ASHA SANDESH * The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION

1. ASHA SANDESH* The quarterly newsletter of Asha-Atlanta EMPOWERING THROUGH EDUCATION http://www.ashanet.org/atlantaVol. 2, No. 4, Oct - Dec 2004 "And so strength must come to the nation through education." – Swami Vivekananda Four Star Rating and the #1 Charity! Asha for Education received a top 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is rated as the #1 charity operating on less than $2m/year! Asha-Atlanta. Neerajji was accompanied by young satirist Sarvesh Asthana who delivers strong social messages in the form of humor. The sumptuous food served by Palace restaurant kicked off an evening of enchanting poetry recital. Sarvesh Asthana was hilarious. His statement about the purpose of most Indian social gatherings is to eat and he was surprised that people still chose to stay back brought a roar of laughter from the audience. Poet Neeraj kept the audience awestruck with his powerful recitation, as he touched upon the multiple dimensions of human life and its struggles. His poetry has spirituality ingrained in it with a strong message of love and equality. To realize the complete potential of human life, it is not enough to be blessed with human life but to imbibe the spirit of humanity was the message he delivered. His inimitable style struck an instant chord with the audience. 2004 Project Disbursal Blind girls rehabilitation, Trichy: $3,000.00 The institution, first of its kind in south India, aims at providing rehabilitation, vocational training and placement services to adult blind women particularly for women who are below the poverty line and from the remote villages. Sahyog Project, Mumbai: $2,600.00 Sahyog is a school for girls in Jari Mari Basti, Mumbai. It caters to the needs of adolescent girls who have had to drop out of school due to various societal pressures. These were the two disbursals made till October. In the near future, we hope to fund the Doorstep School that operates in the slums of South Mumbai catering to immigrant population working in the docks, at construction sites and as hawkers. New Members Asha-Atlanta welcomes Pratik, Dinesh, Chandresh, Shilpa and Loveen Kavi Sammelan Legendary Hindi poet Padmashri Gopal Das Neeraj exhibited to a small group of Hindi poetry enthusiasts his literary prowess in The Palace restaurant on October 8th. The event was hosted by Atlanta Dunia in collaboration with * `Asha Sandesh’ is a phrase in the Hindi language that translates to `Message from Asha’. The word `Asha’ means hope, while `Sandesh’ means message. This newsletter brings you the message about the on-going activities of Asha-Atlanta.

2. ASHA-ATLANTA Vol. 2, No. 4 Oct-Dec 2004 Coordinator Gaurav Bakshi Publicity/Fundraising Gaurav Bakshi Ashok Narayan Sathyan Subbiah Sreechand Ramesh Singh Pat Srinivas Suneet Treasurer Anup Lakare Projects Lavanya S. Sailaja Tennati Vani Sarin Puneet Sarin Web/Newsletter Shivane Gupta Ramesh Singh Sriram Subramanian Amar Atre Dinesh Bansal Asha for Education is a non-profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. Our Federal Employee Identification number is 77-0459884. It has been granted a federal tax-exempt status under IRS Code Section 501(c). Kavi Sammelan (contd.) Anil Joshi representing Atlanta Dunia and Gaurav Bakshi representing the one year old Atlanta chapter of Asha thanked the audience for being a part of wonderful evening and supporting Asha’s cause. We at Asha-Atlanta thank Atlanta Dunia for hosting Neerajji and contributing to Asha’s endeavors. Acknowledgements: Photographs and some contents of this article have been taken from www.atlantadunia.com Asha-Atlanta’s Marathon Training Program Asha for Education's marathon training program is an innovative fundraiser initiated in 2000. Participants experience the unique challenge and inspiration of training for and running in a marathon, while raising funds for basic education of underprivileged children in India. It is a true opportunity for fantastic personal accomplishment and at the same time rendering support to the cause which could make an everlasting positive impact in the society. There are Asha chapters which are already involved with the marathon program. Asha-Atlanta will help train runners who would run the marathon supporting Asha’s cause. We hope to raise enough funds to support current and possibly new projects in India. Asha will provide a comprehensive training program, travel to the site of the marathon, accommodation, and race registration. The program is backed by a team of dedicated people including experienced professional coaches who will support you through the training regimen. The program will also provide a network of past participants (from other Asha chapters) who will share their training and fundraising experiences. There will be team trainings that will provide you with the opportunity to run with the coaches.

3. Asha Internship Program (contd.) hands on volunteering in India to spend 6 weeks to a year at an Asha sponsored project in India. Every year, Asha for Education gets numerous requests from individuals, primarily in the US, who would like to volunteer at an Asha project. Many Asha projects have the infrastructure and desire to host such individuals. The program matches interested individuals with such projects by screening both the volunteer and the project for suitability. The eligibility criteria include familiarity with India culturally, and ability to speak the local language of the project location. The project would provide board and room, and local transportation depending on the project. In general, the intern would be expected to provide help in teaching, although responsibility may vary depending on the requirements of the project and the background and experience of the intern. Other tasks may include providing help with analysis or research on teaching methodology and tools. The cost for the intern would be about $100 per month, though it may vary slightly by the project. Further information can be obtained from www.ashanet.org Asha-Atlanta’s Marathon Training Program(contd.) The program will also arrange for buddy runs every week so that the participant stays motivated and focused, while at the same time enjoys his/her training sessions. Clinics will be hosted to help improve technique and provide tips on injury prevention, nutrition and gear. In addition to their personal training for running the marathon, participants are expected to raise funds for Asha-Atlanta. These funds will be used to support our projects promoting the education of underprivileged children in India. Except for the costs directly associated with the organization of this event, all the funds will go to Asha-Atlanta’s projects. The program will also provide support in planning the runner’s fundraising strategy. We hope this program will elicit a warm response from the volunteers who believe in the cause and are willing to make their commitment for realizing Asha’s dream of an educated nation. Asha Internship Program The Asha Internship program provides a unique opportunity for individuals who are interested in

4. accurate. Bats have perfectly good eyes for seeing in the daylight.  The problem is, they do most of their hunting at night! Instead of relying on their sense of sight for night-time vision, bats make rapid high-pitched squeaks called "ultrasounds".These sounds are too high for most people to hear.  If these sounds hit something, they bounce back -- sort of like when you hear your echo in a mountain or a bathroom when you shout.  The bat hears the echo and can tell where the object is.  This is called "echolocation".  Not every species of bat is able to echolocate, but most can. Bats and People Contrary to popular belief, bats do not become entangled in human hair (when they do fly near humans, it's only to eat insects that are trying to bite us!). Bats seldom transmit diseases to other animals or humans. All mammals can contract and spread rabies (including humans!). Less than 1% of bats get rabies and these don't look for people to bite. Dr.Bat There are many potential medical applications based on bats: A bacteria found in bat guano is being investigated for uses in antibiotics. The anticoagulant in bat saliva is being studied for applications in heart disease. • Children’s Corner • After Spider Man now Bat Man… • Some Facts about Bats • A long time ago, people used to think bats were birds without feathers.  But now we know that there is no such thing as a featherless bird.  We know that bats are MAMMALS, just like people. • Some of the things that tell us bats are mammals: • bats are warm blooded • bats nurse their babies with milk • bats have fur  • But bats are very special mammals.  They are the only mammals that can fly (without an airplane!)  Flying squirrels are mammals too, but they don't really fly.  They jump from high in a tree glide through the air like a kite.  Bats flap their wings and fly like a bird. Bat wings are made of two thin layers of skin stretched over the bat's arm and fingers. Bat wings go all the way down the side of the bat's body and partway down its legs.  Bats have a thumb and four fingers, just like people. The bat's fingers are very long compared to its body.  If we had fingers like a bat, they would be longer than our legs! • Bats smell, hear, taste, feel and see just like people do.  The term "blind as a bat" isn't really WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER? AWESOME! CONTACT UDAI utennati @ hotmail.com FOR MORE DETAILS! Our Corporate Sponsors DCT SYSTEMS (NILOY INC.)