‘Asha’ stands for ‘hope’ in most of the Indian languages. And hope is what the organization ‘Asha for Education’ (Asha in short) is offering to millions of underprivileged children in India. 

To this end, the Central New Jersey chapter of Asha is organizing a unique Benefit Gala Dinner and Panel Discussion event on March 20th, at the Royal Albert’s Palace, Fords New Jersey.

Tickets are priced at $100 per person and $900 for a table of 10 persons.

All funds raised from this event will go directly to India to support education related projects undertaken by Asha Central NJ, like Mathru Educational Trust, a school for blind children in Bangalore and Vivekananda Public School for destitute children in the slums of Hyderabad. 

The topic of discussion is ‘Universal Quality Education’: education that empowers people and provides them with equal opportunities irrespective of socio-economic differences. Explains Diwakar Kedlaya, volunteer for Asha Central NJ, “Education is development. For individuals it gives them strong voice in society. For nations, it creates a dynamic and well-informed workforce, opening doors to economic and social prosperity.”

The event will be presided over by Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula of New Jersey. An impressive list of panelists promises to make the panel discussion interesting and engrossing. The panel consists of Ms Sonal Shah, vice president Goldman Sachs, Founder of Indicorps, Dr. Azad Ooomen, director of American India Foundation, Dr. James Almeida Chair, Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurial Studies, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Dr. Radha Bhatkal – Professor of Education at Castleton State College, Vermont, founder of Abhinavah Vidyalaya in Pune. 

According to Hithesh Nama, volunteer of Asha Central NJ “There exists a plethora of opportunities that need to be explored in realizing the goal of Universal Quality Education.” To cite an example he says “the various institutions involved in achieving this goal - the local governments, self-help groups, NGOs, etc. - should work in cohesion rather than build parallel structures”. He adds “We will also share our experiences in contributing to this cause through a spotlight on our projects in India.”

Founded in 1991, Asha for Education is a secular, non-profit (zero-overhead), voluntary organization committed to providing basic education to under-privileged children of India in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. Today, there are over 66 Asha chapters worldwide. Till date, Asha has supported more than 385 different projects spanning 24 states in India. 

The Central New Jersey chapter of Asha was formed in 1998, by students of Rutgers University. Since then, it has grown into a diverse organization comprising of students, working professionals, homemakers and retirees.

More information about this event including making reservations, can be obtained by contacting Joydeep Acharya at 732-331-4931 (joy@winlab.rutgers.edu) or visiting the website http://www.ashanet.org/centralnj