boys in the initial years. In the conservative Rajasthani society blind girls may not be allowed to go out of their homes. The project plans to encourage participation of blind girls in the future.

Kamla Mehta School for Blind Girls in Mumbai entirely focuses on female computer literacy. Popularly known as Dadar School for the Blind, this school has been imparting education to over 100 blind girls a year since 1906.

For more information about this project, visit the project website.

To Reach You

TRY - To Reach You, is a multi-purpose social-work organization, located in Mudichur, Tamil Nadu, reaching out to the socially, educationally and economically backward sections of the society irrespective of caste, creed and religion. TRY's primary focus is to provide shelter, food, education, healthcare and rehabilitation for the children of commercial sex workers and to rehabilitate their mothers.

TRY was started in 1996 by Chandravel and his friends when they were students of the Madras School of Social Work. Chandravel's friend Anand wanted to start a home like this, but passed away suddenly before he could realize his dream. Anand's premature death spurred Chandravel to start the home as a tribute to his friend and hence named it Anand children's home.

This project inspired the Asha-Sanctuary conference. Chandravel is in touch with other people from similar Asha projects that cater to the needs of children of commercial sex workers. He has networked well with the other projects, and the effect of this project goes beyond this project alone.

TRY works on a community-based method where mother/parents and children are involved. It provides home-shelter care and education to children who are abandoned, neglected or those belonging to broken families, especially children of commercial sex workers. Through comprehensive community based program, it is possible to have a direct and positive impact on the well being of the young children.

For more information about the project, visit the project website.