Community programmes

As part of its commitment to social welfare, ASA India organizes and conducts a diverse range of community programmes in health, education and disaster relief. For a presentation of all our programmes, click here.

Education

ASA Pathsala

The first ASA Pathsala added learning centre, was opened in Gangadharpur in 2015. As of 2020, there were 80 ASA Pathsalas across different states of India, supporting thousands of students between the division standards six and ten. Around 200 students from the ASA Pathsalas cleared the Secondary Examination in 2019, with 47 of them securing a first division score; in 2020, 456 students passed, with 56 of them securing a first division score. These learning centres have provisions for remedial and tuition classes for children from underprivileged households, with a particular emphasis on the education of the girl child. ASA India seeks to provide education not only to the children of its clients but to whoever else needs the same from the adjacent areas as well. Such educational efforts have been found to improve learning outcomes and better the performance of children at school, reducing the high drop-out rates, especially among the girl child, in the peri-urban and rural areas of several states. Each Centre for Excellence is equipped with a library containing additional books to offer support to the students. Computer coaching, internet facilities and extracurricular classes have also been initiated at these centres since 2018 to bring about holistic development and provide equal opportunities to children from poor households. ASA India’s field staff supports the ASA Pathsalas. The educated local youth have been presented the opportunity by ASA India to operate as teachers and have found an additional source of income through these classes. While it has not been possible to provide offline classes to the students during and directly after the lockdown, online classes were introduced; students are now joining the classes regularly. Through 20 centres, students from seven states are currently benefitting from attending the classes. In addition, a hub has been developed in Gangadharpur with modern equipment.

Tablet computer distribution

ASA India conducted a survey amongst its clients and found that many students were willing to study online, but do not have smartphones or tablet computers. In collaboration with the Lions Club, approximately 200 tablets have been distributed to meritorious students who attend the added learning classes of the ASA Pathsala. These students are now forming groups of students who cannot purchase a device to attend classes. As a group, they are attending classes using the tablet. The distribution of tablets is still in process.

Solar lamp distribution

Amphan cyclone has affected several families in West Bengal and this cyclone came amidst the lockdown period. There are people who lost their electricity connection and their home while having school-going kids at home. It was identified from a survey that people had to pay for recharging the batteries of their phone after Amphan. Acting upon this, ASA India provided over 550 high-quality solar lamps entirely free of cost to families in need in 2020. These lamps have a mobile phone charging port as well. Previously, solar lamps were distributed to students of the ASA Pathsalas. Many of the children who attend ASA Pathsalas come from households with little to no electric supply. For these children studying at home used to get restricted to daylight hours. ASA India has distributed free solar lamps to these children and thereby helped to extend their study beyond daylight. This has a positive impact on the performance of children at school. Surveys were conducted based on students’ attendance percentage at the Pathsalas, their socio-economic condition and electricity availability at their homes. Acting upon this, student-friendly model solar lamps were distributed among 300 students from the ASA Pathsalas in 2017. Besides providing a steady source of lighting and minimizing health hazards caused by oil lamps, the solar lamps have also incentivized students to more frequently attend the Pathsalas.

Scholarship project

This ASA India initiative, repeated yearly, is aimed at facilitating and rewarding students, children of ASA India borrowers, having attained 80% or more as their aggregate score in the standard ten examinations, irrespective of whether they have studied at ASA Pathsalas or not. The scholarship money has been a source of great motivation for meritorious students, allowing them to meet their higher education expenses besides purchasing books and stationery required for their courses.

Skill development training

The “Skill Enhancement for the Sustainable Livelihood ” project, funded by ASA India, was designed and implemented by the Institute for learning, research and technology, that intended to skill unemployed youth, focusing on women and underserved people in the rural and semi-urban community in Assam region in 2021. The broad objective of the project was to train and prepare candidates for a sustainable livelihood by providing them with training. The beneficiaries followed a six days of training courses conducted in the villages. Two types of courses were provided; tailoring and salon training. Previously, ASA India, in collaboration with Lions International, organized skill development training in sewing for women who lost their husbands early in life and therefore have been affected in their livelihood activities, to bridge the gender gap caused due to unequal access to resources. Six hundred women participated in the skill development program during 2018 and 2019. Local-level trainers provided the necessary training to these women. Lions Club provided the sewing machines, and more than 500 women received a machine. ASA India has empowered these women to break free from family prejudice and stereotypes to improve their quality of life. The women are now able to supplement their incomes from home by getting involved in sewing, following their skill development training.

Supporting art

ASA India is proud to partner with 40 female Dokra artisans in the district of Bankura, West Bengal. ASA India provides credit to the artisan groups at affordable interest rates and on very flexible terms. Currently, a total of 300 Dokra pieces and 100 Gamochas have been purchased from the borrowers. The group of artisans has displayed its exquisite creations in many exhibitions all over India and also at Biswa Bangla Forum of the Government of West Bengal. As a part of the socially relevant initiatives, ASA India intends to popularize the creations of its clients by positioning them as corporate mementoes besides purchasing Gamochas at market price and presenting them as corporate gifts. This initiative has lent a new lease of life to many artisans, encouraging them to hone their crafting and artistic skills.

Health

Health camps

Since its inception, ASA India runs many free health camps for borrowers every year. The camps aim to provide support in terms of general healthcare besides checking and regulating blood pressure. The beneficiaries share their experiences through exit surveys, and their suggestions are taken into consideration when organizing future camps. The ASA India field staff manage the administration of these camps independently without the intervention of external agencies. The free health camps are considered a life-saving program. Medical services are administered by a team of qualified doctors who evaluate the living conditions and determine the obstacles and challenges to work. The doctors refer medical cases towards surgeries, if required, and raise health awareness among the community, teaching them how to deal with communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Eye camps

Similar to the health camps, eye camps are also organized by ASA India regularly every year. During these camps borrowers and their spouses with eyesight issues (power requirements) are provided with free spectacles. In addition, autorefractors are set up for computerized eye testing. Several eye check-up camps were organized by ASA India in 2018 and 2019, catering to thousands of beneficiaries. These eye camps are operated by expert optometrists and have been an enormous success. ASA India has further resolved to select critical cases (on a pilot basis) from these eye camps every year and support the concerned patients in carrying out their operations.

Project H.O.P.E.

H.O.P.E. (Harnessing Oncological Preventive and Early detection services) is the flagship program under Narayana Health CSR and NHCT. This programme is centred around generating awareness and screening for breast cancer as well mammography provisions for women with suspected breast pathology. As part of this project, ASA India provides a mobile medical unit for Program H.O.P.E. in order to expand the scope of its services and ensure enhanced mobility for the team conducting the surveillance. Special camps are organized for ASA India borrowers for screening of oral cancer, breast cancer and other non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, anaemia, visual problems and cardiac diseases. Six health camps were organized in 2020 and 2021 as part of this programme.

Wheelchair distribution

During this project, ASA India distributes wheelchairs to the physically challenged. The wheelchairs have helped transform the lives of these individuals by giving them the ability to participate in society and earn a living with renewed dignity.

Arsenic free water treatment plant

Alongside the construction of toilets, ASA India has set up an arsenic treatment plant at Gaighata in 24 Pargana district of West Bengal, which provides clean water to more than 4500 people. Extensive arsenic and the presence of iron particles in groundwater had been the cause of various diseases, endangering people's health in the area. Before the construction of the plant, local villagers had to travel around 1 to 2 kilometres to obtain arsenic-free water as the nearby tube wells were contaminated. As a result, many community members had also shifted to purchasing drinking water. But the plant's presence now guarantees a pure and free water supply, saving INR 125,000 per month in combined costs for villagers. The treatment plant has thus emerged as a reliable source of potable water, addressing a number of health concerns.

Disaster relief

Mask distribution

ASA India is providing reusable masks to the borrowers taking a loan from ASA India. The masks are purchased from the borrowers who started mask-making businesses instead of purchasing from the open market.

Soap distribution

The organization provided soap to all its borrower groups before the lockdown started. Once the lockdown was over, the company provided soap again to all the groups to maintain hygiene. More than 80,000 soaps were provided to the borrower groups in 2020 and 2021.

Support during natural disasters

With natural calamities, ASA India always ensures to intervene for assistance and rehabilitation. ASA India does not collect loan instalment payments from its clients during periods of natural disasters, to alleviate them from any additional stress they might experience amid a crisis. In 2020, ASA India contributed to the PM Care fund and also CM funds in the states ASA India is present during the time of COVID-19. Following the 2019 Assam floods, ASA India provided flood relief support to over 4500 people. Eight health camps were also organized in the affected branch areas in Assam at Mangaldoi, Chapor, Barpata, Sarthebari, Gouripur, Golokgunj, Hajo and Howli. In addition, ASA India contributed INR 50000 to the Chief Minister’s Fund in Kerala, the same amount it had donated to the Chief Minister’s Fund in Odisha in 2018. Despite not having any branches in Kerala or Odisha at that time, the funds provided were in line with ASA India’s mission to intervene in affected areas of India as a responsible organization. During the Bihar floods in September 2017, which affected 36 of ASA India’s branches, the organization provided its borrowers in the area with rice and lentils. The ASA India staff also met the borrowers to offer them mental support and emotional solidarity.