Minutes of the teleconferenc held on Feb 02, 2007 at 7pm 
Topic - Support for the Asha Sanctuary focus group workshop being 
organized in Delhi 

The teleconference scheduled to discuss whether or not the chapter is 
willing to support a 2 day workshop being organized by the Asha 
Sanctuary focus group in Delhi took place yesterday (02/22 at 7pm) and 
the following were the attendees. 


Asha Princeton - Ravi, Hansa, Amrish, Sridhar, Jalpa, Dileep. 
Asha Sanctuary focus group (ASFG) - Hansa and Venkata. 


Asha Princeton has been supportive of the activities of the Asha 
Sanctuary focus group of which Hansa is an active member. ASFG has 
planned to organize a 2 day workshop for the benefit of the 
disadvantaged children (mostly from sex worker and other 
underprivileged communities) surrounding Delhi area in collaboration 
with the Asha Delhi chapter and Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice 
(an NGO that received Asha support). As a matter of fact, the workshop 
was underway and the first day was completed when the teleconference 
took place. 


The discussion started with an overview by Hansa on the workshop 
goals, composition of the participants and various activities 
proposed. Some of the students are going to school (8th - 10th) and 
some are doing home schooling/learning vocational skills. Hansa also 
shared the highlights of the first day with the participants. She 
recalled her experiences at a similar workshop held in Calcutta last 
year. Venkata observed that when the disadvantaged students were 
provided opportunities, they did well and improved their skills in 
communication, discussions, etc. It was noted that there is a benefit 
to the students participating in these workshops in terms improving 
vocational, communication and interpersonal skills. These skills may 
help improve the confidence. Hansa and Venkata shared their desire to 
learn from these workshops and potentially expand them. 


There were questions from the participants mostly on the details of 
the workshop. In general, there was an agreement during the discussion 
that these workshops would benefit such students and it is unlikely 
that these children have access to such activities. It was felt that 
such activities need to be supported for the benefit of disadvantaged 
children. It is suggested that ASFG could take up this as an ongoing 
program by holding such workshops in different places. 


At this point, Amrish proposed for a vote in support of the proposal. 
The participants voted for the proposal. In view of the nature of the 
activity, it was decided that a site was not necessary. It was 
recommended that the proposal be submitted in the form of a project 
proposal by ASFG. Since the workshop is being organized by ASFG, Asha 
Delhi, and Prayas, it was decided that funds may be disbursed through 
Asha Delhi to Prayas depending on who is paying for the expenses for 
the workshop. 


Hansa proposed a tentative budget in the range of $677. The chapter 
agreed to support this amount. It was suggested that Hansa follow up 
with Vinay, the chapter treasurer, in disbursing the funds. Hansa 
would also provide a progress report to the chapter. 


The meeting ended with thanks to the participants and the ASFG for 
organizing the workshop. 


Minutes posted by Ravi.