Empowerment begins with Education

Learn about WAH. Check out the WAH 09 video. Empowerment begins with Education.

Greetings! Education is the key to reverse oppression of marginalized groups. Education is a great source of hope and strength. Especially in deprived communities and sections, it can help bring lasting change from within. However, many belong to the first generation of learners. Introducing them to school is just a small hurdle; keeping them there presents unique and daunting challenges. Work An Hour 2009 showcases four projects that support first-generation learners among different communities and we need your support! Goal: $200,000. Raised so far: $45,000. Aasra Sewa Sansthan, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Social worker Ajay Patel decided to start Aasra, for the marginalized communities like the Musahars, when once near Varanasi he saw a Musahar family eat the leftovers from the stret. Empowerment through education has been the Aasra Sewa Sansthan's priority, helping the communities avail their basic rights such as food, land and employment. Children from these communities are prepared to join the mainstream. Aasra supports two non formal education centers, a sewing school, and provides teachers to government schools in the locality. With all these activities it touches the lives of nearly 250 students. Chennai Balwadi Improvement Project, Chennai, Tamil Nadu To support the growth and development of pre-school children in underprivileged areas, the Central Government of India supports pre-primary education centers, popularly called "Balwadis". But the lack of proper infrastructure and effective teaching tools, plagued the efficacy of the Balwadis in the urban slums of Chennai. So Asha volunteers started this project in 2000, to improve the quality of Blwadis. Currently, Asha Chennai supports 6 Balwadis around the city, and provides for facilities like electricity, gas, educational aids and salaries and training for teachers. Sarada Kalyan Bhandar, Medinipur, West Bengal Twenty years ago, a group of women gave birth to a quiet revolution when they started an after-hours school program to motivate and educate meritorious children in Medinipur, about 150 kilometres from Kolkata. The program has grown to include about 550 children; Sarada Kalyan Bhandar has also expanded its scope of empowerment to reach other marginalized sections of society with women empowerment programs, focusing on awareness of rights and higher education. Children Project Trust, Kodagu (Coorg) District, Karnataka In 2003, an American couple living in Puttaparthy, Andhra Pradesh, were deeply affected by the plight of the street children. Keen to make a difference, Michael Galligan and Aleli Brown began placing these children in various private schools. However, upon realizing that a normal school environment couldn't provide the special care and patience required by these exploited children, the determined couple set up a fully residential educational institution. Thus began the Children's Project Trust; after moving to their new facility near Coorg in 2007, the CPT now houses 45 students. The specially designed holistic curriculum and teaching methods are designed to enable these children to become self-sufficient and independent. These projects aim to make more individuals capable of exercising their choice over their own lives and livelihoods. Help us help them, making bringers of change possible where there were just victims before. Projects: 15. Students: 7000.