Asha’s History
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sha 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 raises funds to support various education-related projects in India.
Since its inception, Asha has partnered with more than 800+ NGOs from across 24 states in India and has disbursed in excess of $32 million. In 2014 alone, Asha has disbursed $2.85 million and has supported the education of 250,000+ kids in India directly and many hundreds of thousands more indirectly.
ASHA San Diego
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sha for Education, San Diego chapter is made up of professionals and graduate students in San Diego. Established in 2005, the chapter develops and funds projects in various states of India to educate and support underprivileged children.
The chapter was revived in 2016 by a diverse group of students from University of California San Diego (UCSD) and professionals from the San Diego area. Asha is a secular organization welcoming volunteers irrespective of religion, race, gender or caste. We have no religious or political affiliation.
Our aim 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, Asha SD organizes events to bring the community together and by doing so generates funds to support several education projects. Volunteers of Asha SD not only help provide financial assistance to the projects, but also maintain a close contact and personal involvement with the organizations and projects in India year-round. Our volunteer meetings are open to anyone interested in social and developmental issues.
Asha SD currently two projects in India aimed at improving rural education through teacher training programs (VTTRC-SVYM), and education and support of physically/mentally challenged children. Asha SD also collaborates with other Asha chapters to ensure quality support is provided to educational efforts in India.