The brief:
I’m running again for Asha. Your donation will help educate underprivileged children in India. It will also encourage and support me.
Please click “Donate Now” on the right and give generously with confidence. Asha continues to be rated at 4 on 4 stars by Charity Navigator and continues to do impactful work.
Why do I run for Asha ?
I am grateful for the luck I was born with, my education and more. I feel the need to give back. None of us really arrived at where we are on our own. Perhaps we can use our privileges to give back.
Team Asha has offered me the community and energy I’ve been needing in Seattle and I am grateful.
What can you do ?
You’re here because you believe in me. Thank you. I could use your support. Asha is a credible cause, an extremely responsible steward of money, doing impactful work in a mature way.
A single dollar goes a long way. Your contribution of the value of even one meal out, means hope for a child, creating life-long changes for their entire network.
The span of recorded history shows that tangible good-will matters. Your contribution is also an immediate inspiration & support to me.
Why Asha?
Asha achieves tremendous change with an all volunteer (no one gets paid), non-hierarchical, near-zero overhead, non-sectarian and secular group.
For 7 years straight, a third party site, Charity Navigator has rated Asha with a perfect score, 4 on 4 on the scales of accountability, transparency, leadership & culture. I’ve seen it from the inside in my 25+ years (started volunteering with Asha in 1999). You can give with complete confidence. It makes a credible and sizeable impact.
Where will the money go ?
I hope to raise funds for Vikasana in Shimoga district Karnataka. The Bridge school focuses on children of migrant daily-wager laborers. The kids begin to work early (child labor) alongside their parents to make ends meet. Vikasana helps them break out of their cycle of poverty and helps them find meaning and aspiration. Every year 25 children are re-habilitated back into formal schools. (See 3 case studies below).
Every dollar donated will go to the project, Asha is a near-zero overhead organization (3% overhead to cover the credit card fee). No amount is too small.
How much should I give ?
Help me run a mile or two ? Or maybe choose the kind of impact you would like to make ? Support at whatever level you can, every dollar will help.
| $1 covers the nutritional needs (3 meals, including a snack) of a child for a day ($30 feeds a child for a month. $150 feeds 5 children for a month) |
| $10 can provide education materials and 1 uniform set for 1 child for an entire year. ($50 provides educational materials & 1 uniform set for 5 children for a year) |
| $450 covers the entire contribution of Asha* for 1 child annually ($225 covers Asha’s support for 1 child for 6 months) |
Vikasana is supported by other organizations as well as by Asha. Asha Seattle’s contribution covers food and medical costs for children, uniforms, educational & play materials, exposure trips & travel expenses, electricity & water expenses, teacher, cooks, counsellors and security honorariums, computer maintenance, and some administrative expenses (auditing, some repair etc).
3 Case Studies from Vikasana:
| Example 1: Venkatesh is now 18. He arrived at Vikasana at age 5. His mother passed away in childbirth and his father was an alcoholic who worked as a daily wage laborer. He was with a distant aunt who had some ancestral land, and everyone in that family also worked as daily laborers. No one was taking care of the child. The landlord of the property where his father worked brought the child to Vikasana and left him there. Initially he was bright and sportive and thrived under the care of the school. As he grew older and began to realize his family situation, he became withdrawn. The counselors and teachers at Vikasana gave him attention and care, engaged him with responsibilities and activities. He began to accept and cope with his life situation. He resumed engaging not only academically but also sport, dance, gardening, drawing and more. Always curious to learn new things he was showing leadership. He showed skill and talent with electrical repair, which he started doing for the school. He also began to win awards at local sports competitions. He secured 1st class in his State Board exams and is training in the Industrial Technology Institute locally, with a bright future ahead. | |
 Asha project steward Sharan (in blue), along with Mr. Varghese (who runs Vikasana) along with Supritha (2022) Example 2: | |
| Example 3: Lakshmi was 8 years old and working hard for one meal a day for herself, her mother and her sister. She worked to find firewood, in brick manufacturing, cutting and harvesting areca nuts during harvest season, as domestic help and any casual labour work that was available. Her mother did not want to send her school because her contribution to income and food were very much required. The Vikasana field officer managed to get her to the school. At school she faced challenges being teased for being older than other kids but still learning the 1st std basics. She was defiant and applied herself diligently. She was always good in sports, dance, speech, organizing events, leadership, gardening, taking up initiatives, and teaching the newly joined young children to adjust to their new hostel environment. She started to participate in local competitions and events thanks to the exposure and encouragement provided by Vikasana and started to win awards (Rangoli, Kabbadi, Running at the district level). She began to host events and serve as the Master of Ceremonies. She even took part in a National Level Robotics competition where her team came in 3rd place. She is 24 now, pursuing her B.A.
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