Asha Seattle

The short and sweet – please donate however much you can $10/$50, every bit helps and is greatly appreciated! I’m running the Seattle Half Marathon on Dec 1st.

Not just will you be helping your dear friend/brother/cousin/nephew/friend of a friend Hrishi, your funds will be going to a really good cause. I am running with Asha to raise funds for a project that supports a Bridge school for 25 children of migrant laborers in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. This allows the kids whose education was disrupted due to the nature of their parents’ jobs to re-enroll in formal school.

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).

Support at whatever level you can, every dollar will help.

Asha is an incredible volunteer run non-profit that has been given a perfect score by Charity Navigator for 7 years straight, and has a near ZERO overhead. On top of which, I was able to personally get a status update on the project through the Seattle Project Coordinator which I really appreciated. You too can check out annual reports for the project here.

I have loved running for years now. But running for such an important cause and with the incredible teammates and mentors here has me loving it more. Please join me to push me across the finish line!

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 As he grew older and began to realize his family situation, he became withdrawn.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: Supritha joined Vikasana at age 7. All her family members, including her brothers worked for daily wages migrating from site to site for brick manufacturing. The family was paid per brick, so the children were also forced to work to make ends meet. A Vikasana field officer saw the very little girl cutting and carrying bricks, which she had been doing since she was old enough to walk. She was mal-nutritioned and had multiple throat infections. She was taken to the school where she recovered and studied until 8th std. Her family brought her back when her father became paralyzed (he passed away within that year), but with her strong foundation and aptitude for studies, she found the strength to keep studying and her brothers helped her. She went on to do her BSc. in Nursing and even served as a lecturer in the local Nursing School for a year. She is now 25 years old, works as a nurse in a private hospital, and supports her family. She has an ambition to do her Masters in Nursing and hopes to get exposed to an international hospital set up.

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. “I never dreamt about my life being so beautiful. When I was young I thought my life will be like my sister who is working day and night for one meal a day. Thanks to VIKASANA for identifying the problem in my life and for giving me such a wonderful childhood like any other child in society. My ambition is to become a great Police Officer and serve the country and its people” – Lakshmi