Asha for Education, UC Berkeley

Asha means hope. The plan since 1991: find people doing honest work for kids in India, fund them, and stay out of the way.

Where we come from

In 1991, a few Berkeley students asked what they could do from here for children in India who never get a fair shot at school. The answer became Asha, and it grew into chapters around the world.

Three decades later we're still students and still volunteers. Everything we raise goes to classrooms in India.

Asha Berkeley officers in front of Doe Library

What we hold ourselves to

01

Secular and non-political

Education is for every child. We work with projects regardless of religion, caste, or politics.

02

Volunteer run

No salaries and no office. Students do the work, so donations go to children instead of overhead.

03

Transparent

Every project is reviewed and voted on by the chapter. Funded projects report back, and our books are open.

How a project gets funded

A project applies. Grassroots NGOs working on education in India send us a proposal and a budget.

We dig in. Volunteers study it, talk with the people running it, and when we can, visit in person.

The chapter votes. Funding decisions happen at general meetings. Every member gets a voice.

We follow through. Projects report progress, and the ones that deliver for kids keep our support.

Members celebrating in traditional dress on campus

A little from you goes a long way there.

School supplies, a teacher's stipend, a scholarship that keeps a girl in class. That's what your donation turns into.