By Diya | Village Woman
Hello everyone from a desperately hot Bihar, the monsoon is late and stiil some time away and if you do not mind may I bring your attention to our new appeal to help fund our efforts to save lives during this heawave
https://www.globalgiving.org/microprojects/help-save-lives-from-the-indian-heatwave-in-bihar/
We have asked a village woman from one of the villages to comment on the programme for this report. This is (unedited) what we she had to say
Hello my is Diya Kumari (we have changed the name) and I am a mother living in Dadpur village. I am being interviewed for my thoughts about my life and the meal program and I am very happy to share some things of of my life with you. I am about 32 years of age but I am not sure as I have no birth certificate, nobody has in my village which is isolated and very poor.
Very few of us here actually own the land we work on and we get only a small daily wage . I have three children one boy and two girls aged all aged between about fourteen and ten years of age .Our village comprises mainly of mud dwellings with straw or tiled roofs and has a population of about 1000 people and we all are poor. The main road is several kilometers away but we saved up for years and we now have a cycle. My husband Jagdish works as a daily laborer too and we might earn between us about 400-500 rupees (about $8.00) a day ,but due to seasons and the growing times we may not always have work . There is no doctor or electricity in our village but there is a people first school and their health team visit regularly to check on our children's health.
But we are not just mute takers of help, the women are learning about how to give birth in a clean and hygienic way and health things and we are forming self help group so we can give save a little bit of money every month and maybe get a loan. I have learnt sewing skills at a people first sewing centre and I might get my very own sewing machine so I can make my own children's clothes and maybe sell some at the weekly market some 8 km away.
But it is the healthy meal that our children get which really helps our children be stronger. It is cooked by village women here in the village and is a real community event . it makes all the difference here where Dal (Lentils often the village peoples only source of protein) is so expensive for us now and our children don't get the vitamins they need .
So I would like to thank you all on behalf of all village women for your help in supporting this programme. you are all very kind and we are all very grateful to you.
Diya
Village Dadpur
Bihar
India
Links:
By Neelam | Senior Nurse- Community Health Project
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