Check out the smiles! These gifts we very well received by the children.
All of our Projects are situated in Northern India, with many at the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains. Not surprisingly it gets very cold in winter (often below zero degrees) in the city of Kotdwara, and especially in the higher altitude areas where our jungle centres are located. Houses in the slums and villages generally have no access to heating, only a primitive small fire that is also used for cooking. The smoke and fumes from these fires can be toxic and dangerous because of the fuel and rubbish (plastics and refuse) that are used to fuel the fire. Deadly house fires in winter are also common.
The children who we educate come from very poor families, most of whom have the most basis of belongings. As well as limited access to adequate heating, it is not uncommon for many children to not even have a change of clothes. If they are lucky their clothes are replaced as they outgrow grow them. Some children do not have shoes. At Project Help, our staff keep an eye on the children’s health and wellbeing, making sure that they have adequate warm clothes in winter.
This year, we made the decision to provide each of our students with a warm blanket. We have no doubt, that these blankets would be used by most of the family - as many siblings and other family members would share the same (again, very primitive) beds. There are generally no mattresses - just a knotted rope bed base, or they sleep on the floor because their homes might be too small.
We thank our supporters for your kind donations - because you have made this possible. The kids were delighted and they have definitely been more comfortable during the recent cold winter nights.
