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Asha For Education – Cornell Chapter  The Cornell chapter of Asha came into existence in 1994.  Currently supported by mainly the undergraduate and graduate.

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Presentation on theme: "Asha For Education – Cornell Chapter  The Cornell chapter of Asha came into existence in 1994.  Currently supported by mainly the undergraduate and graduate."— Presentation transcript:

1 Asha For Education – Cornell Chapter  The Cornell chapter of Asha came into existence in 1994.  Currently supported by mainly the undergraduate and graduate students of Cornell.  Five projects are supported at present via two main fundraising events concert and spring dinner.  Additionally contribute to the local Ithaca Community via participation in local events.

2 Current Projects  BTS- Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha Location – Sunderban area, West Bengal  ISW – Institute Of Social Work Primary Education Location – Kolkata, West Bengal  Jeevan Gnanodaya Location – Chengalputtu, Tamil Nadu  Kaingkarya Location – Thirusolaam, Tamil Nadu  Langarberia School Location – Baruipur, West Bengal

3 BTS- Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha Chapter Association – Cornell, Washington DC, St. Louis  BTS Patha Bhawan – Estd. in 1983 with support from a Lutheran World Service. Asha Cornell is supporting BTS since 2002.  Located in the island of Kultali in the southern part of Sunderbans in West Bengal.  Main focus Areas- 45% Community Development, 40% Education & 15% Health in the Kultali area.  Occupation - Landless laborers, Fisherman, Wood collectors from the Sunderban region.

4 Activities Of BTS  BTS Hospital  BTS Patha Bhawan School  Computer Literacy Program  Small scale fish and shrimp cultivation

5 Challenges in BTS  Electricity :-  Area lacks electric supply since it is remotely located.  It will be years if they ever see conventional electricity.  BTS plans to arrange solar powered lights in critical places e.g. school building, certain village areas.  Requested WAH2008 to fund this Solar initiative.  Self-sustainability :- This is a problem as usual, and the school needs to work out ways as their costs seem to be rising each year, due to addition of more classes and admitting more students.

6 Construction of School Building, 2005 New School Building, 2006 New Classroom, 2006 The new school building was built with WAH 2005 fund

7 ISW-Institute Of Social Work Primary Education Project Chapter Association - Cornell  Estd. in 1978 in the heart of the slums in Kolkata’s dock area at Kidderpore, West Bengal  3 main sections –  A tailoring school for girls,  Coaching center for girls of classes 1 to 12  Center for children who are not admitted to schools or are school drop outs.  2 nd school in Barasat, Kolkata -- Helps the Government school dropouts to get back to the mainstream education.  Asha Cornell is actively funding ISW since 2000.

8 Challenges of ISW  Very difficult to work in these slums of Kolkata due to constant communal tensions.  Region houses a widely neglected section of the society where socio-economic reforms happen slowly or hardly happen !!!  School drop-outs are a major concern.  Health and sanitation condition are very poor. Most children work in highly unhygienic and hazardous conditions in the dock.  Child marriage is prevalent along with trafficking. Law and order is at its worst in these sections of the city (mainly Kidderpore, which being a dock region, is notorious for its crimes)

9 Kaingkarya Chapter Association - Cornell  Kaingkarya is a social welfare organization located in the Thirusoolam area near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.  The chapter is funded by Cornell since 2001.  It is a brick making (quarry) zone and the population mainly consists of migrant laborers from Tamil Nadu.  Three main programs that the school runs are (1) Creche for small children (2) A tuition program for children attending the local government schools (3) A year long remedial education program for children who are school drop-outs.

10 Entrance to the school Classroom Jan 2008 Site visit Kaingkarya

11 Activities Of Kaingkarya  Other than education, the organization puts considerable stress on health and community development activities.  Possesses a dedicated health clinic with an examination room and a separate room with beds for patients. Medicines are also available at a subsidized cost to patients.  Provides vocational training in nursing and computer applications.  Occasionally conducts counseling sessions for mothers on health childcare and other social issues.

12 Challenges in Kaingkarya  Rehabilitating school drop outs and child workers into the formal education system.  Close location of the quarry area makes the region extremely dusty.  Villagers are prone to respiratory and eye problems.  Hence it is vital for them to support and maintain the clinic that serves the health and hygiene of the local population.

13 Fundraising Events of Asha Cornell  Asha Spring Dinner –  Indian Dinner organized every April attended by about 300 people.  Generated funds = $4-5k (100% is utilized for Project funding).  Organizing cost is generated from Cornell University Student Assembly Finance Commission.  Musical Concert –  Indian Musical Concert organized during Fall semester  Performers include- Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Shahid Parvez, Pt. Hariprashad Chaurasia  Upcoming group – Penn Masala (Sept. 2008)  Generated funds = $10-15k  Work-An-Hour – Small student chapters like Cornell heavily depend upon this global campaign to generate funds for projects with big budgets.

14 Problems and Challenges Of Cornell Chapter 1.Minimal volunteer strength – -- No. of volunteers officially listed under Asha For Education for the Cornell chapter is 200. -- Unfortunately most of them provide only moral and occasional financial support -- Currently only 10-15 active members are working for Asha’s daily activities. --The minimal volunteer strength is the major concern in Cornell chapter. 2.Mobile Population- Since it is an University chapter hence the population is primarily mobile. It is very difficult to get constant donor pool or constant long-time volunteers.

15 Problems and Challenges Of Cornell Chapter 3.Yearly Board Transition – Because of floating population, every year there is a new board. -- Leads to data loss and miscommunications about several issues during this transition phase. 4.Accountability – Voluneteer accountability & responsibilities are significantly dropped in summer months and during graduation seasons. 5.Inexperience - Lack of understanding for larger issues at hand about the actual state of poverty, health, and education in India.

16 Problems and Challenges Of Cornell Chapter 6.Administrative Problems -- Overall lack of well organized administrative work from proper treasury accounting, project follow-up, communications between projects in India and chapter project 7.Mentality and Willingness to Join Asha for Education -- Major issue for Asha Cornell at present. -- # of Indian students (Undergraduate & Graduate programs) = 700-800. -- Yet, only 15-20 are working actively with Asha. This is really an alarming situation !!! How do we recruit and sustain more students towards Asha ?

17 Acknowledgements Tanushee Ghosh Ashis Dhall Mekhala Krishnan Chetan Sarabu Bikramjit Das Anushree Ray Amrita Hazra Volunteers and Project Stewards of Asha Cornell


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