Grateful for friends, places, purpose, special moments and memories

The opportunity to do the Hokey Pokey with students at each of our centres is always a fabulous moment - so much fun and joy. Here we are at the Firozpur Border Village Centre.

Doug and Rowena have been in India, visiting 10 of our 13 centres and working alongside our teams in Kotdwara, Bijnor and new centres in Punjab. Some of the highlights for us were;

  • our first ever SHINE Women’s Empowerment Conference in Punjab with 250 delegates

  • meeting new students and seeing kids who we have watched grow up over the years

  • speaking with parents about the importance of education - which were important opportunities for listening to their concerns and hopes for their children

  • delivering staff meetings and hearing what is important to our team and with this, having the opportunity to buy much needed resources

  • we saw the devastation of recent floods in a number of locations and heard stories from children and parents about their fearful experiences and the impact of the floods. They are incredibly grateful for the immediate helps provided by Project Help India, with many saying they lost everything, with no income they were hungry and feared for their lives, Many families are now homeless but their resilience and big smiles are inspiring.

  • the trip gave us the opportunity to evaluate projects, discuss strategy and to make plans for the future

There is so much to tell you about and we look forward to sharing stories and our vision over the coming weeks.

Urgent help needed for 230 vulnerable children

This is Aaniya (7 yrs) and Aarush (10 yrs), their father is Shaalu and Mum is Jyoti - she is pregnant. Everything they own was washed away. The children are suffering from fever and boils. Dad currently has no work. We continue to give them rations to cook meals and the kids need clothes.

Here’s a quick shout out seeking your help to purchase 230 sets of desperately needed clothes for mostly children – whose families have lost everything in the recent floods.

The current state of living conditions for these kids and is miserable. The families have basically nothing, and many are facing opposition from local authorities for setting up makeshift shelters along the city streets. According to many people, the mindset is that the Dalits (the untouchables) deserve this. Many people see them as victims of their own choices and circumstances – they are scorned and pitied – there is little compassion or sympathy. Project Help India is their only source of kindness and assistance.

As you might know, our team is particularly keeping a very close eye on the children who attend our education centres (and their families). There are many more vulnerable people, some of whom we have given emergency rations – but sadly we cannot help everyone.

Our students are mostly back at school, and many of the parents are getting back to their daily means of income. But very day they must make ends meet to survive.

Our urgent need is for $1200 to buy clothes for kids

We are asking many local people for donations of used clothing we must still buy some new items. All up, the total donations required is approximately $1200AUD. Your donation is tax deductible.

This is Pooja (below), mother of a 4 month baby with fever and Priyanshu (3 yrs) who is so malnourished he cannot walk because of weakness. This family is in such a bad way that we have given them mattresses, sheets, clothes, nappies and baby products. Having lost everything, they now live in a rented tin shed room with a mud roof that leaks in the rain.

Below is Priyanshu - a student of our city Centre. His family lost their house and everything in the floods. Priyanshu tells us that at 5am he woke to find a raging river flowing through his house. He could only save himself.  He is one of nine children in the family who all miraculously were found. Now they are refugees, displaced and living on the street. When our team found the family they were huddled together, crying, grief stricken, wet, cold and hungry. Immediately, we gave them milk, bread and simple food items. Dad is a vegetable seller is he is thankfully back at work. We hope to give the children new clothes and we will continue to monitor their needs.

Our Director, Amit Samuel with Priyanshu and his mother 2 weeks ago just after the floods.

Where there is love, there is hope and we know that love always prevails.

10 days since the floods began

It is estimated that makeshift shelters line 2 kilometres of Kotdwara streets. Our team is checking in with these people to determine how we can best meet their needs. Wherever there is shelter, people have piled whatever belongings they have, hoping to keep things dry and safe.

We are lobbying government officials to do a better job to help. With more rain forecast we cannot foresee how things might improve.

Love and Help with Mattresses and Bedding

Thanks to our supporters, emergency funds have been used to purchase bedding, blankets and tarps for makeshift housing.

Love and Help - Pop up Medical Clinic

Thanks to funds received from our supporters we were able to purchase basic pharmaceutical supplies including paracetamol, antibiotics, disinfectants and sanitary items for girls and women.

Love & Help - Clothes Distribution

Our Team collected emergency supplies - mostly from their own personal belongings at home.

Flood and Rain water damage in the Jungle Villages

Many of the mud huts have been damaged to the extent that they are no longer able to be lived in. People are fearing for their safety - especially from ongoing rain, dangerous animals, poor sanitation and the loss of their immediate daily income.

There is currently complete isolation from any form of help and assistance.

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