Asha Chennai participated in the Asha India Conference at Tamulpur, Assam. Here is a report on the event.

Asha India Annual Conference – February 2025

The Asha India Conference was held in Tamulpur, Assam, from February 7 to 9, 2025. This annual gathering brought together representatives from all Asha chapters in India, including Assam, Mumbai, Rajatalab, Kaithi, Manipur, Kanpur, Ballia, Lucknow, Gandhiji School Pondicherry, and Chennai. Asha Chennai was represented well with 3 volunteers and 3 staff attending the conference.

The event commenced with a welcome song and a cultural dance performance by school children, setting a vibrant tone.

Each chapter then shared updates on their work over the past year. On the second day, participants visited Satyanarayanpur Upper Primary School to observe local education initiatives. Discussions also covered key accounting and technical matters related to Asha Trust. Asha Chennai also presented its findings related to the factors that affect education.

On the third day Asha Assam celebrated its 25th anniversary and took out a march through Tamulpur to bring awareness to the evils of child marriage. Several cultural performances were also organized on this day.

Beyond the formal sessions, attendees from Chennai explored Assam’s cultural landmarks and even took a trip to Bhutan, making the conference both productive and memorable.

Here is a report written by Mrs. Jayalakshmi, one of our Project coordinator detailing their experience-

I had the opportunity to attend the Asha India conference, in Tamulpur Assam, with Asha teacher, Ms. Nirmala, Pearl Project coordinator, Mr. Murugan, Asha volunteers, Mr. Venkat, Ms. Komalavalli and Mr. Rajaraman. The conference was a huge success, and I am excited to share my experiences with you.

The conference was coordinated by Biju coordinator of Assam chapter, who has been doing excellent work in running several free schools for the poor in the Tamulpur district. We were impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of the team. Abhishek from the Kanpur chapter, also provided invaluable support to Biju in making the arrangement for the conference.

During the conference, all the chapters presented the work done by them. For Asha Chennai, Mrs. Komalavalli explained about our computer education program in our schools, including ACE, CS trainers and RTC.

Later, at a session on “How to improve the quality of education at the schools”, Rajaram delivered an inspiring speech highlighting the achievements of our Chennai project and our work in imparting computer education in government schools.

The conference also featured cultural performances by Assam students, who mesmerized us with their traditional dance and songs. All the participants of the conference entertained us of songs includes Tamil, Assamese, Bhojpuri and Marathi. Mahendra from UP project and Rajaram sir also treated us to some soulful singing.

Overall the conference was a fantastic experience and I am grateful to have the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who share our passion for education.

I had the incredible opportunity to meet people from diverse cultural backgrounds, speaking different languages, and hailing from various states. They shared their experiences and difficulties about their village school. It was a fantastic experience to mingle with linguistically diverse individuals, broadening my perspectives and fostering a deeper appreciation for India’s cultural heritage. I learnt a lot about the various tribes, their different culture and different language during the conference.

I had a wonderful time at the conference. The food, tea and snacks were all wonderful. Assam sweet pitha is very delicious. The cultural programs by the school students were enjoyable. Assam’s Bihu culture songs with the colours of Bodo culture won the hearts of guest.

I would like to thank Asha Dharshan for organizing a successful event filled with knowledge, discussions, debates, information, experiences and above all a zeal to educate our next generation. The trip to school helped us to know about their education.

We took photo near River Nano which flows in Tamulpur. We visited the nearby temple and market. We purchased Assamese dress Makala Chador. We went to Bogamathi picnic spot near Tamulpur. It is a wonderful picnic spot in Bogamathi river. We took photos near Tea estates.

We also went to Bhutan for a day. We knew about the Bhutan heritage and culture during our Bhutan visit. We tasted the Bhutan delicacies of Ema Datshi, Kewa Datshi and mushroom Datshi. It was a wonderful and mind blowing trip. I never forget this trip.