As the 2010 comes to an end, we at the Asha-Boston/MIT chapter wanted to reach out to you and provide some quick insight into our work & the impact it has made in several people's lives – none of which would be possible without your support! Here are a few examples of the amazing work that has been done through your support and the relentless efforts of our volunteers.
Deenabandhu Girls Home: An environmentally friendly home, with a generous grant from Alstom foundation was inaugurated in April. It houses 30 girls, and plans to grow to 50 girls. These girls have no parents to care for them, and many were found destitute on the streets with a bleak future ahead of them. At the Deenabandhu home they are able put their harsh years behind them and embrace a life of affection and caring in a home filled with laughter and light, and have the opportunity to lead a successful and fulfilling life.
Defining Success: Success can be scoring 98%. It can also be something very different. This year, Seed Narpanigal, who has several students who come to the center without even knowing the alphabet fully (even when they are enrolled in primary or middle school), shared with us their success this year: all class X students are continuing on to class XI, all class XII students are continuing on to college, dropouts happen in class IX and retaining every one of them is a success. Students who come to the center ashamed to show their class books and marks get the confidence to speak, to learn, and to stay on in school.
Defining Success: Success can be scoring 98%. It can also be something very different. This year, Seed Narpanigal, who has several students who come to the center without even knowing the alphabet fully (even when they are enrolled in primary or middle school), shared with us their success this year: all class X students are continuing on to class XI, all class XII students are continuing on to college, dropouts happen in class IX and retaining every one of them is a success. Students who come to the center ashamed to show their class books and marks get the confidence to speak, to learn, and to stay on in school.
Growing strong: Asha-Boston supported three residential schools run by Navsarjan, a grassroots organization dedicated to upliftment of the Dalit people. With help of Asha-Boston, Navsarjan is expected to triple enrollment of girl students from 2007-2008 to 2010-2011. At these residential schools, teachers and staff do "more with less": multi-functional rooms are used classrooms during the day and as lodging during the night. A student's typical day includes activities such as prayer, sports, exercise, in addition to education. In 2010-2011, Navsarjan enrolled girl students earlier than other students to ensure a higher percentage of female students.
Your support: As you know, Asha is truly a grass-roots organization; from fund-raising to project management through thousands of well-wishers, donors and volunteers. A lot has been done in the last few years with this support but a lot still needs to be done. This is only possible through a continued support and commitment from your end. If you wish to make a charitable contribution and know more about Asha please visit:
Please note: Your donation is fully tax-deductible.
Volunteers: Last but certainly not the least, kudos to all the volunteers who have done an amazing job running this institution ensuring minimal overhead so that every dollar you donate can create the maximum possible impact. Special thanks to the Marathon runners this year who have raised a record amount - highest in the last 7 years. Thank you all for your support and best wishes for the new year!
Asha For Education
PS: Please pass this along to your friends/families who are interested in participating or donating for a great
The SACSAS Academy in the Laishoi and Maobam villages of Manipur influences change for the underprivileged and downtrodden children (up to the age of 8) that make up a large part of the community. Providing them with quality education , SACSAS Academy offers children a way out in areas where there is no formal schooling system. Generally the illiterate parents never feel the importance of getting their children quality education. SACSAS instills the habit of going to school in children so that they will compel their parents to send them to schools in nearby villages once they are finished at SACSAS Academy. 
PAT provides a number of unique and innovative services for the slum community of Trichy in Tamil Nadu. It offers the women of the area micro-loans at reasonable interest rates along with guidance on financial management and other microfinance programs. Women put these loans to use by starting small enterprises or expanding their existing enterprise. The interest from these loans is used to fund the primary education and day care of the women's children. 
Set out to eliminate discrimination of disabled children in the Ganjam district of Orissa, Samarth educates the children with the aim of eventually bringing them into the fold of mainstream schools. Here, aside from the gift of education, children are offered free meals and residence. The project aims to train and educate the disabled children in order to eventually mainstream them into educational institutions and society. Liaison and interaction with the local schools to create awareness towards the needs of differentially-abled students and special teacher training to work effectively with these children have made this project very effective. Samarth gives disabled children a true second chance. 
Harishka is a learning center serving Avalurpet and its surrounding villages in Tamil Nadu. Catering to approximately 30 children with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities, Hariksha teaches these children basic skills regarding hygiene, motor capacity, physical therapy, special education and more. The project is in a rural area with high incidence of mental disorders and a callous attitude from the society due to a lack of awareness. These children, who used to be ill-treated and seen as a burden are being taught basic life skills at Hariksha. The staff also conducts periodic workshops to increase awareness amongst the parents and enables continuing care of these children when they return home from the learning center. Since its inception, the quality of medical care provided to children has consistently improved and the children show improvement in their daily activities. 
The red light district of the remote village of South 24 Parganans of West Bengal is populated by female sex workers bound within extremely difficult circumstances. Aside from the grittiness of their full-time jobs, most of their meager wages go toward rent, bribing the police and pimps and paying for liquor, an integral part of their profession. Such a profession is bound to leave these workers' children in dire straits. Having no other choice but to work on the streets to supplement their mothers' inadequate incomes, they face a cycle of poverty with no end in sight. Nishtha provides these children with food, education, health care and most importantly, a secure place to stay where they can exist unthreatened. 
In the fishing community of Mamallapuram, children are often forced by economic conditions to drop out after primary school and begin fishing or panning salt at around 10 years old. SEA has developed several programs in Mamallapuram to keep children out of the work force and in school. SEA's services aim to increase awareness of the value of education, appoint qualified teachers, create motivation centers, child health programs, parent-teacher meetings and youth groups to eliminate child labor. 
Puvidham is a school and boarding house for children of migrant workers, who drop out of government schools and from the National Child Labour Prevention program. Located in the Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu and operated by a local husband and wife team, Puvidham provides primary school, hostel accommodation, environmental and farm training. Children of migrant workers and those outcast from traditional schools in this area would struggle to obtain a formal education if it weren't for Puvidham, and not only does it provide a formal education, but it does so by using methods of holistic learning, instilling in the students a sense of self confidence and faith in the power of education. 
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