Asha for Education

Our mission: To catalyze socio-economic change in India through education of underprivileged children.

In the summer of 1991, a few students got together to think of ways in which they could play a role in the development of India, the country of their origin. These young people shared the belief that education is a critical requisite and an effective catalyst for social and economic change in India. Basic education became the agenda for the action group that emerged from this gathering. The group was named Asha to represent the hope that had brought these individuals together and the hope that they aimed to bring into the lives of children in India. In that summer of 1991, Asha was born at the University of California in Berkeley. Asha's focus on children's education has galvanised a number of volunteers across the globe. Today, there are over 66 Asha chapters worldwide: 45 in the US, 14 in India, and 7 in Europe, Singapore and Australia. Volunteers in each of these chapters take personal interest in identifying education-related projects in India, and supporting them through funds and other means. As part of the Asha charter, all Asha chapters have a high degree of freedom in their activities including the identification, research, support and ownership of projects. However, there is also a good deal of co-operation among chapters and volunteers across chapters. This co-operation is evident in the joint ownership of projects across chapters, formation of focus groups across chapters, cross-chapter discussion on issues of interest, worldwide events like the Asha-Wide Conference, Work-An-Hour, and the Asha India Conference.