Would you be willing to spare Rs.10 per day to help provide education and health care to tribal children in the remote villages of Jharkhand in India?

We know that you have probably received countless similar requests from other NGOs asking for funds. And you have every right to be skeptical about such appeals. But if you haven't reached a breaking point regarding appeals for handouts, we would appreciate it if you could spare a few moments to read this letter. We are not asking for charity. We are asking for your participation in what, we hope you will feel, is a worthy cause.

Dakshinayan is a self-help group which runs non-formal schools and medical programmes for Santhal and Sauria Paharias in the remote Godda District of Jharkhand. Since 1986 and even after it's formal inception in 1991, Dakshinayan has been working without any funding from government or foreign donor sources. Part of the reason was to try and use available resources and also do limited, but effective and need-based development work as opposed to donor dictated programmes.

Dakshinayan's programmes provide medical assistance to 600 families living in the Charchari, Damru and Chandna Panchayats of Sunder Pahari Block. The three schools we run provides non-formal education to 400 children. We also run a modest residential "gurukul" programme for tribal children. These children are being prepared to take over the work of Dakshinayan and serve their own communities when they grow up. All the members of the project's team are people from the local area. To know more about us and our work, please visit our web site at www.linkindia.com/dax.

Dakshinayan operates on a shoe-string budget of Rs 50,000 a month. Almost all the funds are used for providing medicines and medical assistance to the tribal people, for paying the honorarium of local team members, food for the tribal children who live in the ashram and for other expenses like kerosene, petrol, teaching aid and construction and repair of facilities.

Till now Dakshinayan has been generating the necessary funds through a unique Development Education Programme. Under this programme foreign students studying anthropology, global economics and development related subjects would work on our project and also pay a participation fee. This fees would fund the activities of our project. Unfortunately, following the ban by foreign governments on travel to India, we are no longer receiving such volunteer/students. Our only source of raising funds has been cut off. Hence, this appeal to you.

We would appreciate it if you could spare Rs 10 a day and send us your contribution of Rs 300 per month for at least one year. You may send us your cheque every month or you could make a one-time payment for the whole year. If you wish to contribute more or even less, we would be happy to receive your contribution. Every penny counts and your contribution would be a big help. We would also appreciate it very much if you could ask your friends and colleagues to support our cause.

Dakshinayan is also in the process of setting up a corpus fund of 50,00,000. The interest from this will enable us to concentrate on our work without having to worry about funds. If you or your colleagues and friends wish to make a substantial contribution to this fund, we would be grateful.

Please make your cheques in favour of DAKSHINAYAN and mail it to our address given below. Please also send us a note with your name and address (and email address, if possible) so that we can mail you a receipt.

We hope you will participate in the project's activities with your kind contribution.

Siddharth Sanyal
Executive Trustee

DAKSHINAYAN
F-1169 Chittaranjan Park
New Delhi 110019
Phone: 627 6645
Email: dakshinayan@vsnl.com


 

Kavitanjali