Spend an hour on a child

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan once said, “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.” ‘Asha for Education’ was born out of the belief that addressing the problem of education is pivotal in breaking the 'vicious cycle' of poverty.

Founded in 1991, at the University of California, Berkeley, Asha for Education is an international action group dedicated toward catalysing socio-economic change in India through the education of underprivileged children. Asha is not just a fund-raising agency. Asha volunteers from over 66 worldwide chapters endeavour to understand the root issues being faced by our project partners in India, and consider themselves “facilitators” and not “givers”. Many Asha volunteers are involved in direct collaborations with project partners in India, in activities that include curriculum development, creation of innovative learning techniques and resources, using technology in remote locations and working on improving existing government schools. Asha also addresses issues of health, empowerment and women when they relate to its educational work.

'Katradhu Tamizh' Ram's next Diwali in Suburbs Rajini Still In A Dilemma! அஜீத் பேட்டி? ராம் இயக்கத்தில் சேரன்? கமல் பாராட்டிய டைட்டில்்

‘Work an Hour’, popularly known as ‘WAH’, is Asha’s annual, worldwide fund-raising event to help educate underprivileged children in India. This year, Asha for Education presents the seventh consecutive WAH. The event symbolically began July 4, the American Independence Day, and reaches a peak on August 15, Indian Independence Day, and finally concludes on September 5, which is celebrated as Teachers Day in India. The project-partners chosen for WAH support require larger sums of money to facilitate fixed expenditure on items such as infrastructure, construction and other one-time costs.

The immense effort geared towards this annual fund-raising has produced spectacular results on the field. WAH has helped many a budding project partner stand on its feet. One heartening example is Bharathi Trust (BT), a non-profit development organisation that has been working for the cause of empowerment of the Irula tribal communities living in the interior pockets of Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu.

The trust is headed by Siddamma who believes that the tribals should not be bulldozed into uniformity by some over-centralised monolith of a development plan. The Bharathi Trust actively tries to preserve tribal customs and indigenous knowledge that the Irulas have handed down the generations. The organisation ensures Irula participation during the planning and implementation of all projects.

One of the primary objectives of BT is the education of the Irula children. Asha for Education has been involved with BT since the year 2000 and has striven to help the Irula children become a part of the mainstream government schooling system by supporting them through motivational centres. During WAH 2000, Asha supported the inception of nine centres, benefiting more than 540 Irula children across 12 villages. WAH 2001 funds were needed to sustain these nine centres. Most of the children from these motivational centres are now going to the government school and doing very well there. These motivational centres have now been transformed into evening tuition centres to help the children.

Based on the success of these motivational centres, other centres have been started or are being contemplated in Tiruvallur and Vellore districts. BT has also started vocational initiatives to provide the Irula community with better alternatives to existing means of livelihood. The timely financial input from WAH 2000 and 2001 has helped spur the positive initiatives of BT. Over time, Asha has developed a beautiful friendship with BT, as Siddamma points out, “Asha for Education, we would say, is not a funding agency alone but a real partner in all our activities.” More details can be found at: http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=79

Each year, a set of projects is selected after a stringent review process involving most Asha chapters. The project partners selected for WAH 2004 are:

* Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha (BTS): Located on a remote island in the Sunderbans in West Bengal, BTS requires support for expansion of Patha Bhavan, a primary school which Asha has been supporting, a computer literacy program, a library as well as infrastructure development for three government-aided primary schools. http://www.ashanet.org/workanhour/projects-bts.html

* Juanga, Orissa School (JGA): Based in Juanga, in rural Orissa, JGA was built after the local government schools were destroyed by cyclones. Funds generated through WAH 2004 will be used for expansion of the school and purchase of vehicles for transportation of children and medical supplies. http://www.ashanet.org/workanhour/projects-jga.html

* Project Look Ahead (PLA): PLA targets the computer vocational training and employment needs of blind girls and boys in Drishti Viklang Sangh, Jaipur, Rajasthan, and in Kamla Mehta School for Blind Girls, Mumbai, Maharashtra. http://www.ashanet.org/workanhour/projects-pla.html

* Vanashree (VNS): Vanashree Trust, based in Bachodi, a village near Jog Falls in Karnataka, works for the overall development of tribals in that region. WAH 2004 funds will be used for completing the local residential school with kitchen facilities, bathrooms and furniture. http://www.ashanet.org/workanhour/projects-vns.html

* To Reach You (TRY): Located at Mudichur, Tamil Nadu, TRY strives to rehabilitate commercial sex workers and their children. They need to set up a permanent home for these children. http://www.ashanet.org/workanhour/projects-try.html

* Champa Mahila Society (CMS): CMS aims to create a self-reliant community across many villages in the Basanti area of the Sunderbans in West Bengal with a focus on schools, extensive healthcare programmes and various self-help groups. The WAH 2004 budget includes requests for supporting health-related expenses ranging from medical equipment, health awareness camps and doctors’ salaries. http://www.ashanet.org/workanhour/projects-cms.html

WAH 2004 seeks to bring together people from all over the world to help ensure that every child receives the care and education required to live a healthy and successful life. This year our target is to raise over $ 175,000 across the globe.

All you need to do is donate at least one hour of your annual salary to Asha for Education. It does not cost too much to educate a child in India: $ 10-$ 20 can support a child’s education and living expenses for one whole month! You can make a big difference!

Asha for Education is a zero-overhead, non-profit, volunteer-driven organisation. All operational costs are borne by our volunteers, enabling us to send 100 per cent of all donations 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.

Participation in WAH 2004 is just a click away. Asha for Education has a simplified and secure online donation process for credit card payments. WAH website http://www.workanhour.com provides a user-friendly interface for online donations and access to project information.

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Please send an email to: wah@ashanet.org if your company participates in matching donations.

You can also make donations through cheques (made out to ‘Asha for Education’ in the US/UK and to ‘Asha’ in India) by mailing them to the following addresses. The envelope should be addressed to ‘WAH-2004 - Donation Pledge Id #'