Minding Their Own Business

A Letter from Jyotika
Patel, member of
PRASAD Board of
Trustees
Minding Their Own Business
For the women of these Self-Help Groups, that means feeding
hungry children.
the villages (of the Tansa Valley)
and causes many illnesses.
Implementing nutrition programs
is a very important step towards
eradicating this problem.”
“I realized that
I had found
a direct path to
those whose
needs are
so great.”
The opportunity to do that
appeared two years ago, when
Maharastra’s Department
of Integrated Child Development
Services decided to contract
out its Midday Meals program,
at government-sponsored,
pre-school centers, to Self-Help
Groups (SHGs.)
Jyotika Patel
Everywhere in the world, there are
men, women and children for
whom the most basic food,
medicine and shelter remain
beyond reach.
And at the same time, there are
people who wonder, “What can I
do to help?” “How can I become
involved?” “If I make a donation,
how will I know that it was used
for programming?”
When folks ask me these questions,
I tell them that I understand; it can
be hard to know where to begin.
It can be hard to believe that one
person’s participation could be
more than a tiny whisper against a
roaring clamor of need. It can be
even harder to know, beyond
doubt, that one really has made a
difference and how.
Thanks to Self-Help Groups like this one, thousands of meals are delivered to
undernourished children in the Tansa Valley every month.
H
ow is it possible for a few groups of
women, in a remote area, with few
resources and no experience, to prepare and
distribute 7,755 meals to 285 children in just
27 days?
continued on page 2
With the addition of the
Pratiksha, and Mandakini Mahila
Bachat Gats, (Women’s Savings Groups) at
Taluka Wada, District Thane, there are now
seven PRASAD SHGs that have contracts to
deliver this midday meal. For many of the
children, it is their main source of nutrition.
The answer began with generous PRASAD
donors, and continues with a group of women
who are combining their energy to realize a
dream: to provide a healthful meal to the
pre-school children in their communities,
every day.
Varsha Parchure, manager of PRASAD’s
Community Development Programs in India,
explains, “Malnutrition is widespread in all
I tell such folks that I once asked
the very same questions. And I tell
them about PRASAD.
When I read PRASAD’s vision
statement,“…healthy communities
prospering in harmony with the
natural environment, and in which
people are inspired to improve the
quality of their own and others'
lives…” I realized that I had found
a direct path to those whose needs
are so great.
Spring/Summer 2009
Several PRASAD Self Help Groups have government
contracts to provide a midday meal to children at pre-school
centers, like this one at District Thane.
A member of a PRASAD Self-Help Group serves lunch at
a government-sponsored pre-school center. For many of
the children, this meal is their main source of nutrition.
The Pratiksha and Mandakini groups are new
and they faced several challenges; both are
located in very remote and poor areas. The
women must advance the money to purchase
the food and then wait for reimbursement,
and the government payments do not always
cover the full cost of the food.
continued on page 2
A Letter from Jyotika,
Nutrition Program
continued from page 1
PRASAD staff stepped up to facilitate
organizational meetings with the members
of each SHG to help them to reduce
obstacles and maximize their skills and
resources. The result is a plan for each
group to implement a Nutrition Program
and take ownership of the results.
continued from page 1
Through PRASAD, I am responding
to people’s immediate, daily needs
of food and medical care, but what
about the next day, the next family,
the next crisis?
As a PRASAD supporter, I know
that I am also helping people to
implement sustainable, communitywide economic, educational,
environmental, health and
agricultural programs.
To those of you who already
support this important work, I
offer you thanks on behalf of the
more than 75,000 individuals who
benefit from PRASAD’s programs
every year.
And to those who still wonder,
“What can I do to help?” I offer this
answer: If you want to be involved,
if you want your money to go
directly to support people in need,
then choose PRASAD.
This newsletter will introduce you
to some of the individuals, families
and villages with whom PRASAD
is working to craft long-term
solutions to challenges that have
plagued them for many generations.
I hope their stories inspire you
to join them on their amazing
journey toward well-being and
self-sufficiency.
Nutrition Program at a Glance
Identify objectives
For these new entrepreneurs, a delivery of grain is most welcome.
In addition, thewomen needed to make a
transition, from shopping and cooking for
their families,to shopping in bulk and
cooking for as many as 80 children at a time.
These obstacles made it difficult to provide
meals regularly to the children.
PRASAD staff and
volunteers will work
with the groups for
the next three years,
providing guidance,
supplies and
mechanisms to
measure outcomes
and improve
procedures.
• Enhance members’
socio-economic condition
Assess needs
• Additional food supplies
• Training to cook healthful meals
in quantity
• Measure outcomes
Supports
• Provide additional food supplies
• Lessons with professional cook
• 3-year plan to monitor/evaluate
Strategies
• Timely identification/correction
of problems
• Monthly meetings to address
same
• Cultivate rapport with villagers
• Improve operation’s efficiency /
potential for profit
With love and gratitude,
Jyotika
Under the direction of a professional cook, the women are mastering the art of
buying ingredients and preparing simple and nutritious recipes on a large scale .
2
• Impact malnutrition rates in
the service area
• Guidance for shopping in bulk
Please visit us at www.prasad.org
and discover more about PRASAD’s
mission and the many ways in
which you can participate.
2
• Provide a daily meal to nearly
300 children
The women cherish the expectation
that they will succeed in measurably
reducing the rate of malnutrition
among children in their service areas.
As they gain experience,refine their
skills and build relationships with
other SHG’s and members of their
communities, they are beginning to see
how their Nutrition Programs can
become the self-sustaining entities that
they first envisioned. That, in turn,
could lead to other opportunities to
generate income.
Entre Mujeres” - In Celebration of Women
“Entre Mujeres” (For the Women, with the Women) is PRASAD
España’s ongoing campaign of awareness and support for the
women of PRASAD Chikitsa’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in
India’s Tansa Valley.
Musicians Delia Peña and
Alain Montblanch perform
as a colorful montage of
photos of the SHG programs
swirls across a screen.
“Most people shared that it was
a heart opening experience,
something very special for them.
When people see
who is behind all this work, it
reaches people’s hearts.”
Because of your support, there are now more than 250 SHGs,
whose 3,000 members, most of them women, are engaged in
everything from bee-keeping to farming as they work toward
self-reliance and stronger communities.
International Women’s Day was in March, making it the perfect
month for PRASAD España to launch a series of concerts and
photography exhibits, to showcase the economic, political and
social achievements of these very courageous women.
At The Jerez de la Frontera University in Spain, PRASAD
España’s General Manager, Xavier Nova, welcomed more
than 115 guests, including elected officials and university
administrators. He presentated the PRASAD video, “Building a
Sustainable Future.” “I also shared my experience of offering my
Meet Pedro Aguirre Toledo
Pedro came into this world in March,
2008, the fourth son of a family from
Guadalupe Victoria, a poor village near
Durango, México.
Pedro was born with strabismus or crossed
eyes, as were two of his brothers. Last year,
his brothers had corrective surgery at one
of PRASAD de México’s donor-funded eye
Pedro Aquirre Toledo
before corrective surgery. camps. This year, Pedrito joined 76 people
who received treatment at an
eye camp that was held
February 5-7, 2009.
A person who suffers from
strabismus lacks what we call
a three-dimensional view. In
most cases of strabismus in
children, the cause is
unknown; in more than half
of these cases, the problem is
present at or shortly after
birth. “What is important,”
stresses Carlos Suarez, general
director of PRASAD
support to others and invited
people to join us,” said Xavier.
The connection between your
donations and the success of
the SHG program is very clear.
PRASAD Chikitsa estimates that Guests admire an exhibit honoring the
women of PRASAD’s SHGs.
it costs 12€, or about US$15 a
month to maintain an SHG. That covers everything - support,
training, organizational meetings, administrative support,
meetings with local administrators, government and dealers,
outings to other developed areas and meetings to evaluate
group’s development.
With your help, the SHGs of the Tansa Valley are growing
strong and so are the women who participate in them. They
are cultivating and selling vegetables, baking and selling bread,
planting fruit trees and starting rental businesses. These
sustainable endeavors are just the immediate, tangible results
of your support.
With positive experiences and more economic stability, the
women of the Tansa Valley are shifting perceptions and
priorities in their day-to-day lives. They say that they have
confidence in their ability to improve outcomes, for their
families, and for their communities. The women of the SHGs
are assuming leadership roles to promote, among other things,
village cleanups, HIV education, safe drinking water and more
schooling for their children.
de México, “is that it can be solved with
surgery, usually with excellent results, as
in Pedro’s case.”
Without PRASAD de México’s eye camps,
Pedro’s family could not have afforded this
operation for even one of their children.
Your support of this program made it
possible for three of their children to have
this corrective surgery.
Incredibly, all the people in this photo - surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses are volunteers from the PRASAD de México eye camp that took place in
Durango in February of 2009.
Pedro Aquirre Toledo
after corrective surgery.
With corrective surgery, Pedro’s vision is
much improved and he will also grow up
with higher self-esteem and greater
confidence in himself. Over 12 years ago,
PRASAD de México first offered free
strabismus surgery in Durango. Since
then, PRASAD de México has treated more
than 18,200 individuals at over 121
camps throughout Mexico. Whether you
donate funds, supplies or your time, the
results are the same: You join the circle of
those whose needs are so great, and those
whose greatest need is to share.
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By The Fruits of Their Labors...
“This is my pension scheme,” says Ladaku Katkar,
standing in his small fruit orchard in India’s
Tansa Valley.
He knows it doesn’t look like much right now; just 30
or so little trees. They look vulnerable among the
wooden supports, which Ladaku is carefully building
with an optimistic eye toward their bountiful future.
In 2008, you, our donors, helped PRASAD Chikitsa
start this Fruit Orchard project with farmers in India’s
Tansa Valley. Some of your monetary gifts became 130
fruit trees, seedlings, seeds, tools and guidance on
farming techniques to increase yields. Other donations
supported micro-credit, or small loans, to farmers so
they could invest in fertilizer and other supplies.
Ladaku knows it will be four or five years before the
trees give up their first crops of juicy mangoes and
chikkus, (a small, sweet fruit.) He doesn’t mind, and
neither does Arjun Padwale, another member of the
original pilot project. Like farmers around the world,
they’ve mastered the art of patience, and, like good
businessmen, they stay productive.
In time, this young tree will reward farmer Ladaku
Katkar for his care, by yielding crops of juicy mangoes.
Ladaku Katkar with one of his young mango trees. Ladaku is among the farmers participating in PRASAD
Chikitsa’s Fruit Orchard Project.
Beneath the orchards roam the interim
food crops—vines of colorful orange
tomatoes, green pumpkins, beans,
chilies and vegetables including
bringals (small eggplants) and
spinach— that are another aspect of
this agricultural initiative. The farmers
are better able to feed their families
and they can sell any excess. Ladaku
says, “I am earning well from the
interim crop.”
“Farmers see orchard development as
an opportunity to build some assets in
their current subsistence-living
condition,” explains Varsha Parchure,
manager of PRASAD Chikitsa’s community development programs. She
adds, “(The farmers) take every care to
make it successful.”
Arjun Padwale poses with his son, in Arjun’s orchard of
young fruit trees.
Planted between mango saplings, interim crops of
tomatoes, pumpkins and beans roam over wooden
supports in a new orchard, one of PRASAD’s
Community Development initiatives.
2.
4
“Last year PRASAD Chikitsa worked with
five farmers. This year, already more than 30
farmers have applied to PRASAD for
resources to begin their own orchards,”
says Varsha.
... New hope for farmers in Tansa Valley
Beyond generating food and income, the importance of your
support for the Orchard Project is best illustrated by its
potential to reduce other, seemingly unrelated, challenges faced
by residents of the valley.
One example is the brick factory camps. The factories create air
pollution, leading to chronic eye, skin, stomach and respiratory
illnesses for their migrant work forces. Production methods
permanently deplete the topsoil, which then decreases the
potential rice harvest over the long term. See, “Brick-Making:
Hard Labor for Subsistence Wages,” Fall/Winter2008 Newsletter.
Pumpkins are among the second crops that farmers grow for food and income, between one
rice season and the next.
The Orchard and Second Crop Initiatives present residents of the Tansa Valley with an alternative to the poor working and living conditions of the brick factories, shown above.
“The Orchard and Second Crop projects offer a way to reverse those trends by reducing
poverty-induced migration while promoting environmental restoration and improved health,
quality of life and resources for poor families,” explains Varsha.
This is not a complicated project, yet it seems to inspire
everyone who learns of it. It has the potential to
mitigate some of the very difficult issues that have long
challenged the people of the Tansa Valley. With your
dedicated support, the Fruit Orchard project will
expand and the region, and its people, will flourish.
An interim crop of bringle (eggplant) thrives under a
sunny sky. Second crops like this one provide farmers
with food for their families and a cash crop that they
can sell.
5
From Self-Help Group to Community Leader – Sunita’s Journey
Sunita said that her experience with PRASAD’S SHGs, and the
support of their members, gave her the confidence to expand
her leadership role. In 2002, with Dasharath’s encouragement,
Sunita ran for the office of Sarpanch (village head) and won.
Varsha Parchure, manager of PRASAD Chikitsa’s community
development programs, said, “Sunita was elected because the
women of Akloli had faith in her capacity to bring about radical
changes.” That was seven years ago, and Sunita has been in
office ever since.
PRASAD envisions communities where people are inspired to
improve the quality of their own and others' lives. Through
your generosity, we give communities like Akloli the sustainable
development programs that they need to achieve that vision.
Sunita Londhe Sarpanch (village head) of Akloli Colony.
With your help, the SHGs of Akloli are flourishing. The participants
have gained skills and experience, and the knowledge that they
can influence the outcomes in their village. Empowered and
self-assured, they are leading their communities toward a more
wholesome and prosperous society.
Meet Sunita Londhe of Akloli, wife, entrepreneur, mother of
three, elected official, grandmother, and chairwoman of one of
PRASAD’s Self-Help Groups (SHG) in Akloli, a village in India’s
Tansa Valley. In 2000, Sunita mobilized the women of Akloli on
issues like availability of safe drinking water, and that experience
shaped her interest in PRASAD’s SHG’s.
In 2001, Sunita helped the women of her community to form
several SHGs. As the women grew vegetables and irrigated
fields, they began earning income. Their men-folk, including
Sunita’s husband, Dasharath, have joined the women in their
efforts to improve life in their community. Sunita said, “The
SHGs not only brought women together but also helped to
unify the entire village.”
With your support, women in Akloli, and across the Tansa Valley are
rewriting their futures.
PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program (PRASAD CDHP)
When a child gets hurt, staff aboard the PRASAD CDHP Mobile Dental Clinic deliver prompt, emergency care.
3:52 PM: Melanie Urbina rushes her six-year-old son, Casey,
to PRASAD CDHP’s Mobile Dental Clinic in Sullivan
County, NY. Casey had fallen and injured his
front teeth.
3:55 PM: Dental assistant Ann Sardina x-rays Casey’s teeth
while Dr. Rochelle Harrison listens to his mom
describe how Casey fell.
3:58 PM: Casey is tipped back in the big, cushiony chair
under that bright light, where the dentist and her
assistant gently examine the injury. Good news:
Casey’s injury does not appear to be serious.
4:10 PM: Casey is sitting in his mom’s lap, admiring his treat
(a bat-shaped eraser) as Dr. Harrison gives Melanie
some after-care instructions.
4:20 PM: Mother and son are ready to leave, much happier
than when they arrived, exactly 28 minutes earlier.
6
Casey Urbina’s mom, Melanie, comforts
him as Dr. Harrison examines Casey’s
injury during an emergency visit to the
CDHP Mobile Dental Clinic.
Six year old Casey and his mom,
Melanie, after an emergency visit to
the CDHP Mobile Dental Clinic.
Visit us at www.prasadcdhp.org
Program at a glance: PRASAD Chikitsa Fights HIV/AIDS
The challenges
The number of HIV-positive cases in India is estimated to
be 2.3 million.
Of those individuals, one in every five is believed to be in the
state of Maharashtra, in the Tansa Valley, where PRASAD offers
its HIV/AIDS programs.
Treatment and support –Treat HIV-positive individuals for
secondary infections; collaborate with the Indian Government
to get ART to patients who need it; FHC outpatient clinic and
day care center for HIV-infected adults and children. By
January, 2009, more than 1,080 HIV-positive individuals had
registered with PRASAD. That figure includes 128 children
who are HIV-positive and 399 patients on ART.
The state of Maharashtra is particularly vulnerable to
HIV/AIDS: It sits at the crossroads of major transportation
routes used by a variety of travelers, including tourists,
migrant workers and truck drivers. Prostitution has also
become an issue in the area.
Truck drivers listen as PRASAD staff discuss HIV/AIDS awareness and
prevention during market day in the Tansa Valley.
Women distribute information about HIV/AIDS at a busy marketplace in
the Tansa Valley.
PRASAD’s response:
• Increase awareness about HIV/AIDS and related
diseases.
• Diagnose early and treat existing HIV/AIDS
patients.
• Provide comprehensive medical care and counseling
to those affected.
Your donations help us to provide:
Non-Government Organization (NGO) representatives attend an HIV/AIDS
Awareness Training at PRASAD’S Family Health Center.
Awareness training and education – Between 2004 and
2009, PRASAD staff and volunteers reached more than 60,000
men, women and children in villages, schools, jobs and market
places, and among self-help groups, law enforcement and
medical communities and high-risk groups.
Testing and counseling – Family Health Center provides
counseling before and after testing; collaborates with other
healthcare providers to give prenatal testing to all pregnant
women, with their consent; provides antiretroviral therapy
(ART) free to infected pregnant mothers, and their infants,
if born with the disease.
To read more about how your support is
helping us to ease suffering and improve
outcomes, please visit us at
http://www.prasad.org/programs/casestudies/hiv-case-study.php.
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THE PRASAD PROJECT
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About The PRASAD Project
The PRASAD Project is an international not-for-profit
organization committed to improving the quality of life of
economically disadvantaged people around the world. PRASAD’s
intention is to help people become self-reliant and live a life
of dignity.
The PRASAD Project, whose offices are located in upstate
New York, USA, operates health, education, disaster relief and
sustainable development programs in India, Mexico, and the
United States. We also have national licensees in Australia,
France, Italy, and Spain who help support the India program.
The PRASAD Project was initiated in 1992 by Gurumayi
Chidvilasananda, the spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path.
PRASAD is a philanthropic expression of the SYDA Foundation—
the central organization for the Siddha Yoga path. PRASAD’s
humanitarian work is based on the core values of Siddha Yoga:
selfless service, enduring commitment, and respect for all people,
regardless of their race or belief
For more information on PRASAD and its many programs for
children and communities in need, see our website at
www.prasad.org
This newsletter is published by The PRASAD Project and mailed
to our donors and partners twice a year. You also can read the
newsletter online at our website, www.prasad.org (English,
French and Spanish versions.)
You can also receive our e-news by sending us your name,
address, phone number and mailing address.
Contact us:
By e-mail:
By fax:
By phone:
[email protected]
+1 845.434.0377
+1 845.434.0376
Visit www.prasad.org for more news
about programs and events.
Acknowledgements
Editor
Melissa Rennie
Editorial Review
Jyotika Patel, PRASAD Project Board of Trustees
Dr. M. Cecilia Escarra, Administrator
Gopi Wright, SYDA Foundation Communications
Donate online at www.prasad.org
© 2009 PRASAD Project All rights reserved
(Swami) MUKTANANDA, (Swami) CHIDVILASANANDA, GURUMAYI, SIDDHA YOGA, and
SIDDHA MEDITATION are registered trademarks of SYDA Foundation.®
Contributing Writers/Photographers
Col. Rohit Tewari, Program Manager; Dr. Surendra
Buddhi Yadev, Program Manager, Family Health Center;
Varsha Parchure, Community Development Program
Manager; Carlos Suarez, Director; Natalia
Robles, Assistant; Xavier Nova, General Manager,
PRASAD España; Melissa Rennie; Mary Newman and
George Fitch. Additional photos by Cándido Roldán and
press department, Villaviciosa de Odón Town Council.
We offer special thanks to Mary Newman and George Fitch
who donated their time and skills to design this newsletter.
Above all, we thank our donors, staff and volunteers.