Jee-news - Winter 2008

All of us at Jeevika Trust grieve for those who suffered in the atrocities in Mumbai last week. We offer our deep sympathy to their families, and we pray that this great city, with all due vigilance, will remain as ever the open gateway to India.

Letter from Andrew

The monsoon in Orissa on India's east coast was drawing to an end by the time of our visit in mid-September, but heavy persistent rain had wiped away the footpaths to many villages, to the point where there was nothing for it but hitch up skirts and trouser legs, put our papers and cameras on our heads, and wade through thigh-high water levels! But it was worth it: the Santala Tribal community met us with drums thumping, and the women swaying and ululating to welcome our delayed but wet arrival!

Further down the coast in Tamil Nadu the rains don't start until after September, so we were able to see how by the end of the dry season the renovation last year of large traditional reservoirs (ooranies), unuseable for the past 3 decades, had enabled them to keep providing accessible safe water to three villages right through until August, saving countless hours of women walking several miles a day during the hot months.

I hope you will have enjoyed reading our Jeevika Review 2006-8, which was mailed out and put on to our website in September.

We were very pleased at the response to my e-mail letter of early November about Trustees for Jeevika. We had also advertised in The Guardian and The Big Issue, and are now in process of meeting the several people who have expressed an interest in offering their experience and support.

At the same time, through our Westminster friends Ellwood & Atfield we have selected two highly-qualified young volunteers, Michael Connellan and Angie Windle, to spend a year in Delhi with our main partner Schumacher Centre for Development. They will help reinforce SCD's communications work with central and state governments, especially in Orissa. We plan to run a major conference in Delhi early next year to bring together good quality NGOs and businesses to explore better collaboration in rural development work.

The Jeevika team wish you a festive year's turning and we ask for your continued support during what promises to be an exciting 2009.

Andrew Redpath
Executive Director, Jeevika Trust

Rural India Awakening

Our most recent monitoring visit to India in September started with Jamie Lowe, our volunteer photographer, Andrew, and our Programmes Officer, Judith Crosland arriving in Bhubaneshwar in the north-eastern state of Orissa to thunderous skies and heavy rain.

Three days were spent with our partner Jeevan Rekha Parishad (JRP) in Orissa, visiting Durethenga village in the Chandaka Forest tribal area; the flooding confirmed JRP's research on how badly villages and schools suffer without access to piped water supplies and sanitation facilities - or any promise of these services in the future. Villagers experience a high incidence of water-borne diseases, especially gastro-enteritis. Sanitation, even if the know-how and the money are available, cannot operate without water, clean or otherwise. Furthermore, children - particularly girls - resist going to school if sanitation facilities are not available: when they are, the number of female students increases by more than 20%. Not only will Project Pani provide rainwater harvesting and sanitation systems to village households and to the local school, two ponds will also be dug in the village to provide water to those with thatched roofed houses, to livestock and to support household kitchen gardens and tree planting around the pond. JRP expressed its sincere gratitude to Monsoon Trust for making this project possible.

In Tamil Nadu, the team visited three of our projects: firstly Project Mithra, near Trichy, where they met with HIV/AIDS families working with Mithra Foundation on the production of crafts goods which they market locally. They sell their candles, embroidered gift cards and rush mats locally to churches and craft outlets and generate enough income to support the cost of medication, transport to the hospital and family food. The group was enthusiastic about its craftwork and ability to generate an income, and compared with our meeting 18 months ago the HIV-positive villagers were noticeably more confident and self-reliant, while the broader community generally had a better understanding of the nature of HIV/AIDS.

Further south Project Annai Mary is located in 3 villages 10kms from Madurai. Compared with our previous visit 6 months ago, there was enormous enthusiasm for beekeeping by the women participants. Initially, because beekeeping was not typical of the area, the Annai Mary Foundation (AMF) had to work hard to give bees a 'positive press'. Using DVDs, photos, videos and live demonstrations of beekeeping - including an 'exposure visit' to Mattadam, a large private wholesale purchaser of honey where they were trained, shown how bees operate, how to handle them, keep a hive, deal with a sting and how to process and market their honey - women villagers became interested. The project now has another 200 women within the target area keen to become beekeepers, once funding is available to extend it.

The final visit was to Project Ooranie near Tuticorin which, over the past year has provided three large water catchment areas (traditionally known as ooranies). Although these were filled to the brim at the peak of the wet season, and had successfully provided three villages and almost 6,800 people with clean water for household, livestock and irrigation purposes, it was possible to see the silty bottoms of two of the ooranies, with the smallest and deepest one still holding water. A proposed and interesting extension to this project is SCADs intention - with the help of Jeevika Trust - to utilise these reservoirs for fish-cultivation. When the ooranies are again full at the end of the next monsoon season, SCAD will add fish seedlings to each of them; at the end of the summer, when the ooranie water levels are low, mature fish will be harvested with huge nets. All villagers will join in the harvest to benefit family consumption with fresh fish and a surplus for the community to sell to local fish merchants. Traditionally, this was a one-day annual celebration, with a good time to be had by all, but which has not happened for many years.

Leap for Livelihood and Jump for Jeevika!

In September brave Jeevika-supporter Achyut Patil leapt for livelihood and jumped for Jeevika in a 10,000ft skydive over the Oxfordshire countryside!

If you have ever wanted to do a parachute jump here is your chance. Jeevika Trust is looking for adventurous volunteers to make a fundraising parachute jump and if you raise enough in sponsorship you will get to jump for free.

There are three types of jump available - an 'Accelerated FreeFall' where you can experience the thrill of skydiving solo from up to 12,000 feet, a 'Tandem Skydive' from 10,000 feet attached to a professional instructor and a 'Static Line' jump which is performed solo from up to 3,000 feet - and you can jump from any one of over twenty British Parachute Association approved airfields across the UK. No experience is necessary as all training is given and if you raise from £290 (depending on the type of jump you choose) you will receive your jump for free. To see what it's like, watch Achyut's jump.

So if you would like to make a thrilling skydive from 10,000 feet or an exhilarating solo jump from up to 3,000 feet give Rosemary a call at the office on 020 8973 3773 or email rosemary@jeevika.org.uk - we will send you a full information pack and everything you need to take part in the experience of a lifetime.

It's not too late to still support Achyut and his Jump for Jeevika by sponsoring him, please visit his fundraising page today if you would like to do so.

A different kind of Christmas

Are you worrying about what to get that friend that has everything for Christmas this year? Or what about the friend that always returns your present to get what they really want? Why not give them a gift that keeps on giving this year? By donating to Jeevika Trust this Christmas your gift will have real long term benefits.

£10 could help us buy seeds for kitchen gardens for 30 women which will produce a range of vegetables and help our ladies to help their families' nutrition.

£18 would help fund two large drums to catch rainwater during the monsoon for use at home or in schools when the rains stop.

£30 could help train villagers to cultivate and sell fresh fish providing vital nutrients and generating an income.

£45 could pay for beekeeping equipment for one woman giving her the opportunity to produce nutrious honey for her family and generate a small income.

£100 will mean a Self-Help Group of 12 women will get 3 training sessions helping them to make the most of their gift of bees or goats.

£250 could line a household water storage pit preserving and protecting water from seepage.

£1,500 would buy 50 sewing machines, tailoring equipment, materials and train 50 women in a community craftwork and tailoring enterprise.

So please dig deep and give generously. Make your donation online today, tell us that you are donating as a gift for Christmas and we'll send you a personalised gift certificate to give to your friend and family member.

A Big Thanks!

Our heartfelt thanks go out to Serena Fass for organising and giving our illustrated lecture at the Royal Geographical Society in July. Along with all of the stall-holders a special thanks go to Bhandari Jewellers of Jaipur for sponsoring the venue and La Porte des Indes, Oberoi Group and Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces for sponsoring the drinks. A great evening was had by all and you have helped us raise over £4000.

A special thank you goes to Harish Marnad for taking part in the London Bikeathon in July. Harish and his friends have raised £100 to help our livelihood projects in India. Thank you!

Jeevika-supporter Lindsey Pilling recently celebrated a big birthday in September (don't worry Lindsey we won't tell!) and instead of presents, Lindsey asked her friends and family to donate to our work in rural India. Lindsey's friends kindly gave over £100 - thank you!

As we told you earlier, Achyut Patil took part in a fundraising skydive for us on 21st September. Achyut's supporters have helped him raise £163 for us - thank you to all of you.

Last but certainly not least, Ajay Singh ran the Hyderabad 10km Half Marathon at the end of November on behalf of Jeevika Trust. Ajay's 1 hour and 5 minute run helped raise £50 for our work in India. Thank you Ajay!