As a young boy, Sharath saw his drunken father kill his mother whom he loved very dearly. His only remaining family member, his uncle took him in for a while. He soon realized that Sharath was performing badly in school given his learning disability and poor vision. So, he was moved to Ish Kripa hostel. There he was always seen withdrawn and upset. In 2014, he joined ACTS Nirmala Vidyalaya where he is pursuing his education under The Aashi Project. Now he says that he feels confident about life and is being guided; and his longing for motherly love has been quenched by teachers. The counseling at the school has also helped him to feel safe. He desires to thrive as a good human in life and become a responsible citizen.

It is because of children like Sharath, whose families or homes couldn’t afford education that we start The Aashi Project. 

Aashi meaning SMILE is an educational assistance programme that empowers under-privileged children living in slums, orphanages and rural areas with holistic education. It is an initiative of Acts Group of institutions, an NGO that is committed to total development through educational, environmental and community development projects across India.

Acts Group was started in 1979 by Dr Ken Gnanakan, seeks to help people learn to live. ACTS wants to build people who, through their life and work, will have a positive and transformative impact on society. 

Aashi is a distinctive programme that draws and develops physical, moral, intellectual, and social potential in order to achieve the overall well-being of a child. It also equips teachers with training and tools associated with experiential, holistic and inclusive education. One could assist with education sponsorship, teaching aids, training and development.

Today, we have about 120 children under this project in need of educational fees and teachers from the rural area who are in need of training, and most of all teaching aids to equip them to deliver holistic education in order to transform our nation and bring about a sustainable socio-economical change.

The cost of sponsoring the education of one child is Rs. 12,000, per academic year, which includes their tuition fee, books, uniform, and transportation. i.e. Rs. 1000, per child, per month. By raising Rs. 3,00,000, we can support 25 children for one academic year.

Help us spread smiles to these children.