AN URGENT REQUEST - can you help this family?

Sunita is a widow. She and 5 other family members live in this house. Their weekly income is $15 and we would like to help if we can by replacing their roof and making some other repairs.

We are seeking a donation of $1000 to cover the cost of an urgent replacement roof and other necessary house repairs for a slum family who are living in desperate circumstances. We would hope that the repairs be completed before the monsoon wet season in the middle of the year. This family of 6, known to us through our work in the slum community of Bijnor, live in a single room with flimsy plastic roofing, no door and basically no walls ...check the photos! Their weekly income is $15AUS which is significantly well below the poverty line. From an email received from our team this week;

On a recent visit to the Ladpura Slums Centre, Bijnor, by our General Secretary Mrs. Daisy Samuel, was approached by a woman named Sunita Devi who asked for help. She also gave us a formal application for help. We took her request in consideration and also gave her a visit. Her situation was really miserable.

Mrs. Sunita Devi resident of Village Ladpura is a poor widow woman. Her husband Late Mr. Virendra passed away 7 years ago. He was suffering from tuberculosis. Even after several months of treatment in the government hospital, one day due to a sudden pain in his chest he died at his house. He was a labourer by profession.

Mrs. Sunita Devi has 4 children. Hence a total of 6 members in her family because the mother-in-law lives with her. Mrs. Sunita is not even educated. The name of the eldest daughter is Neha and she passed 12th grade. From the age of six months, Neha has suffered from polio, and her both legs are disabled. The second son's name is Shubham and has only studied till 8th standard. We he can he works as a labourer. The third child is a girl named Kajal, who is a student in 12th standard. The fourth son's name is Vishal and has studied till 5th standard.

The room where the family lives is a single room and that also is very feeble. The room doesn't have any roof and is covered with plastic polythene. But even through that polythene, a lot of water comes seeps during the rainy season. There is no door in the room which causes many types of difficulties. She has to very hard work to make her ends meet. Mrs. Sunita Devi, does the work of washing utensils in people’s homes. Due to which her monthly income is only 3 thousand rupees ($60AUS a month). She is hardly able to meet the household expenses with this money. She is also under huge debt by people. The family is able to fill their stomachs with the rations provided by the government.

The family is helpless and miserable in many ways. In this winter also they faced many difficulties living in that open room and also suffered from cold. They have asked many people for help and were not given any response by them. Hence she have requested us for a tin roof to be given to them so that they can have proper roof for that room.

Please let us know if you can help, or simply make your tax-deductible donation by clicking the DONATE button in the banner of this page.

Thank you.

Our Honour and Privilege

A member of our team said “It fills us with great pride how people love and respect Daisy”

We are pleased to share with you some great news in the life of Project Help India.

Honour

Our General Secretary, Daisy Samuel has received prestigious recognition for her work in the community, and she has been acknowledged as;

“the face of women’s empowerment for the people of Kotdwara”.

Normally a politician would be invited but this year, Daisy was asked to be the Guest of Honour at a Hindu sacred moment, the re-enactment of the story of Rameela. About 430 people attended the performance, and the hall was full of people’s loud applause as Daisy entered the room. 

Daisy was honoured for bringing the Women’s SHINE Conference to Kotdwara, for the distribution of ration kits and other food supplies during the Covid lockdown, and for her service, without discrimination, towards children in need.

A lady, the wife of an auto rickshaw driver, said;

 “My family and more than a hundred families are alive today just because of Project Help India, else they would have died during the lockdown due to lack of food. Project Help India donated more than 100 ration kits to the families of auto drivers.”

Congratulations Daisy - we honour and celebrate you too

Our Privilege to help another 90 kids

It is always a privilege to help kids in need, and sadly there is increasing urgency due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic. Our Director in Punjab (where we currently educate and feed about 300 kids) was asked if we could take over another centre. ‘Door of Peace’ is a small project that helps about 90 children, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. The children are from a community of labourers, and most would be involved in child labour (and at high risk of significant abuse) if they did not attend this place. They have no other school to attend. Due to donations from other sources stopping due to COVID, the centre will be forced close at the end of January. The school has operated for the past 8-9 years, is well resourced, has 3 teachers, a cook and a community liaison officer, and has established a very good reputation in the community.

Project help India has decided to pledge an initial commitment until the end of April, with monthly operational costs being $1400 a month. Thanks to our Australian supporters we can manage this sum in the short term. We will review our strategy and ongoing priorities early next month.

Some of the kids at ‘Door of Peace’ who we will now be helping for the next 3 months - perhaps longer.

Happy New Year - let's resolve to help others and in doing so, help ourselves

Happy New Year from the team at ‘Project Help India’. We are excited about 2022, knowing that whatever happens during this time of ongoing apprehension and uncertainty, we have purpose in coming alongside people and helping those who are in need. 

2022 is shaping up to be another very big year in the life of 'Project Help India'. We have many goals and we are ambitious about all we seek to achieve. We look forward to sharing these things with you over January. Our resources were certainly stretched in 2021, due to the impact of COVID but thanks to you and our amazing supporters we were able to achieve many wonderful things.

As you contemplate a new year, we hope that 2022 will be filled with personal success, happiness and fulfilment found in the achievements and surprises of life. Earlier this week I read a very helpful article - ‘My 5 Best Tips for Setting New Year’s Resolutions’ by Jessica Irvine (Senior Economics Journalist and Writer) in the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Some say they’re doomed to fail but science suggests there is real value in our annual commitments to do better.”

Jessica suggests that there has never been a better time for all of us to reset our goals, and to have better clarity and perspective in our decision-making, and simply to have a ‘fresh start’. Her 5 tips for successful new year’s resolutions are;

Have a mixture of goal timeframes. Don’t load yourself up with too many new daily habits. Try picking only one new daily habit, one weekly habit, a quarterly goal and one annual ‘‘ once-off’ ’ goal. Tell the world. It doesn’t have to be Instagram but accountability – to a friend or family member – can be an important motivator. 

What is your New Year’s Resolution?

Whether you chose to set new year’s resolutions or not, might you choose to be committed to supporting ‘Project Help India’ in 2022? We are an organisation that really is committed to making a difference in the lives of people. We hope you can see that we operate with great intentionality and integrity. Your donation goes directly to our projects with minimal admin fees. Your tax-deductible donation can be made following the donation links on our website. You can easily set up regular monthly or quarterly donations. 

Helping others helps yourself

I am confident in suggesting that a resolution to help others will ‘frame’ your 2022 with a perspective that sets you up well with less introspection, and with this, have better positive personal well-being outcomes. To support you, please know that it is important to us that you feel connected to our story, so that the stories of lives of people impacted by poverty in India, intersect with your story across the year. Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss this further.

Again, here is the link, for the article which provides more specific research to ensure for successful goal setting.  Link here to full article. Thanks Jessica.

And speaking of making the world a better place…

Renu, who is one of our volunteers in India shares how she got through 2021 because of her volunteer work as a teacher. Read her inspiring story here.

“AT THE END, IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE OR EVEN WHAT YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED. IT'S ABOUT WHO YOU'VE LIFTED UP, WHO YOU'VE MADE BETTER. IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE GIVEN BACK.”

Thank you also Moritz Knöringer for your fabulous image, which we used in this blog.

Thank you Renu - we honour you!

Renu is one of the amazing volunteers. She gives her time and energy tirelessly by teaching lessons and supporting the children and their parents through the community service programs of Project Help India.

Renu reflects on her experience as a volunteer for Project Help India

Truly I want to share this beautiful thing with all the readers. I mean like every year I feel and celebrate Christmas day as this is my birthday as well; so 25 December is special for me but this year it was all about happiness and the solace which I get after offering help to a wonderful organisation.  I know that Christmas is not just about decorations, good food, cake and enjoyment but this day is also another name of love and help. This year I felt it, I did it I am volunteering a group Project Help India.  This time we distributed gifts, warm clothes, toiletries and sanitary items to the needy kids. I could see the smile and happiness on their faces after having appetising evening meal and receiving gifts from us.

I teach 25 students’ who come from very poor background.  In the class I hear many heart wrenching stories about how these poor kids struggle to go to school and how life is real hard for them.  Some of the children don’t have proper winter clothes to cover their bodies, they live in house made of scrap and bricks. These lovely kids also want to live a normal happy life but sadly their parents can’t afford even a good school for them.   Project Help India is making a great difference in their lives. 

I am living in a small town in Uttarakhand.  I am a homemaker and a mother of two lovely daughters; for me my family is my priority. But still something was missing in life; I wanted to do something by which I can help others. Looking around near me I used to see many problems like child education, mental wellbeing of the society and many other issues. It’s just a coincidence that through a social media site I heard about this centre and I visited the organisation’s office. After seeing all their past work and meeting the children who come to attend classes I felt that this is the right thing which I can do. If I can teach somebody, help someone and I can guide someone, sort out their problem then I am donating my time in bettering the world around me.

I am simply enjoying teaching my students. All of them are special every child has his/her own quality; they share so many things with me. We had organised Christmas party where they showcased their talent by dancing, singing, poetry etc. Children got special gifts for winter and stationary items.  On Christmas night the organisation hosted a party and invited the children also. Seeing these kids happy gives me comfort. I feel sad seeing their background and family condition but if they get good education, guidance they all can overcome hurdles of life.

Talking honestly this volunteering work has provided me lots of positive spirit. I myself am learning so much. I get the opportunity to meet likeminded people who want to do something for the society, for others.  The way the girls of my class come and tell me their personal problems, the way all the students learn and show zeal for the classes is just excellent. Most of the children attend regular school in the morning time but at evening they come in our centre for tuition.  They learn all subjects as the organisation has hired local teachers for the same.  Besides teaching them moral value lessons and English I have taken some special classes on important topics. Few days back I gave presentation about (Good touch and bad touch). I feel these kids are most vulnerable they must know about this subject. I believe from a very early age, we should talk to kids about their body, its different parts and should tell them the difference between good and bad touch.

Every month these students get some ration, food items, stationery and toiletries from the organization. Some students who can’t afford to pay their school fees get free education as the organization bears the cost.  Another centre which is for the specially needed children also has same facilities and there the kids are also always enthusiastic to learn something new.  Seeing these kids and helping them in education I am adding a positive impact on my life as well. My family support me doing this all, my daughters are also learning the meaning of helping /caring for society.

If I write about Project Help India I have to make another write up; as their service and work is lot more than helping just kids? They conduct free technology classes for young women for their future employment.  Their team has joined hands with the local anti-human trafficking police team, and they provide care and counselling to rescued children and adults. During pandemic time their team was working 24/7 and was offering food items and medicines for hundreds of people. The founder and director of this organisation   Amit and Daisy Samuel, are always ready to help the society. They believe in community work and feel happy reaching to the poor. 

One has to come out of his or her comfort area to reach and care for the humanity.  I will share few beautiful lines here said by Denzel Washington

“AT THE END, IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE OR EVEN WHAT YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED. IT'S ABOUT WHO YOU'VE LIFTED UP, WHO YOU'VE MADE BETTER. IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE GIVEN BACK.”

The life-changing gift of a child's education this Christmas

These kids have had a great year, and we are so thrilled to hear that they have thrived in their learning at school - despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic. We are delighted that each has made remarkable progress, growing in their academic ability, social skills and self-confidence. As they tackle new concepts and embrace the challenges of their school work we see increasing self awareness and with this comes a realisation that their dreams for life are tangible and something that’s within their reach.

This Christmas, we thank our supporters for giving these kids (along with the other 550 children who attend our centres) the precious gift of an education. Because of you, these kids are flourishing not only with their learning, but in their health and nutrition, ambitions and personal aspirations for the future.

These kids, their families and teachers, send you a big 'THANK YOU’ - along with their greetings and best wishes this Christmas.

Manvi’s Story

Manvi has been a student at our Village Ladpura Centre for 4 years. Manvi has 6 siblings. Her father Mr Ravi Kumar works as a decorator for marriage ceremonies and the family’s financial situation is dire. Caring for a large family is extremely difficult and Mr Kumar has found that this has been exacerbated since the Covid pandemic due to a lack of work. Manvi’s mother, Mrs Baby is a housewife. As Manvi's parents are not educated, they have not been able to teach their children. When we first met Manvi she lacked confidence and openness and due to a lack of education, it was difficult for her to manage day-to-day tasks.  Now she is thriving and her parents say that she is a different child. Manvi tells us that she enjoys learning new things like singing, dancing, drawing, and listening to moral educational stories. She dreams of becoming a teacher so that she can educate children.

Karan’s Story

Karan is in 6th grade at our Village Bagnala Centre. Sadly, his father passed away leaving his mother Ruby Devi, to bring up her 3 children alone. Ruby works as a labourer in the fields and does not earn enough to meet the needs of her family. With barely enough to feed her children, education could not be a priority for Ruby. If it wasn’t for Project help, these kids would not attend school. Karan’s teachers say that he is constantly improving and growing in confidence, and because of this he now loves school.

Sehnaaz’s Story

Sehnaaz was once a very uncooperative, ill mannered and disrespectful child who refused to help comply with her parents. She currently studies the equivalent of Grade 5 at the Project Help India Kadarganj Centre where she especially likes sports, dancing, singing, storytelling and reciting poems. Since attending school many positive changes can be seen in her. She helps her mother and even wants to do extra studies at home. When talking with her family, they say that she has changed a lot. Once a very difficult child she now respects everyone now. This has also transformed her family and their home life and they all are very thankful. Everyone thinks that Sehnaaz will be very successful in life because of her fierce determination.

Prachi’s Story

This is 14 year old Prachi. She belongs to a very poor family. Her father’s name is Mr. Raju and her mother’s name is Samlesh. Her father is a labourer and her mother is a homemaker who fetches wood. They have 3 siblings. In a family of 5 members having only a single person employed brings many challenges. In the hard time of the pandemic Prachi’s father was unable to get work making it difficult for the family to survive a single day. Project Help India reached out to this family, supporting them with food supplies, as well as educating the children at our City Centre. Prachi is studying in class 9. Initially she was a very shy, under -confident girl who could barely read Hindi and English, now she excels. After becoming a part of the Project Help India family the change in her personality is visible. Her dream is to become an advocate to help others in need.

The complexity of Child Marriage and Guana

In our most recent blog we spoke about the two-fold nature of our work. At Project Help India our work balances between meeting the urgent and immediate needs of people, and also advocating and working against the systemic injustices that both oppress and reinforce their status and place in society. We believe that through this approach generational change and long-term community transformation is made possible.

Child Marriage and Guana

One of the most complex and challenging issues that we are responding to is the arranged marriages of young people, especially girls and women. In some of the communities where we work, child marriage is a common practice. Girls are married as children and then at age 18, the marriage is consummated and they must move into their in-law's house. This is in keeping with the traditional North Indian Gauna ritual ceremony. In previous generations Guana was common any time after a girl’s menarche, but it is now illegal in India prior to age 18.

As we work alongside these people it is not as simple as saying that there is a better way. Our approach provides a careful balance of building long term trust and respectful relationships, school attendance coupled with academic success, providing parent and family education programs, and also counselling. Our leaders and teachers who live in these communities are key to understanding and navigating the many personal and cultural sensitivities.

Don’t be quick to judge

Empathy and compassion are key to understanding the depth of complexity underlying childhood marriage. As with most of the social issues that we respond to, we see that poverty is cruel and is exacerbated by a vicious cycle of illiteracy, a lack of awareness, limited opportunities and often desperation. Due to poverty and the social context and structures of village life, a child’s marriage provides a way for parents to ensure their daughter’s future success and safety.

Shmitra’s Story

Shmitra* is 17 years old and currently studying at one of our Education Centres. She belongs to a local tribe and lives in the mountain foothills. Shmitra joined our centre 4 years ago and is currently learning at a Grade 4 level. Before attending classes, she was not allowed to attend school at all. As per tribal rules girls are not allowed to go outside of their communities unless they are supervised by a male. When the Project Help Centre began, Shmitra’s parents (along with many other parents) agreed that their daughters could now attend school as the centre is within the boundaries of the community.

Shmitra was married when she was a child. When she turns 18, she will move to her in-laws for the Gauna ritual ceremony. After this, Shmitra must stop attending school and will be limited to completing household chores and taking care of her family. Due to their strict traditional beliefs the men must work in the field to earn income and women are responsible for the household chores. Education is not a priority for anyone.

Neema’s Story

Neema* is also 17 years old and a student at one of our Village Centres, and she too was married as a child. Before attending classes Neema was unable to read or write, she could not write her name. Neema is very determined. Since she began her education, she is reading and writing both in English and Hindi. Through her education Neema has expressed that she does not want to live under societal norms but rather in her own words, she wants to;

“create my own identity.”

Naeema has asked Project Help India for us to start sewing classes as an extra-curricular activity so she can earn some money.

Finding their voice

Currently there are three teenage girls whose families we are working with, as well as a number of younger children whose lives have been planned according to this tribal practice.

Attending school has given the girls hope to be educated and feel confident. Both Neema and Shmitra have asked Project Help India to encourage their family to support their dreams. Both want to continue studying after the Guana ceremony. We are by conducting meetings with the families to understand the importance of education. Neema has also asked us to speak to her parents about supporting her ambitions of starting a small business. Project Help India is also helping the families by providing them with necessities such as sanitary pads, some financial support, rations and clothes, as well as the education and the daily healthy meals received each day at school.

* names have been changed

Across October - happiness, joy and big achievements

To our Friends and Supporters,

Firstly, we want to express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to you. Your generosity is having impact in so many ways, and at many levels.

At Project Help India we are seeing transformation in the lives of individuals and their community. Our work balances between meeting the urgent and immediate needs of people, feeding them, teaching, providing counselling, and also advocating for the marginalised and working against the systemic injustice that both oppress and reinforce their status and place in society. This is how generational change and long-term community transformation is made possible.

October flew by and our team delivered many exciting programs. We are so proud to tell you about some of our achievements over this past month. In doing this we seek to highlight how impact is the balance between responding to immediate needs of people as well fighting for the cause of justice to create a better world for those who are powerless ...and ultimately for us all.

Empowerment through Education

Early in October our staff and two police officers visited the Kadarganj Centre to conduct a session on the ‘importance of education’. All 40 students (ranging from 4 to 17 years old) are from the Gujjar tribal community, where education is disregarded and children are encouraged to work, completing household chores which then becomes the sole pathway for the rest of their lives. It’s a vicious cycle that has been compounded by a lack of awareness for generations. Our goal is to encourage and prepare children for their future, by changing their mindsets as well as the attitudes of their parents. Read more here

Women's Small Business Training

On the 6th of October we delivered a Self-Employment Training Workshop in partnership with Uttarakhand Police Wives Welfare Association. The objective of this workshop was to highlight the importance of self-employment for women, to create business opportunities, as well as increase their personal self-confidence. Through our Women’s Empowerment Centre, our long-term goal is for women in slum communities to become financially independent, to support not only their families but also themselves. Read more here

Health and Nutrition

On the 16th of October, we celebrated World Food Day. We prepared a delicious and healthy meal for our students, teaching them about the importance of eating healthy meals, hunger and malnutrition. We had a fun day learning so many new things as well as celebrating the blessings of food, friendship and coming together around the shared family table. Read more here

Inclusive Education

On 20th October 2021, we held our Annual Function with enthusiasm and happiness. There was much to celebrate! Our chief guest was Mr. Navendu Singh Ezekiel, a minister/politician in a minority community of Uttar Pradesh. The students of Disability Centre students performed a welcome dance, which without a doubt, was the highlight of the night. This was the very first time any of these children had performed on a stage. Emotions were high because these children were once not even capable of doing daily tasks and now, they were performing in front of a large audience. There were many tears in the room. This moment represented the importance and power of inclusive education, something that is not understood, and certainly not valued in much of India. Read more here

Together, we are making a difference
Your tax-deductible donation goes directly to our projects. Please reach out to any of us if you'd like to know more.

Thanks again, with love from the Project Help India team.

Annual Function 2021 - so much to celebrate

Students from our Disability Centre brought tears of joy and happiness. This significant moment represents the importance and power of inclusive education.

On 20th October 2021, we held our Annual Function with enthusiasm and happiness. There was much to celebrate, especially given we could not meet last year. The whole function was organised following COVID protocols like wearing masks, handing out sanitisers and maintaining proper distance.

The program began with a prayer and our director Mr. Amit Samuel and General Secretary Mrs. Daisy Samuel gave a warm welcome to our chief guest Mr. Navendu Singh Ezekiel, who is currently a minister/politician in a minority community of Uttar Pradesh.

Next was perhaps the highlight of the function. Our Disability Centre students performed a welcome dance. This was the very first time any of these children had performed on a stage. The atmosphere was emotional as these children were once not even capable of doing daily tasks. Now they were performing in front of a large audience, creating a proud moment for everyone. There were many tears in the room.

India is very rich in culture. So many cultural activities were performed gracefully by the students of our respective centres. Their happiness could be seen through their performances. We also distributed some gifts and chocolates to these children as a token of our love and appreciation.

Our Director Mr. Amit Samuel shared a few words about the works of our organisation and of our centres which work on different aspects of lives of children like to educate them, to make them confident, to maintain hygiene and good health, and most importantly to have a good life and hope for the future.

Our General Secretary Daisy Samuel read our Annual Report which summarised our work for the past two years. Daisy highlighted our response to COVID, with Project Help providing thousands of meals and food supplies to slum families and the homeless, who were jobless and starving. During the lockdown we also distributed worksheets to the students of our centres so that their studies would not be affected. Goodie bags were also given to the community front line workers- the street cleaners, police and hospital staff who worked so tirelessly throughout the pandemic.

We honoured the Kotdwara Police Anti Human Trafficking Unit. During the pandemic the team worked very diligently with their ‘Red Rescue Campaign’. Through this they rescued 35 people, and another 20 missing people were located and helped back to their homes. We are also happy to honour them as they are always ready to partner with Project Help India. The police were very grateful for Project Help India.

A few inspirational words were given by our Chief guest who gave high praise and honour to Amit and Daisy Samuel. He also acknowledged our team of teachers and support staff who make such a difference in the lives of the people, especially the children.

We concluded our function with a vote of thanks to each and everyone who have given their precious time to attend, and for their support of our work over the past 2 years. The event was a huge success and we look forward to another year of serving our community and helping those in need.