OPEN HANDS INDIA Reg no. 1116011
News Letter No. 4 November
A brief report from the projects in India and as usual information about events.
News from the projects
I have just come back from my third stay in the project area since OPEN HANDS was started. Each visit to India expands my understanding of the difficulties involved in attempting to tackle the problems faced by the rural population.Each visit exposes me to the daily raw reality of this rural poverty, where ignorance, neglect and corruption interact leaving people on the margins, struggling to survive. Each visit has increased the respect I have for the organizations, which are continuing to make change happen in these circumstances. And every visit reinforces my conviction that it is useful and right to be helping support the efforts of these organizations.
I will not forget the pride of the children who have learnt to read and write since attending Berny School nor the tears of the ‘new boy’ who arrived on the last night of my stay there. His mother, an HIV/AIDs patient was dying in the hospital, his father had abandoned the family and there was no one prepared to care for this child. Berny School is now looking after twenty-eight such AIDs ‘orphans’ and the number will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
During my October visit I had plenty of time to observe, reflect and ask questions about the work that is taking place with the BIRDS HEAL and JAGRUTHI projects. I am impressed by the progress that is being made towards expanding access to health care and education as well as the overall aim of building the capacity of the communities to bring about changes through the self help groups. Besides their usual tasks, the health workers and animators are helping women to prepare and submit a greater number of applications for services or entitlements, such as bus passes for those with disabilities, pensions, and requests for teachers to be appointed to the village school.
Lack of money has meant that these projects have not been able to do as much in the area of income generation skills training as they feel would have been appropriate but both projects are having a positive impact in the villages. More self help groups have obtained loans from the banks and these loans are being used in a variety of ways. I spoke to a woman who had bought materials to make door hanging decorations which she sold, another woman was making ‘kodi’ the local patchwork quilts. Some had used loans to cover the costs of medical emergencies. Lots of women had used loans for cultivation purposes. One widow had used her part of a loan to pay for the further education of her eldest son, another to cover house rental during the dry season when there is little paid employment in the fields, (otherwise she would have had taken a loan from a local money lender at much higher rates of interest). One group had plans to buy an auto-rickshaw and hire it out, another successful group is considering going for a tractor. Sadly some groups are finding it harder to move forward and it is necessary to consider what action must be taken to ensure these groups receive the levels of support and guidance to enable them also to make progress .
The BIRDS HEAL health programme has been given a boost by the donation, from a family in the Netherlands, of a vehicle. This means the project can run more mobile clinics to isolated villages. The likely adoption by the government, of the Teresa Community Health Centre as a care and support centre for people suffering from HIV/AIDs, has meant an expansion of the quantity and quality of the services the centre is now able to offer to these people. The centre is now routinely referring cases to other government HIV/AIDs services as they become available. If the centre is adopted, the government will be providing the salaries of the counselor, a lab technician and a data input clerk to manage the records and eventually some medical staff. The twenty bed special unit for AIDs patients is nearing completion but as yet has not received any funding to cover the building costs.
I made a short visit to the children at PLANET HOPE where I was delighted with the cheerful sounds of small children rushing around, obviously very much at ease in their surroundings and very happy to attempt to communicate with their limited number of English words and my few ones of Kannada. During this stay I was able to visit and talk with the women and children in the Bangalore stone quarries including the fourteen year old driver of a JCB used to shift boulders after the midday explosions have blasted the rock faces, his income provides the majority support for his widowed mother and his younger siblings.
Most of my stay was based with BIRDS HEAL at Berny School where the children seem to be flourishing with the establishment of a well structured program of organized activities, study and free time. However the lack of steady funding means that only the most basic needs are being covered but the children do now have easy access to a pay phone which enables them to keep in direct contact with their families.
Fund raising events and other..
OHI and OHI supporters held several successful events between May and September which meant it was possible to increase the regular amount we are sending to £1000 a month, as well as send some money to support the salaries of teachers in the non-formal tuition centres for school drop-outs, which BIRDS have started in a program linked with the local education department.
So we achieved two out of three of this summer’s targets. We are still looking for more people to support the care and education of children at Berny School or Planet Hope through a direct donation or by standing order. It is possible to down load a Standing Order form or to make a donation from this web site. Just go to ‘make a gift’.
A big thank you to the people who have provided the funds via BESOM to enable BIRDS HEAL to buy the multi-media equipment they will be using in their health and HIV/AIDs awareness campaigns to the people in the villages.
Saturday 17th November
At North Petherton Community Centre. 7.30 to 11.00
A Ceilidh (barn dance with caller) music by HoPpiNg MaD
Ploughman’s and Pud, raffle and Bar. Doors open from 7.00 Tickets £10 or £75 for table of eight. No sales on the door
PS: This was a brilliant evening, make sure you don't miss the next one.
News Letter No. 3
More news from India of the projects, a big thank you to the women who supported the Girls Night In to Help Out, a reminder of some other OHI events arranged for this summer, an appeal for Lego and as always a thank you to everyone who has already given OHI support.
I have just returned from a further visit to the project area (with temperatures reaching 40C and rising, this is not a particularly easy area to work in) but I am delighted to report these projects are consolidating all their earlier fieldwork efforts and are making real progress in developing the social activities that will enable these communities to bring about changes.
Here is a brief overview of the more notable developments in the community and on the Berny School Campus.
1)There has been a steady development towards forming the Women’s Self Help Federation, which when fully established will be responsible for obtaining and deciding how larger loans can be best allocated within the groups. It was exciting to see the elected members of the *Mahasanghas meeting and learning about their new duties.
*Normal village SHGs are called Sanghas, Mahasangha means bigger group or great group 2)On March 21st more than a hundred disabled adults and children from villages in the Jevargi area attended the first general meeting held by Birds Heal for people with disabilities. Given the difficulties these people face and the limited transport in this area, this was a very impressive turn out, although it represents only a small number of the actual total of disabled people in the district. After listening to a speech in which we were told about the latest Government initiatives and programmes available to people with disabilities, the adults formed themselves into groups and compiled lists of the everyday problems they face and the things they would like support with. Doctor Raguvindhra examined each child to see if surgical intervention would improve their mobility. Steps are being taken to help those identified. I was pleased to recognise several members of the Self Help Groups for Disabled People that Birds Heal animators have been setting up in the villages. There was a really positive buzz about this meeting, people felt included and prepared to act.
3)A regular programme of giving training to Traditional Birth Attendants (village midwives) is now being carried out in the villages.
4)The number of people receiving support and medical attention through the dispensary HIV/AID programme known as ’Sneyha Jyothi’ is growing, men, women and children. The burden of finding the funds to pay for ART medicines is an increasing worry for both the individual sufferers and for Birds Heal. At the moment Birds is managing to provide these medicines free as there is no way that their patients can afford them. Efforts are being made to obtain supplies from the government hospitals or other agencies working for HIV/AIDs patients (the story is long and not straight forward). Self Help Groups have been set up with the people who attend the HIV/AIDs clinic with the aim of providing a little financial support and enabling them to develop new income generating skills.
5)Building is underway to provide simple accommodation for those whose condition means they need to remain close to the dispensary for longer periods than would be normal for most dispensary stays. It is intended that this building will be the first stage in providing a skills training unit /rehabilitation centre for people with HIV/AIDs .
6)The building of the Girl’s Hostel is continuing, when finished this will provide safe accommodation for at least 75 girls. At present only the ground floor is occupied.
7) A new bore well has been sunk. So now it is hoped there will be sufficient water for the whole campus.
Sadly news of the village tuition centres is not so positive. After having been encouraged to believe that funding or teachers would be supplied if local groups could identify the children and supply a room for non-formal tuition of child labourers and others, nothing further has come from the relevant authority and at present Birds Heal/Jagruthi funds are too limited to continue to pay even the very modest salaries of the would be teachers they have identified.
FUND RAISING EVENTS
The Girl’s night IN to help OUT, organised by Rachel and Fran Bunce and given at their home raised more than £1000. Many thanks to all who supported this evening with especial thanks to Mary Baker, Clare Hawks and Lizzy Myers for their work towards making this a really successful event, an additional thank you to those who were unable to go but have sent donations.
It would be wonderful if other people feel inspired to do an event, similar (ask Rachel for details 01278 662605) or completely different, but please contact Christine Dougherty or Teresa Miller if you are thinking about it.
Other events coming up soon
12th May Ceileigh with ‘Hopping Mad’ at Holford Village Hall Tel: Teresa Miller 01278 733052 (All tickets sold out)
15th June Murder Mystery Meal presented by Blake Drama Club at Spaxton Hall Tel: Teresa or Christine Dougherty 01278 662544
Lego
It would be great if I could get several loads of LEGO to the children at Planet Hope and Berny School. Most toys are not suitable for the conditions but LEGO is. So please let me know if you are thinking about clearing out LEGO.
TARGETS FOR THE NEXT 5 MONTHS
1) To increase the regular amount we are sending to support the community health project by £200 a month.
2)To find a hundred people prepared to support the care of a child at Berny School/Planet Hope by regular standing order.
3)To find funding from any source to pay the salaries of community based teachers for non-formal tuition centres (approximately £10-18 a month per teacher)
Your support will make a difference in communities that have very little.
