Dear Patron,

As 2024 draws to a close, we want to share with you an inspiring story of one man’s passion for ensuring knowledge and education reach those who find it hard to access them, along with some updates from other schools we support.

Brick by Brick: Amit Rajbhar’s Fight for Pursuit of Educational Equality

At Asha, our projects are driven by extraordinary individuals who dedicate themselves to transforming lives. Amit Rajbhar, Chakrapanpur, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, is one such remarkable individual. His tireless efforts to educate and uplift underprivileged children in villages near Varanasi embody resilience, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to making a difference. This is the story of how Amit’s journey in education, rooted in his deep conviction to help the most vulnerable, led to the founding of Bal Vikas Kendra, a beacon of hope for children in marginalized communities.

Amit’s journey as an educator began in 2005 at Asha Samajik Vidyalaya(ASV), a school fully supported by Asha. Amit, who started his career as a classical singer performing at events, was drawn into teaching by chance. Although his expertise lay in the performing arts, he embraced the challenge of teaching subjects like Math and English. His work as a teacher not only enriched his students’ lives but also fueled his own growth. However, the meager income from teaching forced Amit to take on additional jobs—performing at events and farming on inherited land—to support his family.

A turning point came around 2009 when the Govt of India passed the Right to Education Act (RTE), mandating that every child must be enrolled in schools near their place of residence. The RTE had a ripple effect on local industries, such as the silk weaving business which employs a large number of people in and around Varanasi and children in the household used to provide a helping hand in the family business. As number of students in the now RTE compliant ASV school swelled, Amit diversified into teaching other subjects as well as training other newly hired teachers.

Travel through the rural roads lined with lush green fields in these parts and its hard to miss the numerous brick kilns dotting the landscape. Almost all laborers working at the kilns are migrants from poorer neighboring states. These migrants live on the kilns with their families usually far from the nearest schools, so none of these children go to a regular school. Amit’s long standing goal was to reach these children in the brick kiln industry in order to help the most struggling.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as schools shut down and children from various backgrounds, including those enrolled in school and those not, began to interact. Amit observed that the children who were enrolled were forgetting what they’d learned now that schools were shut down. Seizing this opportunity, he started teaching a small group that consisted of a mix of children from his neighborhood and the nearby brick kiln. This soon grew to have 60 children and he had to enlist help from his wife who taught younger kids while Amit focused on the older ones. Not long after, he had managed to hire another teacher for the older kids and start a new teaching center at the nearby kiln. Unfortunately, the pandemic reached Amit. It was during this life-threatening experience he made a resolve to himself that  if he were to recover, he would quit all of this other jobs and dedicate himself full time to help the laborers’ children. In 2022, he quit his teaching position at ASV, invested ₹40,000 of his own money to build a center on his own small farmland and Bal Vikas Kendra was born.

Soon, the word spread and he found more support from a group of teachers in nearby schools and enabling staffing and expansion of the center. The center now had an additional outdoor area with a shed to accommodate more children during monsoons. CLE Trust, a Bangalore based non-profit provided a laptop and volunteers who taught online classes. A generous donation from a volunteer at CLE trust helped furnish the large room at the center. Today, Bal Vikas Kendra has a large classroom, a smaller room, a shed, and a sanitary facility.

Amit’s ability to rally support and make the most of limited resources highlights his exceptional leadership and resourcefulness.The Asha Kaithi center, in collaboration with Asha Boston chapter realized his potential and has not only supported his center monetarily, but has also steadily handed him increasing responsibilities of supervising nearby learning centers at brick kilns and the library at Dhanapur. About 170 students are currently enrolled with the number expected to grow to 250 in another month. Amit supervises a total of 16 sites and approximately 350 children ensuring every site is visited at least once a week, conducts teacher trainings and update meetings for managing the centers. Lately, he has also been involved with the education centers in neighboring Mirzapur district where the primary target population is from the marginalized Musahar community.

Amit’s story exemplifies how a single individual, driven by passion and purpose, can create lasting change in the lives of countless others.At Asha, we are proud to support Amit’s efforts and recognize the profound impact of his work. His story reminds us that transformative change is possible when dedication meets opportunity. We hope his journey inspires you to join us in supporting the mission to uplift underprivileged communities through education. Together, we can continue building a brighter future for the children who need it most.

— Shivam Gandhi, Asha Boston

Updates from select projects

Viveka Tribal Center for Learning(VTCL) – HD Kote Taluk, Karnataka

Praveen has been revitalizing VTCL (Viveka Tribal School for Learning), focusing on quality education and student engagement. This year, enrollment surged to 569 students, surpassing their goal, while Class X results showed a 98.5% pass rate, with 49 students earning First Class. Students’ confidence has grown, evident in their strong performance at a workshop in Mysore. The school has also emphasized arts and sports, with a new arts teacher and the Talent Enrichment Program (TEP) helping students explore interests like athletics, crafts, and photography. Investments in sports facilities are fostering tribal children’s athletic talents.

Deenabandhu, Chamarajanagar, Karnataka

After a recent staff turnover, the organization is stabilizing with a focus on hiring more staff and strengthening fundraising efforts, including connections with employee giving programs. Notable developments include a new building for staff and guest quarters, a garden and plant nursery maintained by the girls, and a community center offering driving license training for girls. The children’s home is also benefiting from corporate donations, like washing machines. At the school, excitement was building for the annual day event, with 450 students preparing for the celebration. Additionally, alumni success stories, like Manoj’s IT training company, are inspiring, with graduates now employed and helping others launch businesses. Deenabandhu remains on solid ground despite challenges, with a clear focus on growth and empowerment.

Asha Samajik Vidyalaya Library, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

The library at the school has seen remarkable growth, with enrollment increasing to over 1,500 students. It serves high school and undergrad students in the surrounding communities, offering study materials for competitive exams, vocational courses, and government employment tests. Asha Boston continues to support its expansion, but despite moving to a larger room, the library is now limited by space due to the growing book collection. Annual updates to the study material collection are needed, particularly for the exam prep materials. The library is open for book checkouts twice a week and offers study space on other days. Plans are in place to create an e-library for digital access to resources, helping to ease the space constraints.

Sahanivasa, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh

Sahanivasa teachers support their students education not just with after school instruction, but quite often, by actively partnering with the government school staff. The teachers are generally from the community and know the children, which results in increased trust amongst the students. The recent change to English as the medium of instruction, while very much appreciated, has also been quite challenging – for the students as well as the teachers! Increased training for the teachers, so that the students could benefit is another much needed area of support. In spite of many such challenges, the 10th standard pass rate amongst the children from schools supported by Sahanivasa teachers was 96%, compared to 72% state wide.

Over the past 3 years, from amongst the 1249 children who graduated from Sahanivasa supported schools, 80% of them are pursuing higher education or vocational training, while others have entered skilled labor. To better prepare students to be successful in their pursuit of higher education, Computer Literacy Training is being considered, while driver training courses, an in-demand skill with earning potential of ₹1,000–₹1,200/day, is another initiative under consideration for students unable to pursue further education.

This could not be accomplished without your continued support.

Asha for Education, Boston Chapter is an all-volunteer group and 99.5% of all of your donations were used to fund education programs. Our low overhead operations have repeatedly earned us a four star Charity Navigator rating. In the latest rating, Charity Navigator gave us a score of 100 in Accountability and Finance, an endorsement of our “financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness, and commitment to governance practices and policies.”