Asha for Education

Project Brief:
Project Type: Fellowships (description)
Primary Focus: other (description)

Secondary Focus: other

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact:
Colorado

Status: CLOSED - ENDED
Project Steward: Shiva Arunachalam
Co-Steward: Pankaj Jagtap
Project Partner(s): Harshavardhan Purandare
Project Address: Fellowship: Harsha
Shaligram House, Subhash Path, Nr Old municipality,
Thane
Maharashtra 4000601
Tel: +91-22-25369666,25363122,93229
Stewarding Chapter: Colorado

Project Description

Harsha, 31, based in Mumbai, is an IT and Social Networking activist, implementing his innovative solutions to resolve social problems.

Harsha started India 700k activities with mission to develop village sites / information base for addressing developmental issues by means of communication, information, knowledge-transfer and networking between communities. The backbone of this activity are grass root activists in more than 65 villages now and accepting this path of catalyzing social change. The volunteers organize data drives and link them to action. They analyze the situation on various issues and brainstorm to create relationships, leadership finds and implement the solutions.

They use technology tools; in absence of technology they use social networking methods. A team of 18 grass root activists associated with Harsha’s India 700k exercise has been nominated for National Virtual Academy fellowship by M.S.Swaminathan Foundation. Two of them have received the fellowship already. The remaining team of at least 50 more volunteer leaders is aspiring to provide grass roots as well as virtual leadership to this information revolution. These volunteers are addressing issues in education, health, employment, water and agriculture to help underdeveloped communities.

Harsha, former Asha Mumbai coordinator, started his activism by giving up mainstream job in 2003, exploring entrepreneurial opportunities in social development sector with new ideas. He co-founded the organization Ek Gaav Ek Sanganak (One Village One Computer-/1v1c) with Anil Shaligram, leading journalist and activist in Maharashtra. Anil is now “Ashoka fellow for social entrepreneurship” for 1v1c idea and work. This project was Maharashtra foundation (US) initiative in the period Jan 2003 -March 2006.

Harsha has now formed network called ITforSocialChange which acts with networking philosophy and ideology. This is turning out to be new movement of the youth working to build India as knowledge economy. Harsha sees his ‘knowledge’ activism as very natural evolution of thinking Asha volunteer, who tries to understand everything about socio-economic change in his Asha exposure and makes attempts to move fast on learning curve.