Homepage Feature Box – PRASAD Australia

Building Toilets – Changing Lives

PRASAD Australia — Fri, 29 May 2015 03:14:08 +0000

It doesn’t get more basic – but in India’s Tansa Valley this is news.

Villagers lining a toilet soak pit

Unsafe water, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene are still common causes of illness and death. Many of these diseases are preventable.

‘Bang for development buck’ investing in water and sanitation is high on the list. The World Health Organisation says each $1 invested could yield an economic return of between $3 and $34 and save up to $7.3 billion per year world wide.

Of the 1 billion people in the world who have no toilet, nearly 600 million are in India. It is impossible to keep faeces from crops, wells, food and children’s hands. Ingested bacteria and worms spread diseases, especially of the intestine. Diseases which in turn help to explain why rates of child malnourishment in India are not improving faster. Lack of toilets is also a safety issue for young women who have to leave their homes after dark.

Access is not the only issue. Cultural attitudes are also important, such as seeing toilets as impure, especially when located near the home.

PRASAD Chikitsa has been improving water and sanitation through its model village initiative since 2014. Staff meet with villagers to explain the health and economic benefits of building a toilet – a two soak pit latrine. Each family helped to build one puts in a lot of hard work and some of the materials, which builds their commitment to the change.

How building toilets changes lives

Ms Perry Batra, Nandani Village Area “Every year the rainy season was a curse”

Mrs. Perry Batra and her family live in a tiny house in the forest, outside the tribal village of Nandani, five km from Ganeshpuri. Her husband left long ago. Mrs Batra now cares for her mother aged 100, and her brother who is paralyzed and suffers from mental illness. Her two sons are illiterate and are cognitively impaired. The whole family depends on a small piece of land and scant ‘daily wages work’ for their livelihood.

Mrs. Batra attended village meetings with PRASAD staff about water and sanitation and put her name down to build a family toilet. She thought this would help her brother and mother in particular, saying that “every year the rainy season is a curse” for people without facilities.

As soon as she knew what was required she started work- digging the two soak pits herself with help from her sons. PRASAD provided guidance and materials in two stages as the work progressed. Delivering bags of cement, a ceramic toilet pot, a pipe and a door frame; then later roofing, a door and kadappa (stone slabs) to cover the soak pits.

The family completed it quickly. Even Mrs Batra’s mother got involved, spraying water on the newly plastered wall.

Mrs. Batra said “Carrying out my family responsibilities is a very tough task. People show sympathy to me, but no one comes forward to support. PRASAD Chikitsa is exceptional. I am really thankful for their efforts and support which will change our lives.”

How you can help

$10	Deworm 100 schoolchildren
$12	Buy a water filter for a family
$50	Treat 10 typhoid patients
$125	Sponsor a family to build their own toilet
$130	Support a Self-Help Group for a year
$1000	Sponsor Vocational education for one

Donations are tax deductible

Donate Now

All donations make a difference and are gratefully received.

Your ongoing support – from just $15 per month – helps us to sustain, plan and grow this work.

Mrs. Asha Shankar Jadhav, Kalambhon Village “Women suffer a lot…”

Mrs. Asha Jadhav, a 40 year old widow, is an active member of the Durga Women’s Self-Help Group in Kalambhon village, about six km from Ganeshpuri. All members of the group are poor tribal people with a farming background. Mrs. Asha lives in small home with her school age daughter.

After attending PRASAD Chikitsa’s awareness talks on hygiene and sanitation. Mrs Jadhav asked for help to build a toilet.

Mrs. Jadhav and her daughter did the labouring work themselves. They dug two large soak pits and laid the foundation for the toilet. Staff inspected her work and delivered the first load of materials: bags of cement, a ceramic toilet pot, a pipe and a door frame. When this stage was completed, more materials were delivered: roofing, a door and kadappa (stone slabs) to cover the soak pits. The construction was completed and she and her daughter now have their own toilet. They no longer need to look for open but secluded places early in the mornings. In years to come this toilet will also provide night soil for fertilizer.

Mrs. Asha Jadhav said lack of facilities of health and sanitation is a big issue. “women suffer a lot [due to the lack of facilities]. To go to open places for one’s daily ablutions is really disgusting and embarrassing… But this problem has begun to end in our village ….Thanks to PRASAD Chikitsa’s initiative and providing incredible support to achieve it.”

A gift of $125 means another family can build their own toilet

“I saw first hand the love and respect”

Long time supporters Jill and Gary Whitley from NSW’s South Coast, have volunteered at PRASAD’s eye camps, and with the mobile hospital. Jill says:

“….I know that donations are honoured with integrity, and committed wholeheartedly to improving the present welfare and future wellbeing of the people of the Tansa Valley.

I saw first hand the love and respect afforded every patient. The heartfelt responses made me realize what an impact even a small donation can generate. I feel gratitude and love each time I think of the work of PRASAD Oz.”

Organic Farming – Because it Works

PRASAD Australia — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 01:23:00 +0000

Prasad Australia Summer 2014 Newsletter

Going GREEN Organic farming in the Tansa Valley – because it works

In This Issue:

How PRASAD helps farmers more…
Sunita: Women farm too more…
Supporter Scott Fry, Loving Earth more…
Yoga Moon: Bending over backwards to help more…
What difference your $30 can make more…
Meet your Board more…

How PRASAD helps farmers

Before PRASAD Chikitsa’s programs, many farmers like Sandeep were isolated and ill informed, growing rice in the rainy season and struggling to find work in the dry season, often migrating to brick camps. Their small plots of land exhausted, some resorted to high interest loans they could not repay and gave up.

PRASAD supports five Farmers Clubs with more than 200 members, and has educated thousands of people how to increase crop output, conserve water and farm all year round. Clubs work with the Indian National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to secure loans they could not get as individuals, buy seed and equipment at bulk rates, and help each other harvest and transport.

Experts find organic farming is ideally suited to India’s drylands. Organic methods mean no run off of harmful toxins, nothing to poison the earth or animals; no expensive start up, and much lower ongoing costs. More on natural pesticides and composting Read More…

Women Farm Too

A Self-Help Group in their farm

Mrs Sunita Labde works hard in her field each day. She joined PRASAD Chikitsa’s orchard initiative last year and receives regular guidance in organic orchard management. PRASAD sponsored visits to other growers inspired her to cultivate vegetables as an interim crop in her orchard.

In December 2013, Sunita took out a loan from her local Self-Help Group for vegetable cultivation and planted eggplants, tomatoes, beans and radishes.

By February 2014, Sunita and her husband were selling their produce at the local markets and weekly bazaars, and making a good profit.
Sunita said, “We really respect and love PRASAD because they treat us like family.”
About 2750 women belong to our Self-Help Groups, learning new skills and confidence, generating income and becoming self reliant. When families struggle, the girls are expected to leave school and go to work. Now, with PRASAD’s help, more daughters stay in school. Sons as well as daughters see their mothers being successful and planning their future.
Self-Help Groups have planted thousands of trees around villages and schools throughout the region- helping to restore the environment, provide food and a cash crop. Mango and chikku trees are popular fruits and are easy to sell. Amidst the trees, they plant marigolds and chamomiles; spinach, peppers and squash.

Your gift of $11 a month ($130) will support a Self-Help Group for a year.

DONATE NOW

Our wonderful supporters

Scott Fry, Founder of Loving Earth foods, https://www.lovingearth.net.

Scott was inspired to start the company by working with rice farmers and studying yoga in rural Maharashtra, India. Rice prices were so low farmers were selling their top soil to make bricks. There had to be another way.

“We decided a focus of Loving Earth had to be to support these communities by bringing their raw materials into developed markets, enabling us to pay good premiums back to the farmers.”

Loving Earth works with indigenous organic growers around the world, including the Aboriginal Nyul Nyul people in Australia’s Kimberleys, serving the growing demand for pure, ethically produced food.

Tansa Valley Farmers

“PRASAD is doing such great community development work in the Tansa Valley including helping local farmers grow produce organically. We support them as a way of giving back to these communities where we received the inspiration to create Loving Earth.”

August is Yoga Moon month – an innovative online fund raising event that targets yoga practitioners and yoga schools.

Participants discover the power of setting a positive intention and dedicate their practice to building a brighter future for women and children in the Tansa Valley. They also offer a donation.

Yoga Moon raised $4000 this year, boosting the awareness of PRASAD among a wider community and attracting new donors.

Many thanks to our generous official Yoga Moon 2014 supporters, Natio beauty products www.natio.com.au and Find Yoga yoga directory www.findyoga.com.au and to acclaimed jeweller Zara Collins, www.zaracollins.com

Thank you to the tireless Yoga Moon team and many generous yoga schools and students and teachers who make it possible.

Check out the vibrant new website www.yogamoon.org.au
If you would like to help with Yoga Moon 2015 contact the Yoga Moon team.

You can make a difference

Your gift will help more families like Sandeep’s and Sunita’s help themselves, and get the medical services they need.

$10 seeds for one kitchen garden
$30 malaria treatment for 12
$50 an orchard – 10 fruit trees for 5 years
$50 restore sight- cataract surgery for one
$130 support a Self-Help Group for one year
$1000 vocational scholarship for one year

Donations are tax deductible.

Every gift is gratefully received. Your ongoing support – from just $10 a month – is best to help us plan this work.

DONATE NOW.

Empowering Women – through Self-Help Groups

PRASAD Australia — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 12:27:59 +0000

Prasad Australia Winter 2014 Newsletter

“We can understand after we stand on our own feet,
how beautiful our life really is.”

Since 2001, PRASAD Chikitsa has helped establish more than 300 Self-Help Groups throughout the Tansa Valley in India. More than 200 of these are women’s groups, of 10 to 20 members from a village.

The groups tackle local problems such as illiteracy, improving road conditions and waste disposal.
They may also serve as micro banks that manage member monthly dues and invest in small businesses, such as buying large cooking pots for hire for weddings, a sewing machine to start a tailoring business, or a tractor to rent to farmers.

PRASAD provides motivational and leadership training, accounting and record keeping support at monthly meetings, and also helps them deal with banks. Villagers are trained as motivators to visit other groups, to learn from each other and create a community network.

Many women are earning money, speaking out, and being heard for the first time.

Self-Help Group in Kusapur

The Women’s Self-Help Group in the village of Kusapur wanted to free their community from the terrible effects of alcoholism.

Some men in the village were spending most of their income on alcohol, which caused domestic violence, road accidents, health problems and robbery. The women worked with PRASAD Chikitsa to assess the severity of the problem. With the support of village elders, they decided on a radical plan – to make the village alcohol free. They wrote to sellers and buyers of alcohol, visited those who were addicted and watched closely to prevent the sale of alcohol. Many opposed the campaign, but the women’s resolve and the value of the plan convinced them. Six months afterwards, the alcohol problem is under control.

One of the women said, “Our elders are praising us and we feel very proud. This is the greatest movement in our village history.”

For $140, or $12 per month, you could support a Self-Help Group for one year.

Will you join us?

“I wanted to make a difference”

Anne Gorman is one of our long time supporters. She celebrated her 80^th birthday on 22 February, surrounded by family and friends at Sydney’s Royal Golf Club. A delicious lunch led to an afternoon of love and laughter, slide shows and stories.
“No presents please,” the invitation read, “but you are welcome to make a donation to my favourite charity, PRASAD Australia.”

Anne loves to help people grow strong and self reliant. “From a very early age,” she says, “I knew I wanted to make a difference, that I had to make a difference.”

The theme of service and generosity runs deeply in her life. One of 13 children, Anne trained as a social worker, married a grazier near Wagga, had five children and was widowed at 38. Always a social activist and reformer, she became Director of the International Year of the Child in NSW; a consultant and business woman, serving on not-for-profit boards, coaching senior executives and teaching meditation. Until this year she was Chair of the Catholic Commission on Employment Relations.
Anne’s memoir, A Country Wife, will be released by Random House in 2015.

Honour someone special

Donating to PRASAD can be a meaningful way to honour someone’s birthday, anniversary, or to make a memorial gift on their passing.
Simply visit our website, click DONATE NOW and complete the option: “I would like to make my donation in honour of ….” For more information on how to invite and coordinate such gifts, please contact us.

Gifts will be acknowledged and we can advise you of the total donations received for the occasion.
Donations are tax deductible. They will make a vital difference to the families in India’s Tansa Valley who are greatly in need.

What your donation can achieve:

Prenatal blood test with HIV test $4
Eye surgery $27
Nutrition supplements for 30 children a month $45
Nutrition supplements for 75 pregnant women a month $75
Support a Self Help Group for a year $140
Vocational/professional education for one student $1000

Every contribution, whatever the amount, is received with heartfelt gratitude.

Are you a PRASAD Australia Sponsor?

Sponsorship by regular contributions is the most effective way to help us sustain, plan and grow this work.

Sponsorships may be from $10 per month, tax deductible.

For donations by credit card, transfer or PAYPAL, DONATE NOW.