We empower neurodiverse and underprivileged learners in underserved communities — bridging the educational resource gap through specialized curriculum, advocacy, and product drives.
Aasha Kiran — Hindi for ray of hope. That's the whole idea.
The Aasha Kiran Initiative is dedicated to empowering neurodiverse and underprivileged people in underserved global communities — bridging the educational resource gap through specialized curriculum, product drives, and fundraising. — Our mission
We're a young nonprofit doing focused, practical work — building learning tools that meet people where they are, and using our platform to push the conversations that get overlooked.
We design accessible educational modules built to work for neurodiverse learners — clear, structured, and free to the communities that need them.
We use Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok to educate people worldwide on the issues that rarely make the front page — and to turn that attention into action.
This holiday season, we're raising $1,500 to power our programs in the year ahead — specialized curriculum for neurodiverse learners, awareness campaigns on the issues that rarely make the front page, and drives that bring resources to under-served communities.
Two dates anchor the campaign: Giving Tuesday on December 1 and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3. Our ask is simple — $26 to close out 2026. Fifty-eight gifts of $26 gets us to our goal.
We fundraise through Givebutter — net proceeds, after payment processing fees, support our programs for neurodiverse and underprivileged learners. Can't give? Sharing a post costs nothing and reaches someone who needs it.
World Alzheimer's Month · $21 for September 21
Thank you to everyone who gave, shared a post, or simply took a moment to think about the people who care for someone with Alzheimer's — often alone, and often without support. You raised $451 for Alzheimer's awareness and caregiver support in under-served communities. Every ray counts.
— Siya Rajesh & The Aasha Kiran Initiative
Disability Pride Month · #36for36 · ADA Day, July 26
Thank you to every person who gave $36 for 36 years, who shared our posts, and who believes access is still worth fighting for. Your generosity raised $2,230 for disability programs here in Connecticut. We are grateful — every ray counts.
— Siya Rajesh & The Aasha Kiran Initiative
Follow the stories behind each one on our Instagram.
Our holiday campaign — raising $1,500 to power our curriculum, awareness work and community drives. Give $26 to close 2026.
See the campaign →Reframing how the world sees neurodiverse minds — the gold infinity symbol, in real stories.
View posts →Challenging the exclusion of people with mental disabilities from everyday spaces and opportunity.
View posts →Free learning modules on staying safe online and understanding your civic rights and duties.
About the curriculum →Every learner deserves to be taught in a way that works for them. For neurodiverse students — and for students in communities that have long been under-resourced — that is still the exception, not the rule. The right materials, the right support and the right awareness often simply aren't there.
UNICEF estimates that around 240 million children worldwide live with a disability, and that they are far more likely than their peers never to have attended school at all. Behind those numbers are individual learners who were never given a fair way in.
We're a small, student-led nonprofit, but small can be specific. We build specialized curriculum, run awareness campaigns and organize drives that bring resources to communities the world overlooks.
That is the gap Give a Ray is built for — a gift this season keeps that work going into the new year.
children worldwide are estimated to live with a disability (UNICEF, 2021).
more likely never to have attended school: children with disabilities compared with children without (UNICEF, 2021).
people are estimated to be neurodivergent — yet learning resources are rarely designed with them in mind.
Sources: UNICEF, Seen, Counted, Included (2021); published neurodiversity prevalence estimates.
Founded in 2025 and led by students, we've gone from an idea to real projects across three continents — guided by one belief: equity over equality.
Siya Rajesh founded The Aasha Kiran Initiative as a high-school student — completing legal registration and securing tax-exempt status while still in school.
We raised $1,500 through crowdfunding — on GoFundMe and Benevity — for the TSM Social Welfare Trust, which supports people with mental disabilities. This summer we visited in person and spoke with the staff, residents, and community about our mission.
We built and delivered a slide-deck curriculum on civic duty and pollution prevention, now being taken up by schools in India as a recurring community lesson.
Our Disability Pride Month campaign marked 36 years of the ADA — raising $2,230 for disability programs in Connecticut through the #36for36 challenge.
For World Alzheimer's Month, we raised $451 toward Alzheimer's awareness and caregiver support in under-served communities through our $21-for-September-21 ask.
Our holiday campaign is raising $1,500 for our curriculum, awareness work and community drives — building to Giving Tuesday on December 1 and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.
Over our first year we fundraised for the TSM Social Welfare Trust — a residential school in Tamil Nadu, India that supports people with mental disabilities. This summer, founder Siya Rajesh visited in person and gave a speech on our mission and values of compassion and community.
It was an eye-opening visit: seeing how the community lives day to day, how the school runs, and the new residential building being built for residents. We're grateful to everyone who gave through GoFundMe and Benevity, to the staff who welcomed us with a tour and hospitality, and to the residents — who have built a beautiful community of love and understanding.
A student-founded board volunteering their time to build a more equitable future.
A high-school student who founded Aasha Kiran on one conviction — equity over equality — and a belief in putting actions over words.
Lead our outreach and community impact efforts. If you care about equity and want to put action behind it, this role is for you.
Apply nowDrive our Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok presence. Turn awareness into action — and help more people find our work.
Apply nowWe're a youth-led board — open to students aged 14–18. Interested in a different role? Reach out.
Three ways to help — give, give your time, or grow with us. We're actively seeking organizations doing aligned work to partner with.
Fund our Give a Ray holiday campaign and our learning programs. Give $26 to close 2026.
Give nowHelp with curriculum, design, social media, or drives. Remote-friendly and student-friendly.
Email usWe want to connect with organizations to provide better care for more communities.
Start a conversation
The Aasha Kiran