Christmas Appeal 2009

While South Asian women make up about 21% of the world's female population, 44% of the world's illiterate women are South Asian.
International Development Research Centre

I am writing to you to ask for your support to allow us to help women like Salma. But first, let me tell you her story…

Salma is 27 and lives in the Chandaka forest tribal area of Orissa, India. She lives with her elderly parents, her two brothers and her sister. Because her family couldn’t afford to send her, Salma had virtually no schooling and is illiterate. Salma’s mother suffers from TB and her father is an alcoholic so between them they are only able to get work very occasionally earning a meagre 4500 rupees, just £65, a year.

Just over a year ago, Jeevika Trust’s partner in Orissa, Jeevan Rekha Parishad, met the women in Salma’s village and helped them form several Self-Help Groups – Salma, along with the rest of the women, was taught how to keep bees and process honey.

Salma and her mother now have six hives and in their first harvest they got 7.5kgs of honey. With the help of Jeevan Rekha Parishad, Salma was able to sell all of her honey in the local market for almost £15. Salma told us: ‘I am so happy that I have been able to help my family. With this extra money, I want to buy more hives – I’ve already been able to help my mother get treatment for her TB; one of my brothers has gone back to school and we have been able to repair our home.’

We are committed to helping even more women, their families and their communities, just as we have helped Salma and her village.

Please help us to do this.

Would you consider making a donation to support our work this Christmas?

Donating to Jeevika Trust is easy, simply send us a cheque made out to ‘Jeevika Trust’ or donate securely online.

£5 can buy… a fruit tree which will be given to a village school for pupils to look after and share its fruit which will increase concentration, improve attendance at school and teach them skills they can share with their families and villages.

£30 can buy… a sewing machine for a woman to provide clothes for her growing family and earn a small income by selling clothes to other families within the village.

£125 can buy… three nanny goats and a buck to provide a source of rich milk, producing up to three pints a day, and manure to treble vegetable crops.

I do hope you’ll consider supporting our Appeal this Christmas – thank you for taking the time to read my letter.

Andrew Redpath
Executive Director, Jeevika Trust