SVYM Mobile Science Van

Pilot program by Asha with SVYM to expand exposure to science in remote communities:

The van reaches 9,000 students at 20 different rural schools in Karnataka and provides laboratory equipment, teaching support by trained staff, and other resources to improve the teaching of science. Not only have SSLC exam pass rates improved, but there has been a 40% increase in the number of students choosing to specialize in science after grade 10!

SEED Plan

Provides well-rounded education to children living in slums: The study center supports the education of around 200 children each year in Tamil Nadu. In addition to supporting their book learning, the center is showing great success in graduating students who communicate effectively, think independently, and are harbingers of real social change. They excel in their chosen careers, whether it be English teacher, lab technician, scientist, or social worker.

Sahanivasa

Provides educational support to children of low-caste, rural workers: The coaching centers support 1,430 students from 15 villages in Andhra Pradesh who are subject to discrimination, child labor, and academic disruptions due to migrant working. The academic support (together with Sahanivasa’s work on an employment guarantee act) have reduced dropout rates by 90% and brought pass rates in the grade 10 board exams to 97%!

Navsarjan

Scholarships to encourage the education of girls: These boarding schools in Gujarat instill confidence and self-respect in the Dalit children who face discrimination in the local government schools. Initially, cultural and economic constraints limited the enrollment of female students. Thus, Asha instituted a scholarship program to subsidizes the fees for girls… whose numbers, since then, have increased by over 6 times to about 90 students!

Deenabandhu

Eco-Friendly Home for Girls: This shelter in Karnataka houses over 30 orphaned, abandoned, or destitute girls in a building built of fly-ash bricks, with solar water heaters, solar power for electricity, rain-water harvesting, gray water recycling, and other green features. The project serves both as a showcase of renewable energy and as a place where the education, sheltering, and sustenance of underprivileged children leads to empowered and environmentally-responsible individuals.

SEED Narpanigal

Community-run after-school coaching for first generation students: This program for children of a slum in Tamil Nadu is run by the young people of the slum itself. Many graduates of the program volunteer some of their time to coach the cohorts that follow them. The support is well-needed, as 98% of the project’s 10 th and 12 th grade students are the first in their family to attain this level of education. Particular attention is paid to helping students who are lagging their grade level to catch up and regain their confidence.

Kamalakar Trust

Providing access to education across language and economic barriers: The children of migrant laborers, uprooted from places with different languages than the local language, can have difficulty accessing a formal education for this reason as well as their economic disadvantages. This school in the outskirts of Hyderabad aims to address the problem by imparting education in English medium (whereas the government schools teach only in Telugu medium) for free to these very poor children.

Viveka Tribal Center for Learning

School for children in remote tribal hamlets: This project began in a thatched hut with only a few students and now provides quality education to over 400 tribal children. The government-aided school actively endeavors to preserve and encourage tribal art and culture while providing a modern education, so that these kids fit into the mainstream while retaining their pride and heritage.