ISA plans charity event to benefit children

Thanks in part to an IU student group, more than 800 girls in an Indian children’s shelter will receive education, medical assistance and employment.

The IU Indian Student Association played host to Aasha: A Night for the Children to raise money for the Aarushi-Shelter Home for Girls, which is home to 886 girls.

Students filled the Indiana Memorial Union’s Frangipani room Saturday for the event.

“We’re a large group with over 250 members,” ISA event planning chair Tankua Raj said. “That gives us power to do something good.”

After building relationships with Children’s Hope India during the course of the year, Raj said the ISA felt the connection was strong enough to devote the evening to one of the girls’ houses they benefit.

“All the money is going to the girls’ shelter,” Raj said. “Most of us are Indian, and this is something we’re passionate about. A lot of children, especially females, aren’t educated, and we feel this inhibits them from growing as individuals and fighting for their rights.”

ISA President Divya Chauhan said the group focused on this particular philanthropy because of its emphasis on education and its importance to college students.

“Everyone at this University can understand the importance of education,” Chauhan said. “When you’re in a university receiving and enriching education, volunteering is a way you can learn and do not just for yourself, but for other people.”

The ISA board made the event formal and asked attendees to adhere to this standard of dress.

“Sometimes college students like to get dressed up,” Chauhan said. “Also, I think a lot of our events are associated with Indian attire, and this reminds us we are living in America and we do have western values as well. It’s to excite people in a new way.”

The cocktail benefit was the ISA’s first big philanthropy event, Raj said. She said she hopes it becomes an annual event that grows bigger each year.

“Since it’s our first time in philanthropy, we wanted to start with something that connected us with our name,” Chauhan said. “That’s why we chose Children’s Hope India. But as philanthropy becomes more of an integral part of ISA, we’ll hopefully work more locally, too.”

The night began with both Indian and American national anthems. Two singers performed the anthems, and the crowd stood up and sang along.

The keynote speaker was Rajendra Abhyankar, visiting professor to the School of
Public and Environmental Affairs and former ambassador of India. He emphasized two main points to the audience.

First, he spoke about how important it is to support the children of India.

“Children in India are some of the most poverty stricken in the world,” Abhyankar said.
“Make it a mission to help them.”

He tied India’s current elections and the importance of youth participation into his speech.

“Eight hundred-forty-one million voters registered this election — more than the U.S. and Europe populations combined,” Abhyankar said. “Sixty-one percent are youth. How you vote and participate is the most significant way in which this election is different from others.”

After his speech, three dancers took the stage, and there was a comedy
performance.

Senior Andrew Liao  said he attended the event out of interest in the dance team, HoosierRaas, but also because of the awareness it raises and the opportunity to make new connections.

“ISA does a lot of awareness-raising for Indian culture, and this is definitely one of those events,” Liao said. “But you also get to dress really nice and meet a lot of new people, which is also important for diversity.”

Even though Liao is not Indian, he said he enjoyed being able to experience a different culture.

“Getting to know and embracing different cultures is a strong point of Indiana University,” Liao said.

He said he hopes anyone of any ethnicity can enjoy events that may not pertain to their direct identity.

“Just get out of your comfort zone,” Liao said. “It’s important in college before you head to a new world to come into an unusual environment and make friends. You might just make a friend or two that’ll last a lifetime.”