The Ashoka Tree Blog

Nothing in life ever comes easy, and every once in a while, life throws up something that reminds you of how much you need to work to get things done. Our visit to Father Tezza's Special School in Wynad, back in April 2016, showed us just that.  Everyone was super excited about showing us the new computer classes that were being held (after an IT company in Bangalore decided to train teachers from this school).  We found over 30 children seated, and not a single computer in sight.  What we went on to find was that they did have a computer in school - it just happened to be the only one they owned, but that didn't work either and they hadn't been able to switch it on in months.  Needless to say, when asked how many they would need - we were told - "a couple would suffice, maybe even two!"  This got us thinking that if they did have 40 students - at least 20 would make things comfortable enough that all our very special children here got to learn how to use the...

Spreading More  Smiles  with The BlackBoard Project - Priya Thomas  (*Priya Thomas, Intern at The Ashoka Tree,  was volunteer-in-charge for an anganwadi on the BlackBoard Project) On the 16 th of July, 2016, The Ashoka Tree with the little Picassos & DaVincis of Global Public School set out on a mission to paint blackboards on the walls of six Anganwadis that The Ashoka Tree works with.  Now, that’s a date we’ll never forget - for the impact it had on each one of us! T his bright sunny day began with two cans of yellow and a can black paint, with eager GPS students all set with aprons and old T-shirts, ready to get started on The  Ashoka  Tree's BlackBoard Project - a fun way to paint the walls of play schools, and a lot on themselves, to look like genuine painters.  The scene was soon filled with laughter and paint, lots of it on old newspaper lining the floor and much more all over us!   The BlackBoard Project - T...

A certain Ms. Knowles got there ahead of us, but she sure knew what she was talking about!   Running the world is not left up to a Teresa May or Angela Merkel today.   Running the world begins at home.   She is the first person to wake up, hours ahead of the rest of the family to get the day started, packing lunch boxes and organizing the home before she heads out to work.   Her job runs 24 hours, on call for the family, on conference calls with her boss, taking her sick child to the pediatrician, calling her aged parents - the last person to go to sleep every night. The Ashoka Tree, in collaboration with Wasted Dubai, now looks to empower some of these ladies who’ve worked tirelessly to get to where they are today. Here’s the beginning of a huge partnership with women on an upcycling project to generate more income for people who need it the most.   Working with used paper, bottles, cloth and plastic, we’re on the path to sustainable lifestyle products fr...