The story: Dream a Dream is a professional non-profit organisation based in Bangalore working towards empowering over 1500 children from vulnerable backgrounds by developing life skills through a host of mediums such as sports, creative arts and crafts, literacy and adventure based programmes. The organisation relies on enthusiastic volunteers to run and coordinate several of their programmes, from facilitating sessions with children, helping design programmes, organise events, fundraise, create awareness and much more.

The story: Ashoka fellow Faisel Rahman’s organisation (Fair Finance) is seeking support from ASN members in gathering data about specific sub-prime lenders involved in doorstep lending. In the first instance looking at Cattles plc (the second largest doorstep lender in the UK, with average APRs of 400%+ and competitor of Fair Finance), which has seen its share price drop to 3p due to market conditions. This raises the possibility/affordability of socially motivated buyouts to create large social enterprises out of existing businesses, or takeover mergers by existing ones.

The story: Blue ventures, a marine conservation organisation founded by Ashoka Fellow Al Harris, is launching an appeal for support to enable the organisation to survive the current political crisis in Madagascar. Since January 2009 the island of Madagascar, one of the world's number one hotspot for biodiversity, has been rocked by a political crisis that has resulted in a rift in the country's armed forces, a military coup d'etat, suspension of foreign aid, and widespread social and economic turmoil.

Amy Clark who leads Ashoka’s Technologies for Society initiative, a partnership with the Lemelson Foundation, recently attended an ASN problem solving session in Bangalore and shares her impressions.