My Nonprofit Reviews

I joined Asha first because I wanted to meet other like-minded individuals. At the time, I thought myself to be socially conscious, and wanted to do something for those less fortunate than I was. And not just meet with friends over the weekend limited to chit-chat & plans for the next dinner meet. After living in the US and seeing the "plenty" here, I often felt guilty that while a lot of my people were finding it difficult to get 2 meals a day, here I was complaining about it being too hot at the beach. I thought I would feel better if I did my bit to do something for my less fortunate compatriots. Asha was the only organization in town that did social work in India. I was impressed by the quick response to my casual email to the group, which I came across in a pamphlet at the local library. So when I joined Asha, I was all excited about "giving" something. After 7 years with the institution, I have grown, transformed and taken more from it than given. It has been a very humbling experience to see how much volunteers do towards the goals that they seriously believe in! I have met wonderful people at Asha. I saw how people from all walks of life converged here without discrimination of any sort, and worked unselfishly for the organization. Asha, has set itself out in the community because the only uniting force is the thought of the 1,000 odd kids whose education (and lives) we are involved in. There is no personal privileges or benefits in stake and so it has survived in the community longer than any other group of individuals. Asha gives us the opportunity to use any amount of creativity in its activities. Complete strangers can come together and work perfectly well, because the beneficiary is not among here, we are all working for children. Which brings up what I think is great about Asha - no one denies that children's education is a top priority. We do not have to argue with people or convince them about the credibility of the cause. So far, I have not met anyone who questioned the relevance of our mission to India. They may have questions about how we use the funds etc, but never the basic mission. Asha has helped transform my life, and slowly over the years, that of many of my immediate and extended family members, that we have embraced it as our extended family ourselves. The fundraisers give us a lot of learning exposure, and fun; while the project discussions keep us firmly planted on the ground. It gives us a fresh perspective to view our own lives, and it is an indescribable feeling that a tiny part of my day goes into making someone in some other part of the planet more happy with his/her life. Involving with Asha has helped give me and my family the much needed balance in our lives. And a keen sense of satisfaction that someday somebody is going to make better use of his/her life as a result of my efforts. As I said, we have gotten more out of it than given.

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