As we head into February, I want to share just some of the wonderful things that the Project Help team did in January. We are so delighted and feel incredibly privileged to be able to help, educate and feed the poor as we seek to bring love, hope and dignity to their challenging lives and circumstances.
A huge shout-out to our remarkable staff team(s) in India for everything you have achieved in just one month.
And importantly, a shout-out to our Australian and international donors for your generous support and donation …you have made these eleven wonderful things possible. Thank you.
1.
Our school in Bijnor was relocated to new premises within the same community (Ladpura Village) we help and serve. Our new classroom now has a wonderful extra space for outdoor activities and games for the children.
2.
We love and celebrate our kids. Like little Faizal who attends our Disability Centre. Faizal is unable to speak very well and has many cognitive challenges but he is a talented artist. We nurture his skills and delight in seeing the pleasure he gets from his drawing.
3.
On 15th January our Director Amit Samuel officiated an inaugural mountain village cricket tournament. The young men thanked Amit for the inspiration that he brings to them. Our team hoped to visit them again bringing counselling, life skills training …and definitely more cricket!
4.
On 19th January the students of our Kotdwara campuses participated in a campaign led by the Uttarakhand Traffic Police Force, for Traffic Safety Campaign week. The students had lessons on road and traffic safety. They also created awareness among people by holding boards in their hands in the city. The Uttarakhand Traffic Police department expressed thanks to Project Help India for always supporting and helping them whenever they are in need.
5.
Rations continue to be distributed to many people who are suffering the impact of COVID. Due to having no daily wage these people are suffering because they do not have access to food and essential necessities. We helped an elderly housebound couple whose circumstances were heartbreaking, literally saving them from starvation.
6.
On 24th January we held a special seminar for 30 girls and young women to celebrate ‘National Girl Child Day’. Each of the girls received a special gift and listened to inspiring talks from our team and local community leaders about women’s empowerment.
“After the inspiring messages, girls asked few questions from the guests about their rights and laws, for their knowledge. They loved this session the most. On this occasion Mrs. Daisy Samuel said” The world will be a better place to live, on the day the girl child is as happy as the other gender. The best thing that anyone can do for a girl child is to give her a safe environment to grow, study and do things she likes. Let us work in synergy to make this dream come true.”
7.
On 26th January we celebrated India’s 72nd Republic Day. We held a special rally with songs, dancing, prayers, speeches and a cultural program. Long live India!
8.
This is really special … on 27th January we were honoured to have a guest Aanan Lama, a Buddist monk and priest from Dehradun. Our friend and brother brought a gift of warm blankets and shawls for all of the children and staff at our City Centre. Aanan Lama follows us with great interest on Facebook. He praises “our work for humanity” and said that we inspire him in his own community work.
9.
In Chandigarh, Punjab on 29th January our team from ‘The Hope’ distributed 100 blankets to the most needy of families in the local slums villages of Malluwala and Singa Devi. Here there are many families who do not have enough proper cover for sleeping through the cold winter nights. The smiles on their faces “were immensely beautiful.” They were thankful saying they “now had hope to survive.”
10.
Parent-Teacher meetings were held across all of our education centres. These helped us to better understand our student’s needs and to build a harmonious relationship between Project Help and the community. At Village Kadarganj we learnt that they have no access to emergency medical help. It is very hard for them to take the pregnant ladies with labour pain on motorcycles and tractors. They requested that if Project Help can serve them with an ambulance for them to visit the nearby hospital in case of an emergency. If this was to happen then near about 2000 people will benefit. In the village we met a lady of about 150kg who has blisters on her leg. Her son and husband said it’s impossible to take her on a motorcycle and to call a doctor it is very expensive. To date, this lady has received no medical treatment.
…and 11.
After being closed for many months due to COVID, we re-opened our Computer Centre in Kotdwara. Twelve young women and men from the slums attend technology classes to be up-skilled and prepared for applying for jobs and starting a career (no image)
If we could write more I would, because January has certainly been filled more than eleven wonderful things. We have celebrated birthdays, had meetings galore, we have danced, laughed, cried …and worked incredibly hard! We are filled with anticipation for the month ahead. Across February we will be focussing on the preparations for our annual SHINE Women’s Empowerment Conference.
COVID can’t stop us and nothing will slow us down. We look forward to sharing more news and stories with you soon.