Support A child For $1/Day

ONCE A YEAR PAYMENT OF $365

Donate Now!

SUPPORT A CHILD – ENRICH A LIFE

The Support A Child (SAC) program at Asha for Education -Silicon Valley was started in early 2002 as a means to involve sponsors directly with the welfare of a child. Our mission is to connect sponsors with selected projects in India to provide for an underprivileged child’s education and living expenses. Depending on the project’s needs, contributions may also be used to cover healthcare, nutrition and other basic necessities. Sponsors will receive regular updates on their child. They will also be able to engage in one-on-one correspondence with the child and to be a mentor.

The aim is to support a child’s education with our partner projects. The donor funds are used to support the project that provides education to the child. This is not a scholarship program and we do not transfer funds directly to the child. All funds are received by the project partner and will be used to support the education of the children in the project. For example, the funds may be utilised to cover the teacher salaries, building rental, nutrition, learning materials etc that will help the children get a quality education. You can become a sponsor for a child in India for as little as $30 a month.

Role of Asha for Education

Asha’s role is to find a suitable education project run by a non profit organization in India which targets children who are unable to pursue education due to lack of funds. Then Asha endeavors to find sponsors for the children in this project and facilitates linking sponsors with individual children. Asha follows through by disbursing and monitoring the sponsors’ funds. It works with both sponsors and the projects in India to obtain regular progress reports of the children and build a strong sponsor-child communication. The sponsor has the opportunity to become a mentor and friend to his sponsored child by writing letters. The sponsor can also arrange a visit with his child through Asha and the project coordinators in India.

This program is solely meant for individual donors to be directly connected to a child at an Asha supported project. Asha for Education is not involved with any adoption process through this program.

Becoming a sponsor is easy!
To begin your sponsorship today, all you have to do is fill out the sign-up forms available here.

Projects Supported

Below is a brief description of the projects the sponsored children belong to. For more details you can visit each of the project sites.

(For more information, contact sv.sac@ashanet.org )

Δ  Samerth Talim Kendra

Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Samerth Talim Kendra aims to provide support and services to the mentally and physically challenged children and their families. The children are from poor and marginalized sections of the society. Learning is supported by everyday therapies to help them in their growth. Vocational training is imparted to help them lead an independent life. Samerth also create awareness regarding disability in the community, encourage early detection and dispel myths associated with it.

Check the Project Website for more information on budget, site visit report and funding history.

Total Expense per child for a year – $365
Your Donation will help provide :
  • Physiotherapy 
    Speech Therapy
    Visits to Neurosurgeon and Pediatrician
    Special-ed teacher
  • Vocational Training
    Nutritious Food Daily
    School Bus Facililty
Image Gallery – Samerth Talim kendra

Frequently Asked Questions

Support A Child (SAC) is a program in which Asha – Silicon Valley collaborates with select non profit organizations in India to provide for an underprivileged student’s education/total living expense. However SAC is more than funding a student in need. It is an opportunity for you as a sponsor to develop one to one correspondence & interaction with a student and help shape their future. All the donations from SAC are received by the project partner who work with the underprivileged children to provide a quality education. This is not a scholarship program and the funds are not transferred to the child directly. The funds will enable the project partner in doing grassroot level work in helping the children get an education – for example, it will help pay teacher’s salaries, buy learning materials etc.
The student will mainly receive education and in some cases, health care (annual medical check ups where available) and nutrition. Every project has slightly different details. Please see the project details. Also as a mentor you can have a positive impact on your sponsored student’s future.
In general, the answer is yes.
We ask for at least 1 year but we would prefer your continued support.
We look for another sponsor. Meanwhile the sponsorship will be continued from Asha’s funds.
A student will stay in the sponsorship program ideally till he completes his schooling/training in the project. However there may be cases where the student’s family moves out of the area. There might be unforeseen situations where Asha might decide to discontinue supporting the project or NGO, in which case the student will no longer remain part of Asha’s sponsorship program.
In most cases all the students in a project will be included in the sponsorship program. However it may differ from project to project. Please see the details of the project or NGO you student belongs to.
Asha has strict guidelines for project selection. Projects are selected only after an Asha volunteer completes a site visit and presents his/her opinion about the project. You can review the guidelines of project selection at our website.
Twice a year we will obtain progress reports from the project and send them to you.
We will send you a photograph as soon as you become a sponsor. Thereafter we will try to send a new photo once a year subject to the project’s capacity to take the students to a studio for a photograph session.
Asha requests that monetary gifts not be sent to your sponsored student. There are several reasons for this.
– It is often difficult for other families in the community to understand why a student or the family received money from the sponsor. This can cause jealousy and divisiveness in the community.
– Also, some postal systems are unreliable and there is no guarantee that the monetary gifts will reach the project offices. Thank you for understanding.
We appreciate your interest in having your sponsored student visit the United States. There are several reasons why Asha does not permit visits of sponsored students to the United States:
– The safety and well-being of the student.
– The student’s readjustment to his or her own lifestyle can be difficult.
– Consent of the student’s family.
You are definitely encouraged to do so if you can.
Please contact us before you wish to visit your sponsored student. We will arrange your visit with the project in India. Also, please note that we limit the number of visits by a sponsor to two per year.
A number of Asha chapters have Support A Child program. Click here for details.
We share ideas and learn from each other’s experiences but we do not have any joint projects.
You are encouraged to write letters to your sponsored student. Getting to know your student through correspondence can be one of the greatest joys for you and receiving correspondence from you can be a constant source of encouragement and support to your sponsored student. As a mentor the love and encouragement a student receives through your letter can have a lasting impact on his or her life.
Many sponsored students have never written a letter before and it may be intimidating for them to write at first. So, we encourage sponsors to take the lead in communicating with their sponsored student.
Yes if he/she can read and write or with the help of a translator. Teachers or coordinators at the project will translate your student’s language and give both your letter and the translation to the student to keep. Coordinators or teachers will also provide translations along with the student’s letters to you.
All mails should be sent to the project address. See the projects page for the exact address. Please inform us when you have sent a letter to your sponsored student. We will follow up with the on-site project coordinator to confirm when the letter reaches. We suggest emailing us a scanned copy of the letter if possible. In the event the letter is lost in transit, an electronic copy will be available for re-sending.
Getting a response may take time — sometimes even several months. Please be aware that postal services can be very slow and the project coordinators need time to translate your letter and deliver it to your sponsored student and likewise translating your student’s letter to you will take time. Some students may live far off and it may ba a few days before your letter reaches them.
Corresponding with your sponsored student is certainly not required and if you choose not to write you will nor receive correspondence from your sponsored student.
Twice a year we will email you half yearly and annual progress reports. Also in our newsletters we will inform you of any field trips taken by the students in the project and provide you with links to pictures whenever possible.
We understand your desire to send packages to your sponsored student. However we would prefer that you not send packages or money to your student because of the following reasons:
– Possibility of loss, theft, or damage
– Possibility of tension created in the community by one student receiving numerous or expensive gifts.
If you would like to remember your student in a special way, you may enclose small items in letters to your student or in an envelope no larger than 6×9 inches only to the address of the project. Some items which students will enjoy for many months are: ribbons, bookmarks, picture postcards, and other flat, inexpensive items . Sending money to your sponsored student is not encouraged. The use of any money sent will be at the project coordinator’s discretion.
Again we ask that you send small gifts that will fit in an envelope. It may also be possible to send a small amount to the NGO/Project ($10) who will then buy gifts for your sponsored student as well as other students in the project and organize a celebration. Please contact us for more details.
Asha for Education is concerned about the privacy of our supported projects and their students. We request sponsors not to publish personal information of their sponsored student at online resources such as web pages, blogs and social networks.
We go through a rigorous selection process to pick a trusted NGO and then monitor the project’s progress regularly. We mandate one site visit by an Asha for Education volunteer every year for the project to receive funds. This ensures that the project which is supporting the education of the sponsored student is in good standing. We also receive updates on the child’s progress every year.
Contributions from sponsors are pooled together to support all the students in the project throughout the year. The funds will be received by the project partner who work with the children in providing them a quality education.
Simply complete this sign up form and we will get back to you. You may want to take a look at the projects participating in the Support A Child program.
You can make payments by credit card when you signup for SAC. At this point, we support annual payments only.
Yes. We accept credit cards (Visa/MasterCard) as long as the bank issuing the card allows transactions in U.S. Dollars.
Yes, it is possible to do so if your credit card allows transactions in USD. However, you will need to convert the amount you are donating to USD and enter it in the amount field. Your credit card company will bill you in your local currency.
Yes, Your contributions tax-deductible. Donations are fully tax deductible under Section 501(c)3 of the IRS code.
For tax purposes, please save the electronic receipts we send you for every payment.
Yes we do accept matching donations. A lot of US companies match donations made by their employees.

Please submit a matching donation request with your company and forward us the receipt once the request is confirmed, within 30 days of the donation.

When you make the Support-A-Child donation, you can donate just half the amount required for the sponsorship. If we dont receive a confirmation of the matching funds within 30 days of the donation, you will have to donate the remaining amount.

Yes, we will send you a reminder to renew the annual sponsorship as long as you are in the program.
You could donate, buy merchandise or participate in Asha’s fund raising activities. Please visit our website for more details.

Contact

Questions? sv AT ashanet DOT org