Asha’s History
Asha for Education is a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of basic education in India. Asha, which means hope in many Indian dialects, was founded at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991 and has since grown to over 50 chapters scattered throughout the United States, Europe, East Asia and India. Each of these chapters raise funds to support various education-related projects in India.
Since its inception, Asha has partnered with more than 800+ NGOs across 24 states in India and has disbursed an excess of $32 million. In 2014 alone, Asha disbursed $2.85 million and supported the education of 250,000+ kids in India directly, and hundreds of thousands more indirectly.
Asha NYC/NJ’s Story
Asha NYC/NJ was founded by volunteers who understand the importance of education and the need to provide opportunities to the underprivileged. Today, the chapter draws members from different communities. The members of this Chapter are a close knit group of dedicated individuals working towards a common goal.The aim of the group is to generate awareness amongst the local community in order to collectively support and provide financial assistance to grassroots educational movements in India. Every year, the group brings the community together with fun-filled, colorful events, and in doing so generates funds to support said educational projects. Members of Asha NYC/NJ not only help provide financial assistance to the projects, but also attempt to maintain a close contact and personal involvement with the organizations and projects in India year-round.
To maximize the chapter’s outreach, the group selects diverse education-related projects from various parts of India including rural education, education for girls, vocational training, non-formal education, education and support for physically/mentally challenged children, as well as teacher training programs. Asha NYC/NJ works closely with other Asha chapters to ensure quality support is provided to educational efforts in India.