Asha for Education – An overview

1. Asha for Education – An overview Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

2. Agenda • Agenda • Education in India – A need for action • Asha for Education • Asha for Education – Detroit Chapter • Raising Awareness • How YOU can get involved Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

3. Agenda • Agenda • Education in India – A need for action • Asha for Education – What is Asha ? • Asha for Education – Detroit Chapter • Raising Awareness • How YOU can get involved Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

4. Literacy Rates Worldwide Adult literacy rates • Source: UNICEF 1999 Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

5. India’s Progress in Literacy • Source: Calculated from census data Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

6. Education Expenditure/GNP • Source: Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, Education at a Glance 1996 Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

7. But There is Hope – HP Example • Source: PROBE 1999 Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

8. Agenda • Agenda • Education in India – A need for action • Asha for Education – What is Asha ? • Asha for Education – Detroit Chapter • Raising Awareness • How YOU can get involved Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

9. Our Mission To catalyze socio-economic change through education for the underprivileged children in India Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

10. What is Asha? • Asha supports socio-economic change via education for under-privileged children in India • Every dollar raised by Asha goes directly to support education • Asha for education is a non-profit organization • It is run entirely by volunteers Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

11. Asha: Some Facts • Started in UC Berkeley in 1991 • 40+ chapters worldwide • 300+ Active volunteers • 130+ projects • Total disbursements until now - over $1.5 million Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

12. Asha - Funds Raised Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

13. Unique Projects By Year • Excludes double-counting of projects supported by multiple chapters Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

14. Asha Projects: Basic Criteria • Must improve the general welfare of the community with basic education as a major component • Non-sectarian groups which do not have any political or religious agenda • Do not discriminate on the basis of caste, religion or sex • Small, yet, deserving projects that find it difficult to obtain funds from elsewhere Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

15. Project Monitoring • Projects provide periodic finance statements, progress reports, correspond on management issues etc. • Projects are monitored through visits either by Asha volunteers or the various groups Asha works with, such as AID, CRY etc. • Projects are monitored for • reduction in dropout rate • commitment to socio-economic change in the region • increase in number of students • improvement in facilities Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

16. Agenda • Agenda • Education in India – A need for action • Asha for Education – What is Asha ? • Asha for Education – Detroit Chapter • Raising Awareness • How YOU can get involved Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

17. Detroit Chapter Projects – A snapshot • Seva Bharati Project, Tamil Nadu ($980). In this project, Asha supports the educational needs of the children including uniforms and text books • Muskaan – Bhopal, MP. ($6300) • Purna Pragna Trust – Mysore district, Karnataka ($4500). The focus of this project is an alternative education school. • Shanti Sadhana Ashram – Guwahati, Assam ($5000). The focus here is to prepare the children in the tribal areas for government schools. • Irula, Bharati Trust – Tamil Nadu ($1000). This was a $63,000 project supported by various chapters and national events. The focus of this project is alternative education for tribal/dalit children and also provide some vocational training. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

18. Seva Bharati Project, Tamil Nadu • 17 boys and 15 girls from single parent families are supported full-time • Asha supports the educational needs of the children including uniforms and text books • Additional support for introducing sewing machines for teaching tailoring Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

19. Muskaan (Bhopal, M.P.) • The reason for Muskaan • 162 slums have been identified in Bhopal town. Estimates of number of children not in schools vary from 75,000 to 2,00,000. Kotra Sultanabad, with a radius of 2 kilometres has five prominent slum colonies with an estimated population of 60,000. Adult literacy is not more than 15%, and children going to schools would be 25 - 35 % in the whole area. In Ganga Nagar, the population is estimated at 2,500. Average income of a family is Rs. 1500/- per month, with 90% of the men being employed at daily wages. Child enrolment in schools is less than 20% for this area. • What is Muskaan ? • Muskaan is an organization working for education of slum children in Bhopal. At present it is working for children in a particular slum (Ganganagar) where falimies of 'gond' tribe reside. Muskaan was started 2 years ago by Shivani Taneja after she completed her Masters in Social Work. • Goals: • To promote meaningful education amongst children • To restore the rights of food, shelter, education and health to deprived children • To promote economic independence by providing opportunities for learning basic skills to youth and women • To promote awareness of social problems Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

20. Muskaan Project, Bhopal • Education for 80 children from the Ganga Nagar slum • Enrollment in regular schools less than 20% in Ganga Nagar • Muskaan provides non-formal education and prepares children for admission to formal schools • Over 50 children admitted in last two years • Asha provides support for teachers salaries, educational supplies and running expenses Bablu Heena Naani Baali Ishwar Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

21. Purna Pragna Trust (Mysore, Karnataka) • The Purnapragna Shishu Vihar at Alanahalli in Mysore is better known as Tarakka's school. Tara Gopinath, her sister, Malathi, and a friend pooled in their resources and started a school to cater to the needs of needy children in their neighbourhood. Tarakka’s school follows its own syllabus. The students range in age from four to fifteen and all study in groups. Each study group is comprised of seven to eight students. The regular government syllabus is introduced only when the student is mentally prepared. Even then the subjects are treated as simple stories. There are a total of 31 students and 4 teachers. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

22. Shanti Sadhana Ashram (Guwahati, Assam) • Goals: • To make all the children in the tribal villages go to the government schools after attending the pre-primary level of study through non-formal education. • What is Shanti Sadhana ? • Shanti Sadhana Ashram is one of the pioneer organisations in championing the cause of literacy in the backward districts of Assam, which it started as a "Literacy As a Movement of the People (LAMP)" in 1989. Since the beginning of the literacy movement the Ashram had an ardent desire to start some innovative schools for deprived children scattered in the remote areas of many districts. • Location • The Jeevan Sadhana Bidya Niketans of Shanti Sadhana Ashram have been running in 4 districts of Assam in 4 Development Blocks. The four blocks are - Dimoria Development Block, Pachim Abhaypur Development Block, Narayanpur Development Block and Tamulpur Development Block, of Kamrup, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur and Nalbari districts respectively of Assam. A school has also been running in Durgapur, West Bengal. All the schools are located in rural backward areas and cover children from at least 3-4 nearby villages. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

23. Agenda • Agenda • Education in India – A need for action • Asha for Education – What is Asha ? • Asha for Education – Detroit Chapter • Raising Awareness • How YOU can get involved Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

24. Raising Awareness... • Presentations to Corporations and Universities • Participation in India Day Parade • Newsletters • Distribution of fliers at events • Word-of-mouth Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

25. Raising Funds... • Concerts • Events (chapter events) • Writing grants for corporate funding • Asha Stars (Project supported by direct financial contribution from individuals) • Individual and corporate tax-exempt donations • Sale of merchandise - T-shirts, Asha diyas, greeting cards etc. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

26. Agenda • Agenda • Education in India – A need for action • Asha for Education – What is Asha ? • Asha for Education – Detroit Chapter • Raising Awareness • How YOU can get involved Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

27. How You Can Get Involved Learn More About Issues Volunteer YOU and Asha Publicize Support a Project Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

28. Asha Wide participation • Stay up-to-date in world-wide Asha activities - • Visit http://www.ashanet.org/detroit • Participate and volunteer for Asha wide activities - • Work-an-hour: Donate one hour of your salary for Education • Support a child • Raise awareness of Asha. Help us market Asha merchandise • Talented in graphics or typesetting? Help out in Calendar Preparation/web development • Want to be personally involved in a project? Become an Asha Star • Asha in India - The next time you visit India, stop by our projects or our chapters all over India like Bombay, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore etc. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

29. The Asha Stars Program • A program where you, along with a group of like-minded individuals (typ. 5-10), take responsibility for a specific project • Asha Stars get first-hand understanding of issues related to development and see a project grow over time • With a secure source of long-term support, the project is able to strike roots and move towards self-sufficiency • Get approval of the project by a registered Asha for Education chapter • Site visit - Prior to the start of the project and once a year after that • Maintain a web page for the project -- use Asha Projects template Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

30. Tarangini – An Evening of Indian Dance & Music • Tarangini • an evening of Indian Dance and Music • In support of educating • the underprivileged children in India • Featuring: • Mrinalini & Anil Arkatkar w/ Jay Antani • “JHANKAAR” (Urmila, Yogesh, Rajiv & Mohar) • Dance Troupes featuring disciples of • Sandhya Athmakuri & Bhavani Murthy • Sat April 26, 2003 @ 5:30pm • Troy High School Theater • 4777 Northfield Parkway • Troy, MI 48098 Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

31. A Volleyball-Fund Raising Event • When: Sunday, August 3, 2002 (9 AM) • (Rain Day: Sun. Aug 10) • Where: Firefighters Park, Troy • (between Crooks and Coolidge, on Square Lake Rd) • How: Donation: $10/person or 40$ /team (6) Have fun and help a kid go to school!! Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

32. More of This Than This Hope for the Future Today children are India’s future citizens and leaders. Asha for Education is a step towards securing a healthy and progressive future. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

33. Join us in our efforts and be part of the solution... • Asha for Education • P.O. Box 99034Troy, MI 48093-9034 • Email: ashadetroit@yahoo.com • www.ashanet.org/detroit • (248) 362-1158 • All donations to Asha for Education are tax deductible under IRS code 501 (c ) 3. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter

34. Asha for Education To catalyze socio-economic change in India through education of underprivileged children. Asha for Education - Detroit Chapter