Annual Report 1999 - Asha for Educationreports.ashanet.org/1999-Annual-Report.pdf · Asha for Education | Annual Report 1999 Asha’s mission is to support basic education for underprivileged

Asha for EducationAnnual Report 1999

foreword 04introduction 06projects 08

asha stars story 09a glimpse of asha projects 10

volunteers & chapters 13focus groups 14taking root - the asha ashram 15

asha and the web 19work an hour 1999 19e-commerce 20

financial reports 21consolidated financials 22

appendix 24project list 24chapter list 25

Where the mind is without fearand the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken upinto fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lostits way into the dreary sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is lead forward by theeinto ever-widening thought and action --

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father,let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore

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Asha for Education | Annual Report 1999

We have just completed one of the most amazing years in our longjourney together. I wish to comment on our activities last year andemphasize what each of us must now do to keep moving forward. I

also wish to convey the emerging consensus on the direction that we are totake as one team.

Going into 1999, we had more tasks on our agenda than ever before.

• Work-an-Hour 98, while successful, had tested the limits of our

organization.

• We faced a sharp rise in the number of new chapter requests,

volunteers, and projects.

• Our previous projects needed follow up work.

• Undaunted by the many challenges faced with Work-an-Hour 98, we

were taking on many fundraisers, including Work-an-Hour 99.

• Asha India was expanding and mutual understanding was critical to

keep pace with the momentum of the volunteers there.

• Asha 2000 preparations were also well underway.

• To speak and act as one team with one voice, our decision-making

Foreword

5


processes had to be streamlined. Our long-term vision also needed crystallization.

All of these factors stretched our boundaries andchallenged our abilities to work together as a team.

The Asha-wide conferences at Boston andLucknow helped to address these challengesswiftly. First, a democratic, transparent, focus-group-based, decision making process has beensuccessfully introduced for smoother operation.Second, to nurture progressive thoughts andfacilitate bold new action, the development of theAsha Center in Lucknow was identified as a highpriority. Third, we recognized the need for focuson the development of people, in addition toprojects. Asha Fellowships are currently beingestablished as a direct result of these conferences.Thanks to the collective volunteer efforts andenthusiasm of all participants, we will enter themillennium well equipped to stay on top.

Near term considerations

There is much work to be accomplished inorder to continue shining. More of us need to takeinitiative and step up to Ashawide coordinationresponsibilities. We must recommit to executebrilliantly in each of our areas of responsibility. Wemust continue to reduce the turn around times inall our Asha activities. For example, we need toreach consensus within all focus groups andmove forward quickly, reflecting our sense ofurgency. We must also build strong bonds withint h e Asha fam i l y and go beyond e - m a i lrelationships. Finally, and most importantly, eachand every one of us needs to be involved directly,deeply, and meaningfully in at least one Ashaproject and work closely with our Asha-Indiacounterparts.

Vision for the long haul

It is vitally important,starting now, that the workwe do is meaningful toevery child in India, eventhough at present we arei n t e n s e l y f ocused o nselect projects. Indeed, Asha with her greatcontent of character, must be instrumental inreaching a national consensus for the constructionof an educated nation within our lifetime. One suchproposal is the goa l of Universa l Pr imaryEducation (UPE) in India by August 15th, 2047. Its

central theme is to send every child, in everycorner of India to school, and ensure that no childis left behind.

Looking ahead

Today, we are at a crucial point in our journey.We are about to complete 10 years of worktogether in the summer of 2001. This is as i gn i f i can t ach ievemen t t h a t shou ld berecognized, and plans have already begun for the2001 Asha conference at UC Berkeley. This is alsoan opportunity for us to bring together Ashavolunteers from every corner of the world toparticipate in the debate on the long-term vision ofAsha including,UPE 2047. We will work togetherto arrive at a clear understanding on milestones toreach along the way, as individuals and as ateam.

Let us move forward together, letting futuregenerations see that Asha for Education created anew nation of educated children, well-equipped toface the challenges and struggles of life ahead.

DP PrakashPresident, Asha for Education,1999

It is vitally important starting now, thatthe work we do is meaningful to everychild in India, ...

foreword

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Asha’s mission is to support basic educationfor underprivileged children in India.

Asha for Education was founded in the summer of 1991 by Universityof Berkeley, California students, including Sandeep Pandey, DeepakGupta and V.J.P. Srivastavoy. These individuals had a simple vision,

which was to play a role in the development of India. They strongly believedthat education is the critical requisite for bringing about social change inIndia. To achieve this goal, they focused their efforts on India’sunderprivileged children, the future of India. They named the group 'Asha',which means hope in many Indian languages, to signify the hope theywished to bring in the lives of India’s children.

The objectives of Asha are:

• To provide education to underprivileged children in India

• To encourage the formation of various local groups that reach out tolarger sections of the population

• To support and cooperate with persons and groups already engaged insimilar activities

• To harness the required human and other resources to achieve thegroup's objectives

• To address, whenever possible, other socio-economic issues affectinghuman life such as health care, environment and women's issues

Introduction

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Thanks to many dedicated volunteers and thefinancial support of its donors, Asha has grownquickly over the past nine years to include over 35chapters spread across the world. Its memberscarry out Asha’s mission by encouraging theformation of local groups, both within India andabroad, in order to reach a vast cross-section ofpeople. Asha also seeks to support and formassociations with groups already engaged in thepursuit of similar goals. It acts as a lens, focusingthe energy and funds from individuals basedoutside and within India, into action and results.

Asha volunteers in each chapter identify,research and raise financial support for education-oriented projects in India. Asha believes in givingi t s vo lun tee rs a h ighdegree o f f reedom ininit iating and realizingpro jec ts . To ach ievethese ends, it encouragescoope ra t i on be tweenchapters by organizingnational conferences, promoting focus groupsacross chapters, and implementing programsdesigned to maintain effective communicationamong its members.

Although our projects have touched the livesof thousands, there is still significant work ahead.There are millions of children in India who do nothave access to basic education. By the year2001, Asha plans to complete a comprehensivestudy on the impact of its projects. It is currently inthe process of establishing goals for the next 10and 50 years.

This annual report highlights the work ofAsha’s devoted volunteers, their plans for Asha'sfuture and some of the projects that havebenefited from Asha’s assistance.

Asha f o r E d u c a t i o n , a l o n g w i t h thebeneficiaries of our projects, would l ike tosincerely thank the many individuals, families andorganizations that support our work and help usachieve our shared aspirations for a better India.

...Asha has grown quickly over the pastnine years to include over 35 chaptersspread across the world.

introduction

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Although public education in India is supposedly free and available toall children, public schools cater mostly to the middle class. Childrenfrom poor families often cannot attend these schools for a myriad of

reasons. Despite the fact that some schools do not charge tuition fees, thecosts of uniforms, notebooks and pencils can be prohibitive to many. Otherscannot attend because of poor accessibility of the schools (especially inremote areas). And, in some cases, caste barriers keep children ofscheduled castes and tribes away from schools. Most middle class children,on the other hand, have the benefit of a more supportive educationalenvironment: not having to do chores disruptive to studies, help withhomework, special tutors, etc. And finally, many parents who have notattended school themselves, do not see the importance of education and arereluctant to send their children, especially girls, to school.

THE UNIQUENESS OF ASHA PROJECTS

Any effort to improve these children’s predicament must address eachaspect of the problem. The projects we fund attempt to do exactly this. Theyoperate schools in rural areas where the need for education is most acute.They emphasize the education of girls and a few provide special facilities fordisabled children. Uniforms are not required. Vocational training and thedevelopment of skills and crafts are emphasized. For example, children aretaught to make paper, pottery, or other simple crafts for export to the UnitedStates and other countries. The proceeds from these projects help providethe financial support that the children often need, and also equip them with

Projects

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invaluable skills for survival in the real world.Teachers are specially trained to serve the needsof poor children through coursework in basichygiene and civic responsibilities. Day carecenters are provided for young sibl ings ofstudents, an important factor leading to higherenrollment for girls. In the end, it is hoped thatthese children will acquire both the skills to work inindustry and the ethics to be a good citizen.

SELECTING ASHA PROJECTS

Asha fulfills its mission through non-profitorganizations or individuals working in the field ofeducat ion. Our pol icy is to work with non-sectarian groups having no religious or politicalaffiliations, and which do not discriminate on thebasis of caste, creed, religion or sex. Theseorganizations and/or individuals must submit theirproposal for funding to Asha and have at least oneor more of the Asha chapters review them closely.The project proposal must describe the project indetail, including its objectives, action plan, numberof children covered, number of people involved inthe implementation of the project, an itemized

budget and any other relevant information. Ashagenerally looks for projects that are planned,managed and sustained by the group itself withlittle outside help. Another consideration is thatthe benefits of the project be fairly distributed andreach a maximum number of children.

Asha typically provides short-term support toprojects and looks for an ability on the part of the

group to sustain the project beyond the period ofAsha’s assistance. A site-visit prior to or duringthe funding by one of the volunteers is required.Site-visits provide a first-hand appraisal of thesituation, and help Asha make decisions regardingfunding. In order to follow up on the projects itsupports, Asha requires each group to provideregular financial and narrative reports, includingpictorial documentation, i f possible, on theprogress of the project.

Asha currently supports over 125 projectsfrom all over India and it has disbursed more than$900,000 since its inception in 1991. Projectselection is becoming more streamlined to ensurean efficient and effective disbursement of funds.

The Asha Stars Story

The Asha Star program began in 1995 with a smallgroup of Asha-Los Angeles (Asha-LA) volunteers takingdirect ownership of a project. It started in response tomounting concern regarding the transient presence ofvolunteers at a chapter, which made sustained impact verydifficult; and placed too much responsibility on theremaining volunteers. Furthermore, a field trip to Indiaand discussions with the project coordinators there showedthat donors dropped out within two years when sustainedvolunteer involvement was lacking.

In order to address these problems, it was decided toform small groups of people who would take up the

100

200

300

400

500

600

'91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99

Funds Disbursed(in Thousands of Dollars)

Number of Projects140

120

100

80

60

40

20

'91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99

projects

responsibility of ensuring the success of a particularproject over the long-term. These people would be theAsha Stars for that project. Each Asha Star guaranteesfinancial support of approximately $300 per year towardstheir project, with the ultimate goal being to guide theproject towards self-reliance.

Typically, Asha Stars operate in groups of five to tenpeople depending on the size of the project. As the teamsare small, accountability is self-contained. Asha Stars arenot confined by group meetings or their geographiclocation. Their commitment bridges the distance betweenthem.

Projects are directed through the personal involvementof these teams in cooperation with volunteers in India.Each team has a coordinator who maintains detailedinformation about the project. Most coordinators visittheir project sites periodically, keep the team wellinformed, seek input from teammates, and facilitatedecision-making. Progress reports are posted on theweb regularly, thus spreading awareness andenabling new volunteers to join the effort.

Within two years, forty Asha Stars emerged tosupport six out of eight Asha-LA projects, and thisconcept has subsequently spread to other chapters aswell.

The Asha Star concept has proved to be extremelyeffective, as the progress of a project continuesunhindered by the dynamic status of Ashavolunteers. Also, since Asha-Stars havepledged to support their project for thelength of the time agreed upon, theseprojects are free from the caprices ofgeneral fund-rais ing. Finally, thepersonal involvement of the people,and the sense of ownership thatarises from it ensures greatercommitment to the project.

A GLIMPSE OFASHA PROJECTS

Hope in the Hills - An AshaStars project for the education oftribal children.

Hope in the Hills, one of the firstAsha-Stars, supports a project calledVivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra,located in the B. R. Hill ranges of Mysoredis t r ic t , Karnataka. I t i s headed byPadmashree Dr. H. Sudharshan, who has

spent the last 24 years of his life as a socialworker for the Soliga tribal community. Beginningwith curative medicine involving eradication ofleprosy, t rea tment o f s ick le -ce l l anemia ,tuberculosis etc, the project has expanded toinclude a general community health center,vocational training programs and a residentialschool for tribal children.

Asha-LA began its support for this project byaiding the school, particularly in the hiring ofteachers. The Soliga community in the B.R. Hillsranges is distributed in remote hamlets in theforests and the issue was the education of childrenwho were too young to attend the residentialschool. Asha-LA assisted in the hiring of teacherswho would travel to the remote hamlets to teachthese children. In addition to making the annualfinancial commitment, the five Asha-Stars involvedwith this project have also been instrumental inarranging public discussion and fund-raisingefforts in the US. They have mobilized their

contacts in the Indian community here topromote this project and get morel ike minded people to make ac o m m i t m e n t t o s u c h Asha

endeavors. They have also visitedthe project during their visit to Indiaand have involved their families inIndia in this effort. The dedication of

t h e A s h a S t a r s h a s beeninstrumental for the success andlong-term sustainability of the

project.

cont'd

locations of asha projectsthrought-out India in 1999

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Asha for Education | Annual Report 1999 projects

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Akshar-ank Anubhav - A unique programfor the education of street children.

Every morn ing , more than 250,000 ofMumbai’s (Bombay) residents wake up on thehard concrete of a roadside, or the filthy floor of a

of hygiene and family related issues, and alsoencouraging them to join formal school.

Asha-St. Louis is working with VOICE bysupporting the 'Akshar-Ank Anubhav' non-formaleducational program at Bandra railway station thatis tailored to the needs of street children –providing flexible hours, relevant curricula andvocational/skill training. The program is aimed atchildren between the ages of three and fourteen,who live and work on the railway platforms. Today,approximately 200 children are being educatedunder such programs and as a result of thisinterface, 125 are now enrolled in Municipal/Privateschools. Asha St. Louis is committed to disbursing$3,400 per annum for this project

Irula Project - Giving education to improvethe community without eroding the native cul-ture.

The Irula Project is located in eleven villages inThiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, near the TamilNadu- Andhra Pradesh border, and is managed bythe Bharathi Trust, a non-profit developmentorganization working for the uplif tment andempowerment of the Irula Tribal communities livingin the interior pockets of Thiruvallur district. Since1990, i t has been working among the Irulacommunities in more than sixty villages. It hasbeen conducting a number of developmentprograms, including awareness camps, liaisonwork w i t h t h e gove rnmen t fo r ob ta i n i ngdevelopment schemes, day care services, andmotivational centers for the eradication of childlabor.The Irulas face a high level of poverty andilliteracy, with almost 0% literacy in some villages.

a class in progress at the bandra railway station

tin shack, only to find awaiting them, a day of shoe-shining, begging, or picking through heaps ofgarbage and fighting off stray dogs for valuablerefuse. These are the street children of Mumbai.

Many of them live with one, or even bothparents, but often these parents live off theirchildren’s incomes. In addition to the daily strife ofsurvival, these children become easy targets ofphysical and sexual abuse and other forms ofexploitat ion. Lacking proper guidance andprotection, they often fall prey to a life of theft,alcohol and substance abuse.

Any solution to ameliorate the situation ofstreet children would need to go beyond thesuperficial measures of doling out money or food toa begging chi ld. Voluntary Organizat ion inCommun i t y En te rp r i se (VOICE) i s a non -governmental organization that has been workingto help these children to break out of the shacklesof dependency, poverty and exploitation. It wasestablished in 1991 and its core members includedevelopment professionals, doctors and voluntarysocial workers. Since its inception, VOICE hasfocused on educat ion , hea l thcare , pub l i cawareness, staff training and development ofeducat ional mater ia l . Classes are held byvolunteers on various railway platforms where thechildren work, with a focus on teaching the childrenhow to read and write, counseling them in matters

special school for rice mill children in Kakkalur village

projects

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Their livelihood depends mainly on odd jobs likecoolie work, r ice mil l ing, f ishing, col lectingfirewood, and catching rats and snakes. Althoughthey are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe and areeligible for benefits of reservation in education andjobs, many of them are unaware of their eligibility.

Irula children face severe challenges inattending school. They not only have to overcomecultural barriers in a community that does nottraditionally send children to school, but theschools that are nearest to them are typicallyseveral kilometers away.

The current project involves the setting up ofeight motivational centers in the villages. Thesecenters equip children between the ages of fiveand fifteen to join the mainstream schoolingprocess. In addition, they are working on bringingabout a more last ing att i tudinal change byinculcating the importance of education within thecommunity, and ensuring that parents see the

benefits of continuing to educate their children. Thebudget requirement for the project is $80,000(~$75 per child) and the project is expected toreach completion in about three years, when thechildren start attending government schoolsregularly. There are twenty teachers, mostlywomen from nearby villages, who have beentrained to help the children in these centers. Theytry to ensure that the Irula culture and knowledgebase is not lost in the process.

Asha volunteers are taking direct responsibilityfor the solutions in this project. We have tenpeople signed up to take ownership and make thisproject a success. A grant of $13,000 has alreadybeen made, and more people are joining the effortwith every passing day. Asha hopes that thisproject will result in a significant improvement inthe lives of the nearly 550 Irula children who arebenefiting from it.

projects

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One of the great things about Asha for Education is its wide variety ofchapters and volunteers. Each chapter is unique and volunteersbring their own set of perspectives and skills to Asha. The first

chapter was formed in Berkeley, CA with only a handful of volunteers. Todayyou will find that Asha has not only spread throughout the US, but across theworld. We currently have 33 chapters in the US, 7 chapters in India, and 3newly formed international chapters. Thanks to e-mail and the internet, Ashahas become a borderless organization with over 250 active volunteers acrossthe world. Though Asha’s growth over the last 9 years has been trulyamazing, what lies ahead of us is even more exciting. With dedicatedvolunteers forming new chapters across the globe, who knows what isaround the corner - with a little imagination one can picture Asha chapters inplaces as diverse as Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Montana, and Sweden!!

Asha is only as strong as its volunteers and chapters. This section of theannual report describes the responsibilities and issues that chapters face.Also included are summaries of the annual meetings held in India and the USin 1999. We hope this section will give you a glimpse of 'a day in the life ofan Asha chapter'.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESOF ASHA CHAPTERS

While each Asha chapter is unique and can independently pursue itsown vision, a common set of Asha principles binds all chapters. This results

Volunteers & Chapters

in a number of activities that are common acrossthe chapters. Each chapter must have a chaptercoordinator and a treasurer. Other than these 2positions, each chapter is free to organize theirchapter in whatever way they feel works with theirown volunteers. Due to the non-heirarchial natureof Asha, each volunteer’s opinion has equalweight, no matter what their 'title' is within theorganization. Most chapters meet at least once amonth, in addition to smaller meetings for projects,fundraising, etc.

The following examples help to bring theseresponsibilities to life:

Projects

One of the characteristics that makes Ashaunique is that we are not only a fundraisingorganizat ion, but we take an act ive role inidentifying and monitoring the projects we fund.Many chapters have a separate projects group thatmeets regularly to research and discuss projectsthoroughly. A visit to the Asha website offers aglimpse of the efforts made by Asha chapters toident i fy and suppor t 125 pro jects in Ind iabenefitting thousands of children.

Fundraising

One of the ways that chapters express theircreativity is through fundraising. This not onlyraises money but more importantly, increasesawareness of Asha within the local community.Since 1991, Asha chapters raised nearly half-a-mil l ion dol lars through a variety of fun andeducational fund-raisers. Almost al l Ashachapters hold some form of fundraising eventannually. Some of the more recent examplesinclude:

• NYC/NJ had 5 individuals run the grueling27 mile NYC marathon to raise $2400 (about $100per mile!).

• Asha St. Louis hosted Tarang , an annualeven t wh ich inc luded a car rom/TT /chesstournament and raised over $8000.

• Asha Arizona showcased many aspects ofIndian culture (dance, music, yoga, food) inGlimpses of India that raised over $5000.

• Asha Dallas hosted Spice Week that involvedseveral local restaurants donating a portion of theirprofits to Asha.

Growing pains

Learning to reach a consensusDecision-making within Asha has always been based on a

consensus approach, with extensive volunteer involvement indiscussions. However, as Asha grew and became greater thanthe sum of its parts, it was more and more cumbersome forhundreds of volunteers in the 35 chapters across the country todiscuss issues and arrive at a consensus. Matters came to ahead during the first all-chapter event, the 1998 Work anHour. Each issue raised was discussed by volunteers in allchapters; it took us over six months to make a routine decisionabout disbursing funds to projects! Clearly, we needed toimprove our decision-making process.

Focus Groups: a new way of making decisionsSo how could we be efficient decision-makers while

retaining Asha's culture of openness and volunteer involve-ment? The answer: focus groups, a decision making bodycomprising of volunteers interested in a particular issue. Afterthe 1999 conference, the Focus Group focus group (not atypo!) devised a set of guidelines for such groups to workwithin Asha's framework. These rules and guidelines weredrawn to enable efficient decision-making without being toorestrictive, while being comprehensive enough to keep mini-mal control over the Focus Groups' actions and decisions.

The focus groups concept is built on Asha's tradition ofopenness and flexibility and has proved to be extremely effec-tive. The 1999 Work an Hour event was a great successthanks to the efforts of volunteers who formed differentgroups to handle projects, publicity, and finances. On otherfronts, the Fund Raising focus group and the E-commerceworking group were formed to tackle various fund raisingissues, such as online transactions through the internet anddeveloping resources for local/national events, etc. The Proj-ects working group and the Asha Stars group are working ondeveloping the knowledge base of projects and social issues inIndia.

So far, focus groups have been extremely powerful inhelping Asha volunteers make consensus based decisions.However, one of the challenges with this concept is that cur-rently, most focus groups are comprised of volunteers who areactive at an Asha-wide level. There is a concern that theincreasing use of focus groups could lead to an ideologicalmismatch between the volunteers who are active at the chapterlevel and those who participate in Asha-wide decision-making. It is critical for us to prevent this separation byincreasing the level of communication among volunteers. Asan example, we are beginning to provide regular updates offocus group activities to all chapters and also striving toincrease participation of chapter volunteers in focus groups.Constructive criticism to improve the functioning of our focusgroups is always welcome! And yes, if required, we will formyet another focus group to continue to ensure that Asha isready to face new challenges that lie ahead of us.

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Asha for Education | Annual Report 1999 volunteers & chapters

Asha-wide Activities

Aside from dealing with chapter specificissues, many Asha volunteers also participate inAsha-wide activities. Some of the key Asha-wideactivities for 1999 included raising funds throughWork an Hour, publishing the Asha calendar andnewsletter, and organizing Asha-wide conferencesin Boston and Lucknow. There are several Asha-wide focus groups that are open to any interestedvolunteer for participation and contribution. Thefocus groups discuss, debate, and make decisionson many aspects of Asha, such as, fundraising,projects, fellows, etc. These focus groups illustratehow the initiative of a few people can lead toimplementation of bold, new ideas. (please seetext inset on pg. 14 for more information about theactivities of focus groups)

Another great way for chapters to contribute isto get involved with Asha merchandise. Several

chapters have worked together to create Ashacalendars, t-shirts, mugs, cards, etc. People areconstantly impressed by the quality and creativityshown in developing this merchandise. Ashavolunteers continue to use innovative ideas forfundraising. A recent proposal is being consideredfor members to bike from San Francisco toWashington DC to raise money for Asha!!

ASHA INDIA CHAPTERS

While chapters outside India carefully evaluateprojects and take ownership, chapters within Indiaare able to do this on a much larger scale. Due tothe close collaboration of Asha India chapters withchapters outside India, the volunteers in India are

It is a well-known fact that educa-tion is not imparted in a vacuum.The success of any education pro-

gram depends on the social and eco-nomic environment surrounding it.When Sandeep Pandey, one of thefounding members of Asha, settled ina village in Ballia to work towardsproviding basic education for under-privileged children, he discovered thatan even bigger problem in the area wasyouth employment. Not only was itleading to high-unemployment relatedproblems, it was also discouragingyoung children from attending schoolbecause the usefulness of education insecuring a source of livelihood wasunclear. While investigating the rootcause of this problem, Sandeep startedquestioning the current education sys-tem. What should be the purpose of agood education system? What topicsshould be taught in school? Is the cur-rent system performing well againstthis standard? From this investigation,the idea of an Asha Center was born,which was later renamed AshaAshram. The objective of the AshaAshram is to work for social changebased on a philosophy of educationthat aims to:

• Inculcate human values for a justhuman order

• Impart skills which will help anindividual become self-reliantwhen he/she grows up.

The Asha Ashram is situated inLalpur-Banjra village, 60 kilometersfrom the city of Lucknow. The villageis home to roughly 40 families of Arakhand Raidas communities, the latterbeing Scheduled Caste. Once the centeris complete, about ten of these familieswill live in the center and be responsi-ble for its operation. In addition tohosting children’s classes, the schoolbuilding will act as the community cen-ter, a meeting place for women’sgroups and village committees, and willfacilitate knowledge sharing amongnon-governmental organizations(NGOs). There are no employees in theAshram and the residents take care ofall chores. In addition, the villagershelp sustain the Ashram activitiesthrough donations in kind e.g. labor orfood grains.

‘E’ is for EducationThe education system is based on

Gandhian principles and students arenot charged any tuition fee. The focusis on imparting practical skills throughactivity based learning. The childrenspend 1-2 hours each day learning read-ing, writing, arithmetic, sciences andsocial sciences. They make arts &crafts, science models and toys frominexpensive locally available materials,and learn music and traditional artsfrom local artisans. The children alsoparticipate in several cottage industriesorganized in the Ashram, such as, bee-

keeping, farming, nursery, fruit gar-dens, dairy, medicinal plants and foodprocessing (chyawanprash making).

The center is developing new acurriculum and teaching methods. Itis publishing a series of textbooks, thefirst of which is already complete. Abook on health care for primary levelstudents is in progress, and so is a col-lection of songs and stories. A gooddocumentation center supported by awell stocked library is also planned.

Though barely a year old with con-struction still in progress, severalclasses have already been held at thecenter. The process of education hasbegun without any classrooms orblackboards. The children’s first les-son was on solar energy. Most of thevillagers got to see for the first time asolar lantern and a solar cooker. Theywere surprised that food could becooked without lighting fire or worry-ing about smoke. That night, the vil-lagers sat around the solar lantern anddiscussed the possibility of using solarenergy to light the entire village.They also discussed the potential forusing bio-gas as an energy source.

In their next school session, the chil-dren learnt counting using tiny clayballs (the size of marbles) which theyhad themselves prepared. The childrenalso brought beautifully colored toysmade of clay, exercising their creativi-ty and imagination to the most.

The children play soccer before the

Taking RootThe Asha Ashram

15


classes begin and do origami to devel-op dexterity of their fingers. The kidsare so enthusiastic about this "school"that they even bring their little brothersand sisters with them. Sometimes theelders stand and observe, often joiningin the fun or helping the teachers.They are all fascinated with the schoolsessions and look forward to the nexttime.

On the 14th and 15th of June 2000,the first teachers’ training program washeld at the Ashram. The objective ofthe training program was to reinforcethe Gandhian philosophy of education,explore various ways of making theexercise of education an enjoyableexperience for the children and dosome evaluation and introspection.Teachers from Asha's projects in theLucknow area spent the two dayslearning, sharing and having fun. Mostof the teachers found this training pro-gram quite valuable and suggested thatthe training become a regular part oftheir work. Later on, teachers fromother Asha supported projects couldalso be invited.

Innovative building technologiesNew ideas require new solutions.

The Asha center is being built using aferro-cement technology developed byAshok Kumar Jain (M.Tech., IITKanpur) who was inspired by hisfather to learn and develop practicalengineering techniques. Ferro-cementis essentially a coating of mortar, madeof one portion cement and three por-tions of coarse sand (morang), on bothsides of an iron mesh. By bending theiron cables and mesh, any shape can beachieved. The application of mortar onboth sides of this mesh renders thestructure water resistant. The ferro-

cement technology uses roughly halfthe energy as conventional construc-tion. Because the construction is mod-ular, it offers the ability to dismantlean entire structure and re-assemble it ata different location. Ashok wants totrain interested local youth in this tech-nology. As a result of its use in theCenter construction, people in the areahave become curious about this newtechnology and a number of them areinterested in learning and using it.

Affordable heath careThe first health camp was organized

in March 2000 with ProfessorRamakant, a surgeon from LucknowMedical College. More than 125patients, some from neighboring vil-lages, got themselves examined. Waterborne diseases and protein-vitamindeficiencies were the most common.Unfortunately, the benefit of the healthcamp was limited because most of theprescribed medicines were either notavailable locally or were too costly.The villagers can only afford natural,ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines.Dr. Kusum Singh, C.M.O. at a Luc-know charitable hospital, has decidedto visit the village once a month andoffer homeopathic treatment. TheAshram now stocks homeopathic med-icines for the villagers.

Community leadershipRight from its inception, the Asha

Ashram is involving the local commu-nity in the decision-making process.A village committee has been formed,consisting of at least one member ofeach household in every meeting.However, due to different responsibili-ties of men and women, their availabil-ity for meetings is different (evenings

for men, and daytime for women).Therefore, a separate group is beingformed for the women, which will takethe form of a self-help group.

The Ashram has rented 2.5 acres ofland for agriculture. The village com-mittee decided that the two mostunderprivileged families be given thisland on a sharecropping arrangement.They also decided the location of thehand-pump to be installed on theAshram campus to suit their and thegeneral public’s convenience. Further-more, they also put forth valuableadvice on water management for apond next to the Ashram land. Thecommittee has also begun to resolveland-disputes and other local conflicts,which previously resulted in unneces-sary expenses or led to violence.

Future growthThough the Ashram construction

was delayed due to harvesting seasonand the rains, the central building anda bio-gas plant is taking form. TheAshram is considering establishing arevolving fund, for use by the familiesthat are in need of critical assistance.The fund could be endowed either bythe Center or through contributionsfrom the villagers themselves.

The Lalpur experiment in primaryeducation by Asha has thus begun alearning process to which the entirevillage is witness. As the experimentevolves, the villagers are rediscoveringmany aspects of their life from hous-ing to energy, agriculture to health andeducation to income generation. Afterall, education is nothing but a processof learning. And what better subjectsto learn about than the ones that direct-ly affect our lives!

able to focus almost all of their time to projects anddirectional issues, rather than on fundraising.Asha India volunteers are the eyes and ears of theworldwide team and are there to see firsthand, thechanges and impact that Asha is having. They arealso able to see its shortcomings, thus guiding thenew directions that Asha should take.

Asha India hosted its first nationwide meetingin Lucknow in December, 1999 to discuss thefocus and direction of chapters in India. TheLucknow meeting was a very productive andsuccessful event. About 15 to 20 groups all overIndia attended the two-day workshop and sharedtheir experiences, successes and concerns. ActiveAsha volunteers met on the third day for a

discussion about Asha Center and the futurepriorities for Asha India., some of which are:

• To build the first Asha base near Lucknowwhich will encompass not only Asha workers butalso the entire neighboring village community. Thiswill serve as a living example of Asha's ideology.

• Building real life centers of self-reliancewhere people can come to learn and tra inthemselves in areas, such as, beekeeping,block/screen printing, weaving, and ayurvedicproducts.

• To work with projects and individuals of highquality. This means Asha's project review process

16


17


should be revisited and critically examined.

• Documentation of work done in Asha'sprojects as well as in other exemplary alternativeeducation models.

From the summary of the India meeting, onecan truly see that Asha is only as strong as itsIndia chapters. Without their firsthand experienceand guidance, volunteers outside India would havea difficult time evaluating Asha’s success anddetermining its future. Over the next few years weasp i re t o fu r t he r s t r eng then the work ingrelationship between Asha world-wide chaptersand Asha India.

NEW CHAPTERS AND NEWCHALLENGES

In the past year Asha has seen growth in itsnumbers with new chapters starting in Minnesota,Michigan, Florida, Georgia, California, Nebraska,Oregon, and Pennsylvania. In addition there are 3international chapters that have started in Canada,Australia and England. While this growth is veryexciting, it also presents challenges. One of thesechallenges is to help new chapters form and keepthem motivated to develop into strong and

productive chapters. In the past year we haveimplemented the chapter mentor concept, where anew chapter is paired with 1 or 2 existing chapters. With thi sprogram, new chapters can feel free tocontact their mentors at any time for help andideas on how to run their chapter. This has beenwell received by both new and existing chapters,and also has created new connections amongchapters.

1999 ASHA-WIDECONFERENCE

Asha's phenomenal growth over the past twoyears necessitated an all-chapter meeting todiscuss various issues. Asha MIT hosted the 2ndAsha-wide conference in May, 1999. Theconference was attended by 60 volunteers (40from outside Boston!) representing 16 chapters.The volunteers greatly appreciated the opportunityto meet face-to-face and to critically evaluateissues pertinent to Asha. The key lessons andaspirations from the conference are summarizedbelow:

• Growing in strength: Presentations by 16chapters covering their major accomplishmentsand concerns revealed that although the chapters

holding the asha banner aloft at the India Day parade in New York city

volunteers & chapters

18


were varied in terms of size and age, they werefacing many common issues (e.g. volunteera t t r i t i on , t r ans fe r r i ng know ledge to n e wvolunteers). These issues were covered in a set ofmini-workshops, which led to the formation ofteams working on coordination among chapters,fundraising, web and finance. These teams havecompiled a l ist of "do's and don'ts" to helpstreamline chapter operations.

• Working together: The recent increase innational level activit ies is bringing all Ashachapters closer together. It is also providing amotivation to refine our decision-making process atthe national level. A small team of volunteers isworking to establish efficient decision-makingprocesses while retaining Asha's framework ofopen discussion and non-heirarchy.

• Asha 2000: After completing his studies inthe US in 1999, Shanmuga (Asha Princeton) hasreturned to India to spend the year 2000 travelingacross the country visiting the various NGOssupported by Asha. The goal is to provide:

- An in-depth analysis of the projects supportedby Asha

- A comparative study of projects

- A measure of Asha's impact over the past 10years

- Better understanding of issues faced by theNGOs

• New vision for projects: Venu Govindustarted off the session on 'Asha Roadmap' with themessage that Asha should strive to be more than aservice provider and aim towards a deeperrelationship with our projects. After hours of

discussions, volunteers compiled a list of what theywould like to see in an ideal project. Some of theinnovative criteria for selecting projects include,education as a part of community development;utilizing and improving upon the existing formaleducation system; self-sufficiency; emphasis oneducating girls; and projects with clear financialaccountability.

• Asha Fellows: Volunteers are evaluating apromising new initiative; an 'Asha Fellows' programto prov ide f inanc ia l and mora l suppor t toindividuals interested in social work in India. Weare learning about other organizations' programs todecide on the best implementation model for Asha. A focus group has been created to develop criteriafor selecting the fellows and ensuring requiredsupport to them.

The conference ended on a high note with Dr.Parameswar Rao's moving and thought provokingspeech. Dr. Rao left the US after finishing hisPh.D. and has since spent all his time transforminga small village in India. His speech moved manyvolunteers to tears and helped us to see moreclearly, the tremendous challenge ahead of us. Onthe whole, the conference achieved its purpose;passionate volunteers from across the country metface to face and exchanged views. Havingsynched up and recharged, the Asha community iswell set for the next millennium!

WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR ASHACHAPTERS

As you can see, exciting things are happeningto Asha. New volunteers are joining almosteveryday across the world, bringing new andinnovative ideas to the group. New chapters arepopping up in many corners of the world almost ona monthly basis. Our dedicated volunteers andchapters will continue to work hard until every childin India achieves the life they desire and deserve.

at the 1999 Asha conference hosted by our MIT chapter

volunteers & chapters

19


If any one thing has been responsible for the spread of Asha throughoutthe world, it is the internet. The Asha website, www.ashanet.org, hasbeen instrumental in almost every aspect of our functioning. From its

roots as a small mailing list for three Berkeley volunteers, the website nowreceives an average of 4,100 unique visitors per month. On the main pageyou will find a wealth of information including links to our chapters worldwide,detailed information on projects, ways to donate, and Asha merchandise.Over the last several years, the web has greatly changed the way wecommunicate, raise funds, and publicize. Perhaps the best example of thishas been its use in our yearly fundraiser, Work an Hour:

WORK AN HOUR ‘99

Six weeks, 1167 pledges and over $55,000 raised; Work an Hour '99 wasa phenomenal success! The Work an Hour (WAH) team built on WAH 98’saccomplishments and blew past the goal of raising $40,000 by August 16th,1999. The website was almost single-handedly responsible for this success.Ramu (Asha-St. Louis) and Shailen (Asha-Berkeley) cranked away forseveral nights to iron out all the kinks, and launched the website at 4 AM onJuly 4th, 1999. And what a site it was! Attention grabbing graphics, detailedinformation about the projects, a host of publicity material, donor statistics,chapter-wise break up of pledges - you name it, it was there.

Once the website was up, Neeta (Asha-Seattle) started the publicityworking group. WAH coordinators from different chapters stepped forward tojoin the virtual group. Within a few days, volunteers developed the publicitymaterial (posters, banners, a press release, and TV/radio ads), all on the

Asha and the Web

20


21%

13%

52%

9%

5%

amazon.com

nextcard

igive.com

drugstore.com

indiagiftshop.com

Income fromweb affiliate programs

perspective, a total of $1516 was raised throughthis method in 1999. At a cost of $15 per year toeducate a child in India, 101 children are nowreceiving an education as a result of Asha’s e-commerce programs and this is just the beginning.Asha as an organization has just scratched thesurface of the potential available to us for raisingfunds through the Internet.

Another exciting accomplishment in 1999 wasthe achievement of on-line credit card donationsthrough All Charities. This is the beginning of anew way to raise funds and will greatly simplify thedonation process and make WAH 2000 even moresuccessful.

From the examples above, it is obvious thatthe web is essential for the future of Asha. It willhelp in spreading the vision of Asha across theworld and will serve as a vital link allowing all thevolunteers to work together to achieve ourambitious plans for the future.

web. The website was the glue that held it alltogether. The banners placed on various websiteswere especially helpful in attracting online traffic tothe WAH home page. The chapter pledge meterthat was updated with each pledge, brought outthe competit ive spirit of the volunteers andchapters to perform to the best of their abilities.Work an Hour '99 proved yet again that Asha, withits dedicated and spirited volunteers (and a lot ofhelp from the web!) can and will achieve wonders.Work an Hour 2000 here we come!!

E-COMMERCE

Asha has kept pace with modern technology inmany ways, including its use of e-commerce. Withlittle effort, people can donate to Asha withoutspending a penny from their own pocket! Mostonline stores have affiliate or associate programswhere the partner will get a certain amount ofcommission for any purchasesmade while "clicking-through" thepartner’s website

The g raph he rei l lustrates our mostsuccessful programsand the funds theygenerated in 1999.

To put this in

asha and the web

21


'93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

'91 '92

Revenue Flow(in Thousands of Dollars)

Funds raisedFunds disbursed

Fundraising is one of the key activities of Asha. In 1999 alone, weraised over $700,000. Since all administrative costs are borne byAsha members, 100 percent of funds raised through general donations

will go directly towards our projects. In 1999, over $500,000 was disbursedto about 125 projects.

Sandeep Pandey, one of the founders of Asha,contributed our very first donation of $40 in 1991.Before the year was over, we had already raised$3000 from many individuals, with an averagecontribution of $10-$15. Since then, the average sizeof our donations has increased significantly althoughninety eight percent of our contributions still comefrom individuals. Recently, we have increased ourcorporate fundraising efforts in order to tap in to thelarge funds available from many corporations.

Some of the main reasons for our phenomenalgrowth are:

• A significant increase in the number of chaptersand volunteers has resulted in giving Asha greatervisibility among the local communities and has led toa substantial increase in the donor base

• The Work an Hour (WAH) program initiated in 1998has met with tremendous success. WAH wasinstrumental in raising $30,000 and $55,000,

Financial Report

22


respectively in 1998 and 1999

As a result of the growth in revenues, the grantspaid out to the projects has also been steadilyincreasing. Compared to $2000 in 1991, and$37,000 in 1995, Asha disbursed $510,000 to proj-ects in 1999.

Asha’s grant ratio measures the percentage offunds sent to the projects in a given year as aproportion of the total revenues for that year. AshaFor Education aims to keep this ratio as high aspossible. As is evident from the above graph, thisratio was increased steadily over the years until

1998 when it fell from 60% to 39%. Recognisingthis disturbing development, we streamlined ourprocedures while maintaining the high quality of ourprojects. The impact of this effort is clearly visiblein our financials this year, which show a grant ratioof over 70%.

In 1998, we launched our annual worldwidefundraiser Work an Hour. Every year, on August15th, India’s Independence Day, we invite peoplefrom all over the world to donate one hour of theirincome towards children’s education projects inIndia. The campaign has been very successful. In1998, about 750 people pledged $31,000 towardsthree Work an Hour projects. In 1999, over 1150people contributed $54,000 towards four Work anHour projects. As a result, Asha is able to supportprojects which can have a larger impact on wholecommunities.

Work an Hour also gives our donors thechance to symbolically come together in thisworldwide effort. While all of our other fundraisersare held and managed locally, this is the only Ashafundraiser that is conducted in a global scale. It isa major undertaking for us. Hundreds of volunteersspend countless hours planning the event,selecting good quality projects, designing thewebsite, troubleshooting programming glitches,sending out press-releases, making short-films andaudio advertisements, and processing donations.We estimate that about 100 volunteers put in atotal of 5,000 hours on this event alone. Nowonder then, that people who participate in thisevent, have so many positive things to say. Theylike being part of a worldwide team of people whoare working towards positive change.

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400Matching Funds

Donations

Number ofPledges

1998 1999

Work an Hour

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIALSFiscal Year 1998 1999

Revenues

Direct public support 473,205 554,536

Indirect public support 4,117 8,253

Investment Income 2,101 13,287

Net income from special events and activities 54,096 112,911

Gross profit from sales of merchandise 14,554 14,475

Other revenues 0 3,901

Total Revenues 548,073 707,363

Expenses

Projects Supported 122,876 514,159

Publicity Expenses Paid by Sponsors 1,216 13,416

Other expenses 0 6,070*

Total Expenses 124,092 533,645

Net 423,981 173,718

* - For calendar printing. Note:100 % of the donations to Asha go directly to projects and all administrative expenses are borne by volunteers.

financial report

23


LOCAL EVENTS

As large as the Work an Hour campaign is, itcontributes less than 10% of our annual budget.Most of the funds are raised by Asha chaptersthrough local events and publicity campaigns. Thistradition was started back in 1991 with Asha’s firstever fundraiser Images of India, an evening ofmusic and dances from India performed by localtalented artists, most of whom were students atUniversity of California at Berkeley. Since thenBerkeley and all other chapters of Asha haveestablished their own unique shows and eventswhich bring in funds and raise awareness about

Asha and children’s education issues in the localcommunity. In addition to cultural shows, ourchapter volunteers host movie screenings, cricketmatches, booths at local functions and, even run inmarathons!

Merchandise sales have become a strongcomponent of Asha fundraising, contributing over$15,000 in project funds. We sell calendars,greeting cards, stationary, ceramic mugs, t-shirtsand clay diya-candles, among other items. Ashacalendars are very popular among the non-residentIndian population since they are attractivelydesigned and feature both Indian and US holidays.In 1999 we sold close to 4,000 calendars in theUS.

financial report

a p p e n d i x A - 1 9 9 9 p r o j e c t l i s t

Princeton

FODRA

Nalamdana

PACHE

Vasundhara

Total

$1,000

$2,800

$600

$6,000

$10,400

St. Louis

KFI

VOICE

Total

$1,700

$3,400

$5,100

South East Florida

Chetanaa

Manav Sanskar Kendra

Total

$250

$1,000

$1,250

NYC/NJBustee Welfare Center

CINI Project

Little Stars School

Nandgad Project

Navjyoti Swawalamban Sewa Sansthan

Pratham

Sarda Kalyan Bhandar (SKB)

Timbaktu Collective

Udbhas Project

Vanavasi Ashram

Total

$1,700

$3,000

$1,283

$13,500

$600

$400

$5,000

$5,250

$7,000

$2,000

$39,733

Los Angeles

Bridge the Gap

CINI

Helping Hands

Right Livelihood

Rise and Shine

Self-Reliance

Street to School

Youth Dreams

Total

$1,800

$3,330

$2,300

$4,948

$1,500

$1,500

$3,000

$1,500

$19,878

Irvine

Seva Nilayam

Total

$600

$600

KentuckyNalamdana

Total

$400

$400

MITAFE - Kanpur Project

Asha 2000

Asha Center

Asha India

Astha

Bhoomiheen Seva Samiti

Dr. MVR Prathamika Patasala

Jeevangyanodaya School

Sahnivasa

Samuha

Sarvodaya – Pindval

SLADS - Singhbhum Legal Aid Development Society

SODWAC

Sweekar

TamilNadu Science Forum

UDAVI

VISA - Village Improvement & Service Assoc.

VOICE

Voice of People

Total

$10,000

$1,200

$10,000

$800

$10,000

$1,750

$2,700

$4,650

$2,000

$1,000

$2,400

$2,380

$500

$3,000

$1,155

$1,250

$3,750

$2,300

$3,000

$63,835

Madison

Little Stars School, Varanasi

Share and Care Foundation (for Swanirwar)

Total

$2,000

$1,000

$3,000

Seattle

Anugriha $3,000

$1,000

$9,300

$8,800

$1,000

$5,000

$3,000

$1,080

$1,900

$5,000

$2,058

$1,680

$15,000

$1,000

$1,020

$1,250

$500

$7,200

$2,500

$15,121

$3,000

$2,500

$4,000

$217

$4,000

$100,126

Asha 2000

Bhoomi Heen Sewa Samithi

Champa Mahila Society (School + Orphanage)

Chetanaa

Christ King Society

Digantar

Each One Teach One

Jnana Prabodhini (Prachiti)

Little Stars School

Lodhar Project

LRG English School

Maharogi Sewa Samithi (Anandwan)

Malleshwaram Shishu Vihar

National Association for the Blind

Rashtra Nirman Vidya Vikas Trust

REDAG Project

RHEDT Project

Seva Bharathi Project

Spastics Society of India (Vidyasagar)

Spastics Society of Karnataka

SSUP

SUPPORT

Udhavum Karangal

Valluvar Gurukulam

Total

$1,030

$1,768

$470

$1,260

$4,528

Urbana Champaign

Balanand

Saathi

Sevalaya

Vivekananda Ashram

Total

$10,000

$10,000

$20,000

$10,000

$50,000

Work an Hour 1999

Bhoomi Heen Sewa Samithi

Maharogi Sewa Samithi (Anandwan)

Sri Ramakrishna Seva Nilayam

VESC

Total

$600

$1,500

$500

$2,600

Syracuse

Red Cross

Saraswati Anath Ashram

St. Gregorios Balagram

Total

$3,200

$2,560

$10,000

$15,000

$2,400

$55,173

$4,100

$2,400

$10,000

$3,000

$7,300

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$124,133

Silicon ValleyAlternative for India Development

Asha 2000

AVEHI Abacus

CDDP

GB School

Gram Vikas

Him Darshan Kutir

Jnana Prabodhini

Kambhapatti Foundation

Laubach Literacy

Pathri Project

Sarvodaya Vidyalaya

Vanasthali

Vidya Project

Total

$1,000

$1,000

Yale

Child Welfare Project

Total

Indiana

Project Bisauli

Project Katha- II

Project Prakash

Total

$5,000

$2,000

$2,500

$9,500

Chicago

Ashraya

MVF

Sevalaya

Total

$600

$500

$2,500

$3,600

BerkeleyAbilities

Cheetah Camp Project

Holy Mother Trust

Jhansi Project

Little Stars School

MSE Trust

Nellai

Sarvodaya Parivar Trust

SEED Project

Support-A-Child

VESC Project

Total

$3,010

$1,000

$2,250

$1,850

$6,440

$1,200

$1,700

$4,000

$800

$2,190

$4,000

$28,440

Arizona

Abhiyan

Ankuran

Asha For Education (Kanpur)

MSMF

PATS Ragavendra Primary School

Rotary District 5510 (Handicapped special school)

Rotary District 5510 (Mentally retarded children)

Sai Kripa

Sumavanam

Swami Vivekananda Educational Society

Total

$5,300

$6,500

$1,500

$2,350

$1,100

$1,000

$903

$1,800

$900

$1,000

$22,353

Cornell

Asha-India

Bal Niketan

MVF

Rahul Multidisciplinary Research Center

Remote School Project – Sarvaodaya Parivar Trust

School for Mentally Handicapped children

Thulir Project

TNSF Project

Voice

Total

$200

$500

$500

$700

$925

$500

$500

$1,000

$1,000

$5,825

ColoradoJyothi Nilayam

Total

$2,100

$2,100

Corvallis

M. P. Elementary School

Total

$1,436

$1,436

DC

Ballia

Nalamdana

Phulenagar

Total

$3,000

$1,300

$2,500

$6,800

Detroit

Desphande Tribal School/Hostel

Hosur Project

Naveen Samartha Vidyalaya

Total

$150

$980

$250

$1,380

ClevelandAIWC Central Calcutta Constituency Creche

Belighata Primary Section of AIWC

Kalighat

Total

$1,000

$250

$1,500

$2,750

25


chapters in the USArizona AZ [email protected]

Berkeley CA [email protected]

Davis CA [email protected]

LA CA [email protected]

Redlands, CA CA [email protected]

Silicon Valley CA [email protected]

Stanford, CA CA

Irvine CA

Colorado CO [email protected]

Yale CT [email protected]

Washington DC DC

Delaware DE [email protected]

Gainesville, FL FL [email protected]

South East Florida FL [email protected]

Athens, GA GA

Chicago, IL IL [email protected]

Urbana Champaign

KY [email protected]

MIT MA [email protected]

Detroit, MI MI

Michigan State University MI [email protected]

Minnesota MN [email protected]

St. Louis MO [email protected]

Omaha NE [email protected]

Central New Jersey NJ [email protected]

Princeton NJ [email protected]

Cornell NY [email protected]

NYC/NJ NY [email protected]

Syracuse,NY NY [email protected]

Corvallis OR

Portland OR [email protected]

Philadelphia PA

Seattle WA [email protected]

Madison, WI WI [email protected]

Giri Krishnamurthy

Nirmal Govind

Amit Gupta

Murali Mani

Ramani Nambisan

Munish Malik

Pankaj Gupta

Shefali Mehta

Pankaj Jagtap

Viswanath Vinod

Sukumar Srinivasan

Roopesh Mathur

Sangeetha Shekar

Ruchi Garg

Bala Narasimhan

Rekha Raghu

Rajesh Shewale

Srikanth Voorakaranam

Srikant Ianmpudi

Prasanna Pendse

Ashutosh Malaviya

Anand Eswaran

Uma Gupta

Tushar Patki

Anirban Hazra

Jyothish George

Ranjeet Ranade

Kabir Kumar

Thimmappa Anekonda

Chandrika Nimmagadda

Kedar S. Gokhale

Jayashree Janardhan

Subramanya Sastry

Sameer Parikh

Saurabh Bagchi

Kentucky

Dallas

IL

IL

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

other chaptersAustralia

Toronto

London

[email protected]

Subhash [email protected]

[email protected] Shankar Srinivas

Sujata Prakash

chapters in IndiaBangalore

Chennai [email protected]

[email protected]

Anand Udupa

Aditya K

a p p e n d i x B - c h a p t e r l i s t

All Annual Report design, text, graphics, and the selection and arrangement thereof Copyright © 1991-2000,Asha for Education, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Permission is granted to distribute electronic and print copies of the Asha for Education Annual Report 1999 forpersonal and private use as an informational resource. Any other use of materials in this publication - includingreproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, republication, transmission, re-transmission or public showing - without the prior written permission of Asha for Education - is strictly prohibited.

web http://www.ashanet.org

e-mail [email protected]

fax (413) 740.5355

US address P.O.Box 322, New York, NY 10040-0322

India address A-893, Indira Nagar, Lucknow 226 016, U.P.

the annual report team: Amy Bhatnagar, Mohit Bhatnagar, Pradeep Das, Surya Devarakonda, Richa Govil, PankajGupta, Leena Khandwala, Shailen Mistry, Vivek Pai, Sandeep Pandey, Prithvi Prabhu, DP Prakash, Shankar Srinivasand Ramu Thiruvamoor.

http://www.ashanet.org

mailto:[email protected]

Annual Report 1999 - Asha for Educationreports.ashanet.org/1999-Annual-Report.pdf · Asha for Education | Annual Report 1999 Asha’s mission is to support basic education for underprivileged

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