Asha for Education: UConn

Our main goal at Asha is to raise enough money to contribute to the socioeconomic growth of rural India through children’s education. The UConn chapter of Asha for Education was started in 2008. All of our past and current members have the intention of contributing to the educational security of underprivileged children in India. Our efforts are in conjunction with a nationwide movement to help increase academic opportunities for the youth in India. In the past we were able to help the children at the D.F. Blind School in Calcutta, India. The academic institute takes in children who are visually impaired and gives them a free education that parallels the curriculum that is used in standard public schools. The students are endowed with innovative tools and technology so that they can do math and write. They are also taught domestic skills, such as sewing and farming. Most importantly, the students at the D.F. Blind School learn how to read braille, an ability that will help them become a part of India’s functional society. The money that UConn Asha has raised in the past has helped the D.F. Blind School to double in size, install a playground, and add new dormitories, classrooms, and a library. Other objectives of the organization are:
- To encourage the formation of various local groups across the world to reach out to larger sections of the population.
- To support and cooperate with people and groups already engaged in similar activities.
- To provide opportunities to individuals living outside India who wish to participate in Asha activities in India.
- To address, whenever possible, other issues affecting human life such as health care, the environment, socio-economics, and women's issues.