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Current Projects
Education
Since statehood, the Chhattisgarh government has instituted several
programs to help Scheduled Caste girls who attend school up through
tenth grade. Although it is an extremely positive step on the part
of the government, for many families the aid is not sufficient to
overcome the burden of sending their daughters to school. Girls who
are not in school assist in the fields and at home. Additionally,
those in school have less desire to get married early, and this means
continued financial obligation on the part of the family. Sahayog
is working to help at this point by providing necessary monetary assistance
for educational needs such as tuition, books, school uniforms (required
in all government schools), and bicycles for transportation to school.
When feasible and necessary, Sahayog also provides direct economic
assistance to families of some of the girls as well. While the majority
of economic support is directed at girls, some boys from poor families
are being helped as well. The Foundation regularly monitors the performance
of all the youth who receive assistance, stressing the need for them
to study and show through their performance in school that they are
making positive use of the help they receive. Thus, efforts are being
made to insure that whatever is provided goes to those who are using
it to better their educational abilities. Currently, Sahayog is providing
economic assistance to more than 80 students, many of whom would not
be in school without the support. Additionally, several families have
received milk cows to help provide nutrition to their school age children.
Sahayog is also helping several local schools by providing monetary
assistance for them to meet some of the basic supply needs they currently
lack. These include such necessities as work tables, writing materials,
maps and other geographic materials, microscopes for high school biology
classes, and sports equipment to promote physical education. We also
plan to help refurbish and repaint the walls of many of the classrooms
because of their degraded and chipping paint, some of which contains
lead.
The photos below are of students from a government girls primary school
we are helping to support:
Click on image to enlarge
Guidance Counseling
Guidance counseling within the communities to expand awareness of
the importance of female access to education, both academic and technical,
is vital. In the process, Sahayog is working on initiatives to help
families overcome the damage to self-confidence and self-awareness
that is the result of poverty, lack of opportunity, and continued
existence at the bottom of the social system.
Health Assistance
Health care in rural India is a mixture of traditional practices and
limited access to Western style medicine. Although many of the traditional
health care methods are sound and effective, unfortunately many are
not passed on to subsequent generations, and much of this valuable
knowledge has been lost. Sahayog recognizes the importance
of these traditions but also believes that access to Western-style
approaches to health care have an important role to play as well.
We try to promote traditional health practices while also providing
access to contemporary health care when necessary.
Two recent examples of our assistance:
1. In early 2007, a 12-year-old girl was diagnosed with an eye disease
that affects her vision and may lead to blindness. Sahayog provided
her medicine to allay the progression of the illness while we arrange
for her treatment at a hospital. Since the requisite facilities are
not available in any of the cities nearby, we are arranging for her
to travel to one of the major cities, where such treatment is available.
2. Also in early 2007, a 14-year-old boy named Hem Kumar was diagnosed
with a failing heart valve. His family was told that the boy had less
than a year to live if he did not have the surgery to replace the
faulty valve. After much searching, the family was able to secure
financial assistance from the government to cover the surgery, while
Sahayog provided the financial assistance for the
boy and his family to travel to Mumbai for the surgery as well as
for the post-operative care. The operation occurred on April 24, 2007,
and the boy is back home recovering. Doctors have told his family
that his prognosis is good, and the Foundation is continuing to provide
support for the family as he recuperates.

Hem Kumar in April 2007 and one year later in April 2008
Long Term Projects
Educational Center
Sahayog is undertaking a long-term project to build
a free school and a health and education center in the village of
Matiya, District Raipur. Our school will specifically target needy
and qualified youth and will provide both academic and technical training.
Initially, we plan to offer grades nine through twelve, since most
rural government schools have first through the eighth grades. Eventually,
we plan to have grades one through eight as well, if a need exists.
Efforts to secure the necessary land will hopefully bear fruit during
early 2008. Once this is accomplished, construction will begin shortly
thereafter. Among the plans being considered for the school building
are solar electricity, solar hot water production, and use of recycled
or recyclable materials wherever possible.
In addition to academic education, we plan to offer be technical training
so students can learn practical skills to be used in their everyday
lives. These include such abilities as, sewing, making incense, making
crafts, etc. We also plan to promote both the teaching and performance
of traditional cultural practices at the school that foster self-confidence,
self-sufficiency, self-awareness, physical well-being, and community
cooperation. In supporting the latter two, we also plan to have an
athletic field where villagers, both youth and adults, can participate
in various sports, such as soccer, cricket, volleyball, and basketball.
Health Center
As a part of the our school and education center, Sahayog
is planning to build and run a health center as well. The center will
work in conjunction with the Village Health and Sanitation Committee,
a government-sponsored organization, to supplement the health care
needs of the local rural poor. It will serve several functions. First,
it will be a rural health sub-centre (government designation) that
will provide basic care and care facilities. Second, it will serve
as a diagnostic center where villagers can receive health-care counseling,
diagnosis, and referral. For this purpose, Sahayog
plans to maintain contact with both government and private hospitals
within the state, and in other states, where more seriously ill villagers
can be referred for treatment. Third, the center will host health-care
workers from India and abroad who wish to volunteer their services
for the betterment of the rural population. Once the center is near
completion, we will begin the process of accepting volunteers for
this work.
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