Are We Safe Here? - and other very big questions

9 year-old Geetenjali finds the lockdown and the talk of a dangerous disease confusing and incredibly scary.

With its mountain air, rural setting, and with the jungles of the Himalayan foothills in clear view for the first time in memory, Kotdwara locals of all ages are asking big and important questions.

Are we any safer in Kotdwara than in the crowded big cities?

Surely, it’s better here than in the densely overcrowded metropolis of Delhi of 19 million people which is a day’s drive away?

This too is a question the Project Help Team have been considering as the spread of COVID-19 takes its ever ugly and ever firmer grip on the nation of India. And we are also asking;

How is it, that a small school slum-community project has become regarded as an essential part of a major localised COVID-19 pandemic front-line response operation?

If this situation gets worse, as we believe it will, what will be our strategy and do we have the necessary funds and resources to respond to the urgent needs that we see around us?

The questions the kids are asking

For 9 year-old Geetenjali, one of beautiful students at our Disability Centre in the slums, she finds the lockdown and the talk of a dangerous disease confusing and incredibly scary. Why can’t I go to my new school anymore? Where are my new found friends? Why does my teacher now come to my house? Why are there barricades around our slum? Why is daddy at home more and why is he cranky? Why is mummy worrying?

Life is already challenging enough for Geetenjali due to her cognitive disability and the paralysis that has numbed half of her body since birth.

A father’s questions

When you live in poverty, there is so much to be scared about. Geetanjali’s father Mr Hari Shankar, is a daily wage labourer, meaning that he only gets paid on a day to day basis. He fronts up at the marketplace early each morning at 8am waiting for the work he needs to feed his wife and 4 children. These days there is no access to work, because the slum and surrounding areas have been physically barricaded. There are police patrolling the street corners and every exit out of the slum. All of the daily wage workers, the men and women who are domestic workers, rickshaw pullers, auto-rickshaw drivers, the door to door sellers, even the beggars on the main roads, are suffering. Mr Hari Shankar is asking; When can i get back to work? How can I feed my family and who can help me?

You can watch this video, to see men like Hari collect food for his family from the Project Help team. One of our team members wrote…

“But they knew they had someone always for them and that is Project Help, so they called us and asked for some help if we could do anything for them. After getting the message, Mr. Amit Samuel (Founder President Project Help) immediately send his team to the area with food supplies. The team then met with the family members along with police officers and with maintaining social distancing we provided the essential food supplies to the families in need.”

Mr Hari Shankar thanks the Project Help India staff for the relief food packages that he collects from them at the barricades every couple of days.

For Geentenjali, even with the relief packages, she is still hungry. However, she is being provided with lessons and activities by her Project Help teacher which keep her distracted from the constant grumbling of her tummy. She is a talented artist who has discovered new skills and passions since recently starting school at our Centre for the first time in her life. Geetanjali thanks her teacher for learning to draw and make crafts for these have become the greatest joys of her life. (And we are grateful for the donations from Australia that have paid for the stationery, craft resources and teacher’s salary).

So, is it safer in Kotdwara?

Yes, it is somewhat safer because there is less crowding, however, COVID-19 is spreading to the most remote regions of India. We understand that places like Kotdwara, and the remotest of towns and villages even further beyond, are becoming forgotten places of poverty and COVID-19 related suffering. India’s positive cases are reaching 3 million with 60 000+ deaths, and there are growing fears that the virus’s impact on remote village, rural and slum communities could be devastating. The country seems to be entering a dangerous new phase of rising infections in small towns and villages, and the government is underestimating the pandemic and allegedly trying to hide the data.

This is why our work is so important and why children like Geetenjali, and her family needs your urgent help.

Six months ago, before COVID-19 our funds were essentially used to educate 280 kids by providing them with a school and an education. Now things have been taken to a whole new level, with our love and care not only reaching our students but extending to their families as we save many from malnutrition and giving them the dignity and support they need to get through these very uncertain and worrying times.

India’s Invisible Catastrophe

A quote from ‘The Guardian’ 17th August 

‘They will be allowed to die’

Some 600 million Indians live in in rural areas, and fears are rising that they could be overwhelmed by an invisible catastrophe, where many will die without testing or treatment. Data from the National Family Health Survey-4 showed that only about 25% of rural Indians have access to public outpatient (OPD) healthcare..

There are also grave concerns for around 70% of India’s elderly population, who live in villages. Co-morbidities abound and are often left untreated because medical services are far away.

India’s top epidemiologist Jayaprakash Muliyil, who believes up to half of India’s population (670 million people) will get the virus, says that most people with co-morbidities in rural India fail to get treatment.

“This group, and the elderly, are more prone to getting the virus. With limited resources, their families will not rush an elderly person to hospital if they have a fever,” said Muliyil. “They will be allowed to die. That is the reality in rural India where life expectancy is 65.”

Since the deaths will be spread out across huge geographical districts, some as big as 10,000 sq km (London is 1,572 sq km), Muliyil says the real scale of the human tragedy will only emerge much later, if at all.

Virus stigma

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that daily wage labourers will not reveal their symptoms for fear of separation from their families, the stigma, and losing their wages by being quarantined.

“People in the rural areas are hiding their symptoms and are not coming forward to get tested even when the testing van is reaching the village,” said Dr Ravindra Sharma, a senior medical officer in Lakhmipur Kheri district, in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, which neighbours Uttarakhand.

As we find the answers to so many big and important questions, what we do know is that you are an answer and an integral part of the ongoing solution. Thank you for your help.

Please click the DONATE button on this page to make your tax deductible donation in Australia.

Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today

It’s difficult to know where to start when there is so much to tell you. Perhaps it’s a reflection of the times with such rapid change, so much need and so much to do. We all feel the same at the moment, with the uncertainty of these days, not quite knowing what lies ahead. I have always adhered to the saying ‘never put off for tomorrow, what you can do today’…this for me is truer than ever. With so many of the situations we are dealing with at the moment, there is no choice but to do most things straight away. The needs are great and who knows what tomorrow might look like. When people are desperate for help, tomorrow can’t often wait.

This past couple of weeks have been like a whirlwind in Kotdwara, India. With COVID-19 the needs are immediate, urgent and great.

When people are dying of starvation and they have no access to food we must act immediately.

When a community in Chandigarh in the state of Punjab cries out to us for help, we believed that we had no choice but to listen and respond.

For the team at Project Help India, much of what we are currently doing is one step of faith after another. This rapid change is stretching our resources and sadly there is not enough to go around. But thankfully, the generosity of our friends and supporters in Australia has been wonderful, and like the miracle of the fishes and the loaves, it’s quite incredible how much help, love and support we are able to provide to so many people  …thank you for being part of this small miracle in the middle of a remote part of India.

So, where do I start with what to tell you about these fast paced, recent couple of weeks; Here are four snippets of action

‘The Hope Society’

When your donation is transferred to India, it first makes its way into a holding account, which for us is ‘The Hope Society’. Project Help India auspices with HOPE (website), which is another NGO that works in 4 states across Northern India. 7% of our funds remain with HOPE. This is a federal government requirement, necessary to ensure that there is transparency around foreign funds coming into the country, particularly to ensure against money laundering, terrorism or human trafficking. The funds are accounted and audited frequently and it is necessary that we pass many stringent compliance checks. If not, our projects could be shut down immediately.

Just recently due to COVID, Hope has faced the difficulty of their regular donations almost all drying up. Hope has been like a friend to Project Help and has guided and helped us since our early days. We cannot just ignore their situation. We have been asked to essentially take over the operations of this NGO. They have cried out for help from us, as the entire team have not been paid for months and families and suffering. Because people are in need, our Board has agreed to pay the next 3 months of salaries to HOPE. During this time, the entire NGO (and also us) must make some weighty decisions about the their future work and ministry.  One of Hope’s projects, an entire school of 97 children looks like it will close (no pressure hey!). The children who attend are from a very poor farming and labouring community where their parents earn less than $4 a day. The cost to continue this school is a little of $1100 a month. We must make decisions about expanding to a new location, but we must be realistic about doing so, considering the long-term commitment that will be required.

Perhaps, you are reading this, and have an interest to know more.

Might you or your business consider making a tax deductible donation of $15 000 per year to sponsor and support this worthwhile project?

As a benefactor we would be committed to providing you with frequent communications and updates, to provide you with an important connection and partnership. 

The lockdown continues in the slums

Check out this 2-minute video created by our team on the ground. Look at what happens when the slum is literally barricaded by the local municipal government, with no way of getting in or out. I think the video brilliantly captures the current situation, and is well worth watching.

A Significant Honour

Our work in Kotdwara has not gone unnoticed. This week, the government honoured our efforts by awarding some of our staff certificates of appreciation for their work in the community during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Long Live India

Yesterday 15th August we celebrated Indian Independence Day 2020. This is what Gipsa, one of our team members had to say about the occasion;

To celebrate our National pride all the office staff of Project Help gathered in the office with social distancing and followed all the guidelines given by government to keep the Corona Virus spread at bay. The day started with flag hoisting by Mr. Amit Samuel, followed by National Anthem sung by all staff members. After that we prayed for our nation. Words of motivation were said by Mrs. Daisy Samuel.

The day was celebrated with a twist by our specially-abled children, they painted the papers with tri-colour and made flags of their own, and waved them with the slogans “Long Live India. For our students of our education centres, stationery (pencil, rubber, sharpener, copies of flag) and chocolates were distributed by our respective teachers. This day gives us a lot of lessons to learn, may each one of us learn the lesson and make the nation proud. May our Nation get the blessings of God and may it be precious for the world. 

The crazy thing is that there is so much more to tell you. I am both proud and humbled by the fact that our projects are connecting with so many people. We are helping and feeding the poor and needy, and bringing the love of God to their lives and circumstances. These are the greatest of needs in these present days. We can never put off until tomorrow, when we can do it today.

We are so grateful to you. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your generosity which is making all of this possible. Together, we are the Project Help India story. What we are doing…

“is about learning how to love others. When we wonder about people, grieve with them, and chose to fight with and for them, we can build the kind of solidarity the world needs.”

 ‘See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love’ By Valerie Kaur

Nikhil – the boy with the world’s biggest smile

We think that Nikhil has the world’s biggest smile and sadly we also know that he will soon have a life long permanent disability unless he receives urgent intervention.

This is the story of 14 year old Nikhil. I have known him for seven years now and he has always impressed me with his enthusiasm, energy, gentle loving nature, along with his many talents all of which match the size of his smile. In my experience as a teacher and educator, some kids will really stand out. These kids with the right circumstances, full of incredible potential are destined for success in life. Nikhil is one of these children. However, he is currently facing a huge challenge which will potentially determine the trajectory of his life.

This is why I am writing to you to ask for your help by sponsoring Nikhil and his family. This week I learnt that Nikhil will certainly become permanently deaf without our urgent intervention. Our Director Amit writes;

Nikhil is very intelligent and the beloved child of our City Centre. Nikhil’s mother is Raju, she is 35 years old. She is mother of 4 children, named Rajni (17 years), Ajay (16 years), Nikhil (14 years) and Ankur (10 years). She is wife of Mr.Vijendar who is a groundnut seller. He sells groundnuts by going door to door in a hand cart. However, due to COVID-19 and the lockdown they are suffering from a pile of hardships. The family scrounge for food and money almost on a daily basis. They often beg from Project Help and take on odd jobs just to make ends meet. Nikhil is suffering from severe pain in his ears they used to bleed with puss very often. His mother says she took him to hospitals but the doctors prescribed him with operation of both ears. They say both of his eardrums have been melted and they need to be transplanted. Raju says this operation will cost 80 thousand rupees (a little over $1500AUD), and if Nikhil will remain in this condition he will lose his listening power.

When Ajay was narrating this story she was crying for her son as she is not able to afford such a costly operation. She has only one hope for her son and that is Project Help. Nikhil is an intelligent student. He is now a student of a government school where study status is not that good so he wants to study in a private English high school. He believes in God that one day his dream will be fulfilled. At the moment, with the COVID lockdown, for Nikhil’s dreams to be good in English we can only provide him worksheets for practice at home.  (9th July)

I don’t often write to ask for help in this way, but can you help by sponsoring Nikhil and his family? We need $2000AUS to pay for Nikhil’s surgery, his ongoing rehabilitation and school fees for one year.

Might your family, school or business be willing to make this donation. If you are able to provide sponsorship, either in full or in part, we will keep you informed of Nikhil’s progress along the way. You can make your donation by clicking any of the DONATE buttons on this page and in this website.

With love and thanks.

Doug

This must be the worst house ...not on the street, but anywhere!

if this was your home, what hopes would you have for your future?

Today, 20th June, is ‘World Refugee Day’.

At ‘Project Help India’ we are committed to respond to the needs of those who are displaced, like the family whose house is shown in the photo. If you have a spare moment, look closely at the images above and below. I took the photo about a year ago in the city of Haridwar, near to where I spoke to a roadside gathering of children and parents as part of ‘Operation Freedom’, a police led community program which aimed to stop kids from street begging and to get them enrolled into schools. I was embarrassed to take this photo but I was captured by what I was looking at. Heart broken and crying I just stood there, imagining the life and circumstances of this incredibly poor family.

…But look at the photos. You are looking at a home made out of rubbish, located in a car park, 100 metres from the “mighty” Ganges River. There would be at least 6 people living here. Imagine if this was your home, what hopes would you have for your future? If you were the father, what dignity and sense of worth would you have as you thought about your ability to provide and care for your family. If you were the mother, what confidence, what fears would you have for the health, education and safety of your children? These thoughts, feelings and fears are the reality for countless millions of refugees today.

Statistics tell us that there are approximately 200 000 refugees in India. However, if you stretch the definition, there are countless millions upon millions, who impacted by the vicious cycle of poverty, are displaced - forced to move from their home to relocate from rural villages to look for work in the city. Many of these people, including children, live on the streets or in slums with little or no access to adequate sanitation, health care, education and advocacy. Because of the caste system in India, these people are ostracised and targeted. At ‘Project Help India’ we work alongside these most vulnerable people, providing schooling, nutritious meals, health check-ups, counselling and delivering short courses to up-skill young people for employment. Our parenting awareness programs teach mothers and fathers about the very real dangers of their children being exploited and trafficked. These most vulnerable children often disappear or have been sold by their parents promised that their child would have a better future rather than endure their present circumstances. It’s all incredibly sad…but with your help we are making a difference, and bringing love, dignity and purpose to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people on the planet.

During COVID-19 the numbers of people in India who are currently testing positive, is rapidly on the rise. We have grave concerns for the well-being and safety of many, and we are preparing for an influx of more displaced people over the coming months.

This ‘World Refugee Day’ we can have awareness, empathy, compassion and make a difference. Your donation to ‘Project Help India’ will be used to help some beautiful families who are displaced, and who live a life that is so terribly different from all of our Western comforts. With the Australian tax-year finishing in 10 days, your donation is tax deductible…it’s a perfect time to help us. Click the DONATE button located on this page.

Thank you.

Street view, with the house in the bottom left corner.

When there seems to be no hope

Asha is a remarkable woman. Her strength, resilience and courage hold her family and many in her community together. The photo on the left was taken the day after the monsoon ruined her house in 2018. The photo on the right was taken on a much better day.

There’s just two weeks here in Australia until the end of the 2019-20 tax year, and I am writing to ask you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to ‘Project Help India’

Our cause is simple and powerful. It is love in action, bringing hope and help to others.

This week has been another huge week for us in Northern India. We have had to respond to a huge thunderstorm that has caused significant damage to one of our classrooms in jungle village Parmawala. Repairs will be required prior to 15th August, when classes are scheduled to recommence.

We have also been delivering school work to our 270 students at their homes in the slums. These kids are still unable to come to school due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The home visits give us the chance to check-in on their wellbeing and safety, responding to any pastoral needs that we become aware of.

We are thrilled to hear stories of thanks and appreciation for the impact we are having in the lives of people, and the deep, long lasting change this is having in the broader communities where they live. Take Asha for example. She is a remarkable woman who never gives up. Her resilience, generosity and courage inspire us and many others in her community. Her story gives you a glimpse of what it’s like to live in a slum in modern day India. We consider it a wonderful privilege to be able to help her however we can.

Asha - her family, friends and community

Asha is 36 years old. She is wife of Mr. Sher Singh, a local utensil seller, mother of five children, Aman, Karan, Sandhya, Vivek and Sahil. Asha says ‘Project Help’ has had a huge impact on her life. Asha was suffering from heart disease when ‘Project Help’ took the responsibility of helping her. She had an emergency operation and all of the expenses were paid for by ‘Project Help’. She was previously the cook in our Slum Centre but due to her heart condition she was unable to continue her job. Asha was also a door to door cosmetic seller, earning Rs 30 to Rs50 (60c to $1AUS) per day, but because of her medical condition she could not continue this.

Asha’s son Aman was born with many medical issues and his doctor told them that he would not live beyond 14 years old. But ‘Project Help’ has given Aman the best treatment possible, providing for his surgery and long-term rehabilitation. Aman who now works as a member of our staff team is 20 years old and living a fit, busy and healthy life.

Asha says that her life was full of other hardships too. Her husband was an alcoholic but through the counselling by ‘Project Help’ he stopped his drinking. Asha says that her children were facing lot of problems with malnutrition and no education but these problems have been solved by the programs of ‘Project Help’. Now three of her children are currently getting an education at our Slums Centre. One of Asha’s brothers, Rajesh, was also suffering from some severe medical problems and he was the help of ‘Project Help’ and cured of his condition. Her hardships have continued... In 2018 the thatched roof of her hut was destroyed in the monsoon and that too was mended by ‘Project Help’. 

Asha also recalls many people in her community who have been helped in many ways by ‘Project Help’. Through connections with her extended family, ‘Project Help’ has expanded to setting up a centre in a slum community in the city of Bijnor, approximately 50km away.

Reflecting on the impact that ‘Project Help’ has had on her life and family, Asha says that Shine Conference has been a significant highlight helping her to know that she has importance. “This program tells women their purpose of living” she says. She also says that the conference was the only time when she and many women could have a rest, dance and have some fun. She was given a mirror at Shine Conference. She says that when she now looks in the mirror she can take care of herself and is reminded of her value and worth. The conference has helped the women get knowledge about themselves and understand their hygiene and health. Asha says that the first time she had ever seen a sanitary napkin was when she was given one at SHINE. 

“The best thing she says was that Shine Conference taught them to live happily in whatever conditions they are in. The lady should know her value, her purpose of life and her strength.”

 Asha now shares this message with her friends and other women in her community. The women in the slum highly respect Asha, and come to her for guidance, help and support in the day to day problems that they face.

It is the generosity of our friends and supporters who have made all of this possible for Asha and her family, and so many other families too – thank you!

Please help us this tax time by making a donation. Simply click the pink donate button at the top right corner of this page …and more importantly, do not underestimate the opportunities you have each and every day, to bring hope and help to others - your neighbours, your community and people in your sphere of influence. This is love in action and this is how our world is going to get through these difficult times.

Thank you.

Our Journey, Our story

There’s just three weeks here in Australia until the end of the 2019-20 tax year, and I am writing to ask you to consider making a tax-deductible donation to ‘Project Help India’.

Our cause is simple and powerful. It is love in action.

The mission of ‘Project Help India’ is to bring love, hope, dignity and purpose to the poor. Our vision is to focus on education, nutrition, health and ultimately human rights, so that individual lives are impacted, empowered and restored. ‘Project Help India’ seeks to bring about community change and generational transformation. ‘Project Help India’ seeks to grow in its impact and influence in the lives of people and communities, with a goal to ultimately expand into other towns and places of need.

#blacklivesmatter

We stand alongside others as members of one global family demanding equality, justice and dignity. A demand for change has always been at the heart of ‘Project help India’ and this is the reason, back in 2010, our Project Directors, Amit and Daisy Samuel started reaching out to just a small number of children and their parents in a slum in Kotdwara. Many of the children were on drugs, particularly addicted to lighter fluid. Someone had to fight for these people’s rights. They were uneducated and powerless, not even knowing that they had rights!

The slum people are persecuted and discriminated because they are the ‘untouchable’ Dalits. Both their caste and racial background meant that they are regarded as the lowest of the lowest, not worthy of being educated, allowed to have most jobs, or given any status or recognition in any shape or form. They are frequently affected by anti-dalit violence. They perform the work that nobody else wants to do, such as preparing bodies for funerals, tanning animal hides, collecting rubbish, recycling plastic and killing rats, vermin and other pests. Doing anything with dead cattle or cow hides is regarded particularly unclean in Hinduism. Under both the local Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, a job that involves death corrupts the worker’s souls, making them unfit to mingle with other people in the community. On top of this, many are displaced, living in the slum because they moved from mountain towns and villages due to natural disasters and poverty.

In Kotdwara there was no one who loved them or cared for them, until the message and actions of ‘Project Help India’ intersected with their lives.

It has been an incredible journey since then, with our work growing in size and impact. Thanks to Amit and Daisy, the original slum community is now recognised by the local municipality and the people have a sense of dignity. Thanks to our SHINE Conference and other women’s empowerment programs, a message of worth and purpose has impacted the women. The women share this message with each other. Education is now accessible and valued by parents and their children are growing up with dreams for a future that is way bigger than the dirty rubbish ‘reg’ picking jobs that they were otherwise destined for, starting from the time they begin to walk. Words cannot express how relieved and thankful we are, that through our programs and the consistency of message we have delivered over these years, a community is being transformed and children are no longer sacrificed and brutally harmed in religious ceremonies.

This is because of a powerful message which says;

you are loved

you matter

you have value

you have purpose, and;

you can have a future

There are now thousands of children, and their parents, who are hearing this message because of the authenticity of the ‘Project Help India’ story – God’s love in action.

We are humbled and ‘blown away’ by the fact that the influence of ‘Project Help India’ has expanded beyond Kotdwara. We now have an Education Centre 50km away in Bijnor and up in mountain jungle villages. Over this past year we have partnered with the Uttrakhand State and local police to get kids off the streets from begging and into schools and we are rescuing stolen and trafficked children from across the state and getting them back to their families and homes.

You have helped us to make all of this possible.

Please help us this tax time by making a donation. Simply click the pink donate button at the top right corner of this page.

Thank you.

So, who is blessed the most?

Harsh enjoying a special visit by his teacher during the lockdown. The kids can’t wait to come back to school.

As I reflect on the amazing work over recent days of the ‘Project Help India’ Team, I am humbled by the incredible privilege that it is to work alongside some incredible people as we serve the poor and needy. Our work within the slum communities of Kotdwara, opens a door for each one of us to grow and be blessed through our connection with many special people. We learn from these people, we admire them and we are enriched and inspired by their determination, persistence, patience, wisdom, smiles and the simplicity of their lives. Mother Theresa said that she truly saw the face of God in people who suffered because of poverty, and I understand what she meant by this. I have seen God’s face, and my words cannot do justice to what I’m trying to explain.

I feel like these people help me more than I help them. I am blessed, levelled, and I get a sense of perspective about life which in itself, is an incredible gift to receive. Many of my friends (and family) who have travelled with me to India feel the same way too. Knowing these people, educating their children and helping their community really is a privilege that I thank God for. As a positive, COVID-19 has drawn us together in a way that helps us to see how connected in friendship we are -despite the distance that separates us. Their story has become a large part of my story, the ‘Project help India’ story …and I invite you to be part of this too.

During this time of COVID-19, the Indian Government continues to enforce a nation-wide lockdown, perhaps for all of June (arrghh!!) . Unfortunately the virus is now spreading in the district and three people have been infected in Kotdwara. Presently we are handing out ration packs feeding 600 people a day, as well as serving breakfast to those who are forced to live in a local quarantine centre.

Anita’s children are no longer hungry

Mrs Anita (pictured above with Daisy our Director) is a widow, and she has been receiving our help daily. She is thankful beyond words that we are feeding her family, at a time when she cannot work and meet her children’s needs.

This week I heard about Tamanna (pictured above with Harsh), the Teacher’s Aide at our Disability Centre. Tamanna lives in the slum where her students live. During the lockdown she has been able to visit children, one at a time, and she has been teaching them, doing crafts, doing speaking activities, physical exercises and checking in on their wellbeing. She also teaches the students and their family members about how to be safe from COVID-19. Tamanna also spends much of her day sewing face masks for her students. What a legend! Tamanna, is a blessing, and she has her job thanks to the generosity of an Australian family, who pay for her annual wage.

Blessing creates blessing! This is community in action.

Two weeks back our team created a special opportunity for each of our Disability Centre students, giving them a goodie bag for them to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The goodie bag contained a hair oil bottle, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a toy, a talcum powder and some chocolates. Our Project Officer reported…

“The children were so much excited to get back to their classes, but we had to make them understand that soon we will, but not yet, open the centre for them. We have called all the students one by one to the centre so that we can distribute the gifts to them. The students came and we have handed them the goodie bags. We have instructed the students as well as their parents about the pandemic and how to keep the corona virus spread away from them.”

We wish you could have been there in person to see the joy and happiness on the children’s faces (your friendship was there in spirit!). So, to our supporters, thank you for being a blessing! You are loved and appreciated by an entire community of people. Know that during this COVID crisis, you are making a significant and important difference in the lives of some people who really are the poorest of the poor. You are literally saving people’s lives. And know too, that the blessings are coming back in your direction! Perhaps it’s us who are blessed the most.

Thank you for being a part of the ‘Project Help India’ story at this unique time in history.

“Spreading smiles” not COVID-19

This is one of Usha’s daughters receiving a ration pack from Project Director - Daisy Samuel

Dear friends and supporters,

I wanted to give you an important update regarding our work in India. Mission COVID-19 is still going on and our staff are exhausted. Every day we provide meals for slum people who have no income to buy food or essential items. The people in Kotdwara are now permitted to go to the markets which are opened for 5 hours a day, however, many are not permitted to work. With no work, they have no money. With no money, they have no food. This situation is rapidly turning into a human tragedy. Sadly we are being told of thousands of people across India who are dying of starvation due to the COVID-19 lockdown. This is not being shown in the media. Thankfully we are not aware of any deaths in Kotdwara, thanks to ‘Project Help’.

Just this week I received this report from our Project Administrator, and it has some great news… all of this made possible, thanks to the generosity of our Australian friends and supporters.

Usha’s Story

‘Project Help’ is continuously spreading smiles on people’s face. Please have a look on the attached picture and see their relieved and happy smiles. This family is of our Slum Centre kids, Kanchan, Shristi and Kashish. Kanchan’s mother is Usha she is 34 years old.  Her husband Mr. Soni is an alcoholic. Usha (pictured bottom right) says she can’t stop her tears when she thinks of her hardships. This family is the most suffering family of our slums area. They all live in a very small shack made up of polythene plastic, used sarees and some bamboos. This family is an inspiration to all of us because they still smile. When we asked what is the reason for your smile, they say;

“God who have given us a family like Project Help who takes care of our every need.”

This filled me with tears and I was very proud at the same time. Yesterday due to a heavy storm their hut was destroyed. The family is already suffering because of lockdown as Usha and her husband can’t go out and do their daily wage earnings. They say they didn’t have anything to eat, so they came to the Project Help office and reported their suffering. Immediately Mr Amit Samuel Sir took action and rations (essential food supplies) were provided to them. 

We want to thank all of our sponsors that without their help we would not have been able to help these families. WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OUR SPONSORS FROM BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS, that without your help these people would have not survived this long. 

May God bestow his best blessings upon you and your family, and keep you safe.

Indian Lockdown extended until 30th May - maybe longer

Our daily food distribution will continue until the Indian Government ends the lockdown in two weeks. Until then we anticipate that we continue to serve 400 meals twice a day, which adds up to 5600 people fed each week.

Please share this email with others who you think can help us. Our meals cost just over $400 a day, so this is another $6000 that we will require until then.

This week our work was reported in one of India’s leading newspapers, which has over 100 000 readers just in our town of Kotdwara. In addition to providing emergency food rations, our team is writing COVID education and awareness articles, which are being published in the local media. We are so proud of our team who are working incredibly hard to make this possible. Our 15 paid staff each has a role in helping. Our teachers are working herd to check in with their students and families.

In the face of such human suffering and tragedy caused by COVID-19, Usha’s story is just one many reminding us that, love, kindness and compassion make a significant difference in people’s lives. We join our Project Administrator in thanking you from the bottom of our hearts.