Asha for Education

Project Brief: Asha has set up a full-fledged centre called Asha Ashram for carrying out social change and development in Lalpur and surrounding villages of Hardoi district. A new Ashram at Bharawan will work as Public information and resource center.
Project Type: Non-Formal Educational Centers (description)
Primary Focus: creating resources (description)

Secondary Focus: remedial education

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact: DC

Status: completed - requirements ended
Project Steward: Sirish Agarwal
Project Partner(s): Neel Kamal
Other Contacts: Sandeep Pandey
Project Address: , Lalpur Village,Post Atrauli,,
Uttar Pradesh 
Tel: 0522-2347365, 9415022772. Do n
Stewarding Chapter: DC

The Asha Lalpur Ashram is a local community effort of asha parivar carrying out intervention through right to information (RTI), self-governance, non-formal education, vocational skills development, gender rights and women’s self-help groups.

Empowerment through right to information is the main focus of activities of Asha ashram lalpur and surrounding villages in Hardoi district.

Strategies in Right to Information Efforts:
· Mobilization and Empowerment of people whose lives are affected.
· Awareness campaign and training programmes related to people’s rights, laws, government policies, schemes.
· A powerful tool of ‘Janata Jaanch’ introduced involving people, questioning authorities.
· Direct action to reclaim money taken as bribe by officials.
· Systematic use of RTI, food for work scheme, etc.
· Constant dialogue and confrontation whenever required with District and State authorities.
· Focus on dalits, women and poor.
· Networking with other movements working on similar issues to get pro-people policies, laws made and raise issues at State and National level.

Impact
· People raising voice, prioritizing development needs, asking questions, demanding accountability.
· The movement has become self-perpetuating where people from many villages have joined hands to make it into a people’s movement.
· Slowly but steadily things are improving. Schemes, funds meant for people are reaching the needy.
· Vested interests, political powerful section and repressive ruling class were forced to take notice of the people’s voice.
· Government administration, after initial apathy, forced to take action and is now cooperating realizing that the movement is in effect strengthening democracy at the grassroots.
· Poor people are standing up for their rights moving in the direction of realizing their of a just, peaceful, secular and democratic society.

Asha Ashram provides free education to children and health facilities to the villagers. Asha parivar is developing its model of education based on a philosophy which essentially focuses on cultivation of values for a just human order and promotes skills which will help a person become self-reliant. To strengthen the right kind of values for happy and satisfying human relationships Asha is developing curriculum through teacher interactions and training camps.

Oct 2009 Site Visit by Gangesh Oct 2009
Jan 2009 Progress Report for July-Dec 2008 Period
Oct 2008 Budget for ASV Hardoi 2008-09 Session
Apr 2008 Budget - ASV-Hardoi-lalpur- Asha DC budget 2008 approval
Mar 2008 Education Centers Progress Report March 2008
Feb 2008 Right to Information Campaign 2007 Report
Nov 2007 Revised budget for 2007-08 Session
Nov 2007 Progress Report
Oct 2007 Progress Report from Education Centers
Sep 2006 Hardoi Education Centers- Details and Budget
Sep 2006 Minutes of Regional Meeting
Aug 2006 Description of schools by Intern
Jul 2006 Bharawan Center Detailed proposal
Feb 2006 RTI Protest in Support of emplyment guarantee and food distr
Feb 2006 RTI related Indefinite Hunger Protest
Jan 2006 RTI for Success in All Govt Schemes - article
Oct 2005 Breaking The Silence - Summary of Asha Ashram RTI Work
Sep 2005 Community Empowerment, Governance and Education
Aug 2005 Comprehensive Teachers Training Proposal
Jun 2005 Report of Asha Semi-Annual Meeting
May 2005 RTI presentation at Asha Chicago Conference
Mar 2004 Project Update
Apr 2003 Quarterly Report by Paromita
Mar 2003 Hamarey Gaon Mein Hamara Raj
Mar 2003 People are Building the Pressure
Feb 2003 Winter of Discontent
Jul 2002 Asha Lalpur : Where To
Jul 2002 Raj Chauhan's Visit
Jul 2002 Hindustan Times Reports
May 2002 Asha Asharam Lalpur : Introduction
Mar 2002 Expense Report : 2000 - 2001
Feb 2002 Political Intervention by the Ashram
Feb 2002 Brahmin Apologizes to Dalit
Aug 2001 Lalpur Experiment : First Major Challenge
Jul 2001 Lalpur Ke Kisse
Apr 2001 Impressions of Lalpur
Dec 2000 An Overview of Lalpur Village
Dec 2000 The Beginning of Social Organization of a Village
Dec 2000 Asha Asharam Lalpur : Introduction
Jul 2000 Asha Ashram : Taking Roots
Apr 2000 Innovative Building Technology
Mar 2000 Plan View of Centre
Mar 2000 Continuation of a Dream
Mar 2000 WAH-98 Expense Report
Mar 2000 3-D View of Centre
Feb 2000 The Beginning of an Experiment in Education