mail4aasai@gmail.com
American Association for Social Advancement of India
5925 Hillview Ave, San Jose,
CA. 95123 USA

ABOUT US

American Association for the Social Advancement of India (AASAI) is a nonprofit organization involved in helping the poor and under-privileged in India. AASAI in involved in supporting several charitable projects in India in the areas of Child Welfare and Education, Health Services for the poor, Home and Welfare for women and the elderly.

Chairman’s Desk

Chairman Speech

American Association for Social Advancement of India (AASAI) founded in 1999 with ardent desire and humility for social service. We wish to share our AASAI (which means “ardent desire” in Tamil) with you. May be it is your desire too. Please join us; together we can achieve.
Modern India, like any other developing society is a nation of economic polarities. At one end the affluent, rich and privileged with unlimited resources, and facilities to enjoy all the material comforts and pleasures that money can buy; unlimited opportunities to maintain and enhance their status. At the other end the stark poor live in slums, surrounded by squalor and filth without the bare necessities for mere existence with little or no hope for future. Such dire contrasting and harsh life circumstances perpetuate poverty, lead to vagrancy, begging, petty crimes; they are the root causes for social evils. Mental health and ill treatment and abuse of children, elderly and women are also the social ills faced by many. AASAI aims to bring hope to the underprivileged and the destitute and work toward their betterment, create fun and provide work and learning opportunities, assist skill-building and self-help.
AASAI’s target groups for its mission are children/young adults, senior citizens and the old, and women. AASAI feels the hunger for service and desire for lifting up the poor and destitute so that they too can build a life for themselves, be independent and enjoy a secure and productive life. With wisdom and prudent thinking we focus our efforts on certain specific target groups and activities in such a fashion they can bring synergy to the whole.

AASAI is making significant progress in its projects to help others. Because of the generosity of the donors and kind hearted,

  1. More than 500 children receive high quality education normally available only to privileged families.

  2. More than 300 children now bike to school, rather than walk, which minimizes school dropouts.

  3. Several mentally ill men and women receive free care and rehabilitation training.

  4. Numerous children with autism and cerebral palsy children receive special training with helps them become independent.

  5. Many women in villages around Chennai are pre-screened for cancer and have free access to health centers.

  6. Nearly 50 women receive tailoring skills now and by the year end this number will reach 100 becoming independent wage earners.

  7. AASAI’s used home goods store, Pudhumai, generates income which provides shelter for abused and mentally ill women.

Sincerely hope and wish your continued support for these worthwhile projects.

Gratefully,

Raghavan

History

On May 22, 1998, my good friend Ms. Mala Umapathy was visiting us at Maryland. She joined me in my usual evening walk. We discussed several issues. I was inquiring her welfare and how she is managing after a great tragedy that fell upon her and the family. She very calmly replied that she is getting along fine and discussed in greater detail how she was able to overcome the calamity. Though one never really recovers from such a shock, her positive attitude, mental focus and clear perspectives to face the life’s challenge amazed me. She said that she sets aside part of the day just for herself when she meditates and how this meditation has helped her immensely. Observing my interest in pursuing such a path for myself, she promptly gifted me with a book: Words To Live By - Inspiration for Everyday by Ekanath Eswaran. What a remarkable book! Continuing our walk and delightful conversation she inquired how I am doing. I described to her how I have always wanted to do some social service. I would like to pursue social service and repay my gratitude to this great society for all that has been given to me so far. I told her that in a few years after my retirement I would devote my life helping the poor, a sort of repayment to the society. Mala said immediately “why wait until retirement”? She recalled a thought that nothing should be postponed because “tomorrow sometimes never comes”. While everybody intuitively knows this, the way she said and the sincerity in that statement, made me think. In that moment I knew that AASAI was born.

In the words of Oscar Wilde “It is not a thing for which one can render formal thanks in formal words. I store it in the treasure-house of my heart. I keep it there as a secret debt that I am glad to think I can never possibly repay”.

AASAI Management

Board of Directors

Name Position
Dr. K. Subramanian President
L. Raghavan Chairman
Logachander Natarajan Treasurer
Dr. C. Gopinath Director
Nalini Gopinath Director and Updates from beneficiary NGOs
R. Muralidharan Director
Dr. Durga V. Subramanian Donor communications and updates
Jothi Raghavan Cultural events (and fund raisers).
Abirami Balasubramaniyan Technology and Communication

Where your money goes