Asha for Education

VARUN's aim
1. To increase the level of literacy and intellectual development of the children in the targeted area.
2. To give technical instruction to increase skill level
3. To provide technical tools so that the local population can join the main stream society

Voluntary Association For Rural Upliftment and Networking (VARUN) has been involved in the all round development of Chandauli district for the last two years. In the process VARUN has promoted organic farming by setting up compost tanks, distributed organic fertilizer, set up by seed banks and distributed new and better varities of seed.
Simlarly in the area of health VARUN, for the first time in this area,ran programs for polio vaccination. It has also facilitated govt. health programs to reach the interiors villages. A team of doctors from Varanasi also ran health camps twice last 2 years. In March 2002, with the help of UPVHA ran a health awareness and training program for 5 days.

VARUN runs two schools, one in village Lehra and the other in village Shahpur. Both villages are in Naugarg block of Chandoli district.
The people of this area are mostly dependent on farming for their livelihood. They also raise and keep animals such as cows and sheep. They farm for about 8-9 months of the year, rest of the year they are depend on the neighbouring jungle to provide them with food, wild fruits and hunting.

The literacy levels of both the villages are very poor. Lehra village has two adults who have studied upto class 8 and class 10 respectively. Shahpur has one adult who studied upto class 10. about 40 families in Lehra and about 67 families in Shahpur.