ASSET-ICT's mission is to teach computer literacy to teen children of women in prostitution and girls rescued from trafficking for prostitution, victims of rape, incest in major cities in India. By achieving an alternate livelihood these young people will have a healthier future with the risk of AIDS, in particular, greatly reduced. 

Milestones Achieved:

1. Obtained parental permission and successfully recruited  three batches of 20 students each

2. Achieved consistency in attendance.

3. Obtained support from Aptech for curriculum and textbooks

4. Obtained support of hitech company CEOs to mentor our students

5. 6 ASSET centers are currently in operation

Milestones to reach:

1. Implement STRIVE program by June 1, 2008

2. Implement GE Life Skills modules by June 1, 2008

3. Obtain commitments from business and industry to hire graduates from our program By december 31, 2008

4. Obtain commitments for internships/jobs for ASSET students from all 6 centers by June 1, 2009

5. Have 4 more ASSET centers operationsl by December 31, 2008

ICT offers income opportunities that are not possible by traditional means for the target population which usually has been taught sewing, bag making, embroidery and vegetable vending etc. These skills promise a meager monthly income and competition with other vendors thus forcing many to return to prostitution.

Because, even entry level workers in ICT receive wages comparable or more than  that in prostitution and those workers are in high demand, the ASSET India Foundation is focusing on ICT training and placement in internships and jobs. The ICT courses developed by Aptech, (one of the largest computer training companies in India) and Microsoft are used for this purpose.

An ideal organization required to replicate our project will be an NGO with a successful track record in dealing with our target population, and with dedicated staff and financial controls and reporting mechanisms in place. It will be required to have FCRA registration. The only government support required to implement the project will be through the use of class rooms in municipal schools in the event a centrally located facility is needed for easy access for the students.

Several University of Arizona students from Central and South America have chosen the ASSET model for their senior thesis and to implement a similar program in their respective countries. E-mail from one such student is copied nelow:

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According to the June 12, 2007 U.S Department of state report on Trafficking in Persons "India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. India's trafficking in persons problem is estimated to be in the millions. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) estimates that 90 percent of India's sex trafficking is internal. Women and girls are trafficked internally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage.

Majority of the trafficking occurs along the India-Nepal and India-Bangla Desh borders. The town of Siliguri, just south of Darjeeling in north Bengal is a major trafficking hub.

ASSET India Foundations Executive Director Ray Umashankar visited Siliguri and the tea plantations surrounding Darjeeling and spoke with laborers working in the tea estates. Many of the laborers had fallen victim to the lies of brokers/pimps who promised to get their daughters married to rich men in big cities.. The pimps had paid the parents Rupees 500 ($12) and sold the girls to brothels in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. In Kolkata, ASSET's NGO partner Apne Aap took Mr. Umashankar to the red light district Kidderpore, where he saw young girls standing by the streets, waiting for clients. These girls had been brought into the trade by pimps who promised them entry into the movies and TV soap operas and sold to the brothels instead

In the southern part of India, the town of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh is a major trafficking hub. Girls are lured by brokers with promise of appearing on the silver screen and then get trafficked to the middle east.

In Chennai, our NGO partner is the Indian Community Welfare Organization (ICWO) which has more than 22 years of experience working with trafficked girls and children of women in prostitution. Just this month, ICWO field workers came across a bright young girl, who had been trafficked to Dubai and then returned to Chennai, losing her ability to speak so that her horrifying experience will lay buried deep inside her.

ASSET in partnership with ICWO started the classes in March 2007 and presently, there are 3 batches of 20 students each. Students attend classes for 2 hours every day for 6 days. They learn English for 2 days and Computer skills for 2 days and English again and so on. The duration of the course is one year and the objective is to give the students ICT skills as well as life skills and then place them in entry level IT positions in companies. ICWO has obtained the consent of parents who have been asked to make a commitment for keeping their children in the ICT classes for its entire duration.

ASSET India Foundation is fully committed to working with business and industry partners to ensure the successful placement of all its students who have completed the APTECH Vidya curriculum and and have become reasonably fluent in conversational English.

David Feldman, Vice Consul, U.S. Consulate General officially opened the Chennai ASSET. Our two centers in Delhi, one each in Kolkata and Chennai are fully operational. 3 centers in Hyderabad and one each in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad will be coming online soon. Based on input from Business and Industry, ASSET will be using APTECH Vidya curriculum. APTECH is the largest Computer education and training company in India. Aptech will provide the training and textbooks to our students at each center. Key differentiator: ASSET is focused on outcomes and not output. We will measure number of students placed in internships/jobs and not number of centers and enrolled students.

Mr. S.S.Krishnan, currently the Executive Chairman of Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited ( CIBIL-www.cibil.com) will join ASSET as its India Country manager in November 2007. Mr. Krishnan has over 36 years of banking experience with State Bank of India (SBI) where he retired as Deputy Managing Director and Corporate Development Officer. In addition to the State Bank of India, Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited and Trans Union International Inc, equity in CIBIL is also held by GE Strategic Investments (India), HSBC, Citicorp Finance (India) and major Indian banking and financial institutions.

Firstsource (www.firstsource.com) has expressed interest in developing a plan for hiring ASSET graduates. Firstsource is among India's leading BPO companies providing business process management services to global leaders in Banking & Financial Services, Telecom & Media and Healthcare. Firstsource was ranked among India's top 5 BPO companies by NASSCOM for the year 2005-06.

Microsoft has agreed to provide their Unlimited Potential ICT training program for our use. 

Technology entrepreneurs who were very successful in the U.S and have returned to Chennai have taken a keen interest in the ASSET project and visit the centers to meet with the students and explain opportunities in ICT.

The role of ICT goes beyond the computer skills and employment forthe target group. Our dream is to empower the communities through the computer literate children to build websites that give them simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives. Further we also wish to teach and demonstrate to them, how to most efficiently use the internet to improve lives. Examples will include contacting elected officials about the condition of streets, sewage, trash pick up, water, schools, street lighting and other issues that can improve the quality of their lives as well as education, particularly about health issues, intellectual stimulation, keeping in contact with friends and relatives