Hope for Village on the Dump
Donation protected
Hope for the Village on the Dump
It’s a cliché, but it’s true. Every dollar you can spare will make a huge difference in the lives of roughly 150 villagers living, for the last 17 years, on a coal waste dump. These men, women, and children are among the poorest of the poor in India - at the absolute bottom of the social ladder, with no power whatsoever. They draw their drinking water from a dank pond. It is beyond filthy. The women have to haul this water uphill to the village, about a quarter of a mile away. They cannot grow any kind of crop on the waste rock heap. Their houses are barely habitable. There are no toilets.
Yet, in spite of that, they seem to make do; three boys, all under ten years old, walk roughly three miles to and from school each day.
Our goal is modest. First, we want to install a submersible pump in the pond, so we can pump its water to the village. (Miraculously, they already have electricity at this “Village on the Dump.”) To treat the water, we want to install a locally-sourced water treatment package so that the water for drinking and potable uses is clean. Second, we want to buy sturdy wooden planks and some supporting materials to make raised beds for the 30-40 families, so that they can grow vegetables. (We can get decent soil locally to fill the beds.) Third, we want to buy them a number of composting toilets.
That’s it. That’s the goal. We think we can do all this for around $5,000. It does not seem like much. But it will make a night-and-day difference in these villagers’ lives. We have visited the place, and we have good local volunteers who can make sure (as will we) that your dollars will be spent wisely and directly.
With clean water and a place to grow healthy food, we hope more changes will follow, including better health for all the villagers and perhaps a chance to go to school for all the children, both boys and girls.
You can make a tax-deductible donation to the “Joseph K. Sahu Memorial Foundation” (IRS ID 81-780794). We thank you in advance for your consideration, kindness and help.
It’s a cliché, but it’s true. Every dollar you can spare will make a huge difference in the lives of roughly 150 villagers living, for the last 17 years, on a coal waste dump. These men, women, and children are among the poorest of the poor in India - at the absolute bottom of the social ladder, with no power whatsoever. They draw their drinking water from a dank pond. It is beyond filthy. The women have to haul this water uphill to the village, about a quarter of a mile away. They cannot grow any kind of crop on the waste rock heap. Their houses are barely habitable. There are no toilets.
Yet, in spite of that, they seem to make do; three boys, all under ten years old, walk roughly three miles to and from school each day.
Our goal is modest. First, we want to install a submersible pump in the pond, so we can pump its water to the village. (Miraculously, they already have electricity at this “Village on the Dump.”) To treat the water, we want to install a locally-sourced water treatment package so that the water for drinking and potable uses is clean. Second, we want to buy sturdy wooden planks and some supporting materials to make raised beds for the 30-40 families, so that they can grow vegetables. (We can get decent soil locally to fill the beds.) Third, we want to buy them a number of composting toilets.
That’s it. That’s the goal. We think we can do all this for around $5,000. It does not seem like much. But it will make a night-and-day difference in these villagers’ lives. We have visited the place, and we have good local volunteers who can make sure (as will we) that your dollars will be spent wisely and directly.
With clean water and a place to grow healthy food, we hope more changes will follow, including better health for all the villagers and perhaps a chance to go to school for all the children, both boys and girls.
You can make a tax-deductible donation to the “Joseph K. Sahu Memorial Foundation” (IRS ID 81-780794). We thank you in advance for your consideration, kindness and help.
Organizer
Lisa Evans
Organizer
