TPRF Real Stories

In 2011, TPRF agreed to match funds for an ambitious initiative organized by The Adventure Project to raise funds during the week of World Water Day (March 22) to repair broken water wells in northern India.  137 bloggers participating around the world helped make the fundraising initiative an overwhelming success.  Here is a report by The Adventure Project describing the significant results of the program to date. The original article appeared in the TPRF blog under the Title “Mission Accomplished on World Water Day” (March 28, 2011).

Overview:

With the support of The Prem Rawat Foundation, The Adventure Project funded the training of 186 well mechanics in India last year. Specifically, TPRF’s matching grant of $28,000 enabled fifty people to become Jalabandhu (well mechanics). We also feel that TPRF’s efforts enabled the hiring of fifty more mechanics, because your challenge-matching grant spurred giving on World Water Day last year.

This gift will truly transform water services for communities, schools, and health clinics, so people will no longer have to use unsafe water sources or rely on external organizations for assistance in repairing or replacing their water systems. In addition, these fifty people will now have good jobs, increasing their livelihoods and dignity for themselves and their families.

Current Progress:

So far, 148 people are currently hired and receiving training in how to become a well mechanic. Program participants receive a bag of tools, education, and a one-year stipend to help get their enterprises off the ground. Here is a breakdown by district.

South 24 Parganas:

Fifty Jalabandhu were slotted to be trained in three blocks in the district of South 24 Parganas (Kakdwip,Budgebudge I and Budgebudge II), in the state of West Bengal, India. However, after meetings with the local government leaders and completing an analysis of the water points the Jalabandhu will serve, it was decided to start with 42 well mechanics for now.

The three blocks have a total population of about 567,000 with approximately 1600 water points, which works out to approximately 38 to 40 water points per Jalabandhu. Of the 42 well mechanics, only five are female. This is a very conservative area, so it is unusual for women to work outside their homes. We are hoping that the five women become positive examples, prompting other women to join in the future.

This February, we captured one of these women’s stories. You can read Rani’s story here.

Sheohar:

To support the Jalabandhu program in the district, Water For People has hired and trained a program officer who will be responsible for training and coaching the 106 well mechanics in the district. Trainings are currently wrapping up, and it’s anticipated that the Jalabandhu will be repairing water points by the end of this month.

Purulia:

Sadly, Maoist rebel activities have led to security issues in Kashipur block of the district of Purulia. Plans were to train 30 well mechanics in this area, but staff report feeling unsafe walking in public and riding the buses. Water for People India decided to pause the program in Purulia as a safety measure. Therefore, the funds to train 30 well mechanics have been reallocated for a refresher course in South 24 Parganas. Thirty-eight well mechanics hired in 2010 and 2011 have signed up for the refresher course.

These refresher trainings are critical in understanding the challenges the Jalabandhu are facing in the field and building their technical and troubleshooting skills to address these problems. The refresher course brings together the well mechanics to share and discuss the issues they are facing as a group, to identify solutions, and provide additional technical guidance on repair and maintenance of pumps.

In addition, these refresher courses will expand the skills of the Jalabandhu trained in 2010 and 2011 by including training on water quality testing, using simple test kits and water sampling for government testing laboratories.

While we are sad that Purulia will not receive 30 new well mechanics that are needed, we are proud to support the reallocation of funds, as it is a safe and wise decision. Our goal is always to do what is best for the local partner.

Thanks to The Prem Rawat Foundation, the program in India has enough funding to continue working through the end of this summer, 2013. Thank you for the work you are doing and the lives you are inspiring with your words of peace and acts of compassion.

Photos by Esther Havens

With heartfelt appreciation,

Becky Straw

Co-Founder And Chief Adventurer

The Adventure Project

130 7^th Avenue #354 | New York, NY 10011  | 774.238.7761

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Kathryn Bright is a volunteer grant reviewer for TPRF. Kathryn’s interest in one of TPRF’s clean water grants inspired a recent visit to a small village in the Andean mountains of Ecuador, where she discovered an amazing story of cooperation, ingenuity, and initiative that has powerfully enhanced the lives of the people of Paragachi. Kathryn brings her eyewitness story to us with the help of her close friend, Paul Murtha, President of a local organization that played a vital role in the success of the “Water for Paragachi” project.

The Pan American Highway runs north and south through the Andean mountains of Ecuador. Forty miles from the Colombian border, we traverse high valleys with patch-work fields of a hundred hues of green interspersed with ethnic communities known for farming and artisan crafts. Turning off the Pan Am, we begin a two-mile climb towards the village of Paragachi. We pass groups of women washing mounds of clothes in an irrigation canal and shift lanes to maneuver around long swaths of bean plants spread drying on the road. Farm trucks will later drive back and forth over the plants, freeing the beans from their dried husks. A sharp left and we ascend the dusty road that is the back entrance to Paragachi, a community of 470 people–135 families–founded in 1976 by locals who initially poached on undeveloped land for ten years until they were granted ownership rights by default.

Following dirt lanes over the knoll where Paragachi residents have built their simple houses, we reach the concrete block home of Hernan, a community coordinator for Paragachi. His entire family and two excited dogs brightly greet us at their front gate. Each, including the youngest child, politely kisses us on the cheek. I am struck by the openness in their faces, their kindness and humility. I utter my recently learned Spanish greetings and quickly feel lifted by their surprising warmth. They invite us into their narrow kitchen. Hernan stirs corn fritters into a hot frying pan, filling the room with an appealing aroma.  A bunch of vividly colored greens bought from the local market provides a startling contrast to the barren, dry land around us.

As a volunteer grant reviewer for The Prem Rawat Foundation and a first-time visitor to South America, I was intrigued by a recent TPRF grant that supported a water irrigation project for Paragachi families. To learn more, I spoke with Paul Murtha, President of Fundación Montañas de Esperanza (MdE)–which in English means “Mountains of Hope.” MdE is the non-profit organization that manages this project and has promoted model social service projects in northern Ecuador since 2007. MdE has also received two prior grants from TPRF, one that facilitated translation of Prem Rawat’s message of peace into the Kichwa language, and the other that brought emergency food to flood victims along the Ecuador coast in 2008.

Paragachi has its own uniquely dry microclimate. Rain that blesses towns only a kilometer away usually stops short of Paragachi. Cacti as big as Volkswagens, some pines and a few tropical fruit trees are among the only native flora surviving here. For lack of irrigation water, the families have had little hope of growing food on their small plots of land, despite their longing to be self-sufficient.

40% of the town’s working residents, including many youth, labor as farm hands–planting, weeding and harvesting produce throughout this agricultural region. At sunrise they crowd into open cattle trucks for the ride to the fields. Most women who work in the fields return home to cooking, laundry and taking care of the smaller children. Many children wait alone or with siblings for hours after school until their parents come home.

Paragachi has long been left out of the loop of social assistance. In 2010, MdE attempted to improve family nutrition through its Tierra Viva Project funded by a generous grant from The Vibrant Village Foundation.

That agricultural project supported 22 Paragachi families in creating Grow Biointensive® organic gardens, applying composting and moisture saving methods to enhance growing conditions in this challenging environment. But a subsequent intense dry season shattered hopes for improving nutrition. Some families were even fined for using precious drinking water to water their gardens.

Weeks later, in an emotionally charged town meeting, a potential solution was unexpectedly unearthed. Paragachi President Luis Angamarca spoke about the broken-down irrigation system that years before had served 20 families. Water had once arrived through canals and underground tubing from a river two miles up in the mountains. But the system had long since deteriorated. No one had considered the possibility of restoring it because they were so accustomed to being denied social assistance.

Paul Murtha offered the gathering of townspeople a viable plan that included potential funding resources. MdE and the Paragachi town council could solicit an engineering study from the Pimampiro County Municipality. If renovation of the system was feasible, a proposal would be presented to TPRF requesting funds to replace and enlarge the irrigation system to bring life-sustaining water to ALL Paragachi families. The plan was eagerly and unanimously accepted and a remarkable vision to “Green Paragachi” sprang to life.

The plan included families working together in “mingas,” a community volunteer effort deeply embedded in the culture of Andean peoples. When TPRF accepted the “Water for Paragachi” project, 50 to 80 Paragachi residents of all ages began traveling every Saturday for two months into the highlands to dig out the dilapidated tubing and replace it with advanced, new pipes. The residents’ enthusiasm inspired the Pimampiro Municipality to donate backhoes and equipment operators to install a comprehensive distribution system under the streets of Paragachi. Two old water storage tanks were also renovated and connected. The result: Precious water would now be delivered directly to 135 family gardens.

A renewed sense of hope and dignity pulsed through the people of Paragachi. Their community spirit soon attracted additional funding from regional NGO’s that helped renovate the elementary school and the day care center. With further funding from The Vibrant Village Foundation, 74 families signed up (in eager anticipation of irrigation water) to begin creating their Tierra Viva Biointensive gardens. Families began to envision an abundant harvest with enough extra produce to sell at the market–maybe even enough to enable mothers to stay at home with their children rather than leave to work in the fields.

Clearly, this multi-collaborative effort uplifted the entire community. It created sustainable transformation and improved quality of life.

Family Gardens Flourish After Water System Restoration

The overall program, now titled “Pueblo Vibrante,” originated with the $15,860 grant from TPRF and successively blossomed into $61,464 in funding value for Paragachi. Under the auspices of the Vibrant Village Foundation, this comprehensive “Pueblo Vibrante” model is now being adopted by other communities in northern Ecuador.

On February 12, 2012, the community of Paragachi honored the arrival of their irrigation water with a festive inaugural celebration. As an expression of gratitude, TPRF’s video “Peace, Dignity, Prosperity” was shown. Afterwards, a symbolic “opening of the valve” shot clean mountain water high into the air, misting the large gathering of residents and invited guests with its refreshing hope.

As if the Andean nature spirits wanted to join in the celebration, a rare rain began to fall. The youth of Paragachi danced in the resulting mud until the new dawn.

Two months later, a few Paragachi residents joined 36 Andean invitees traveling 10 hours by special tour bus to the coastal city of Guayaquil to hear Prem Rawat deliver his message of peace in person, a celebration of the heart as refreshing as the newly flowing waters for Paragachi.

My visit to Paragachi enhanced my appreciation of TPRF’s grant-giving process. The “Water for Paragachi” project succeeded because of the renewed hope and community collaboration generated among the kind people of this simple village. Their joy in finally receiving long-awaited assistance left an indelible impression on me. I look forward to someday returning to a greener Paragachi, perhaps celebrating with freshly harvested greens from a family’s thriving garden.

Photos by Paul Murtha and L. Michael Adams

A Unified Effort to Restore a Life-Giving Water System

I can honestly say that writing and editing the TPRF blog for the past 18 months has been an exciting, enjoyable, and unpredictable journey.We began with a mandate to cover the developing story of the third Food for People facility planned for construction in the small village of Otinibi, outside of the metropolitan city of Accra in Ghana, West Africa.  I had very little experience with social media, a slight familiarity with TPRF’s proprietary Food for People program, and no background information on the country or people of Ghana.

Somehow, these obvious drawbacks did not inhibit the expansion of the TPRF blog from a single story into an international forum reflecting stories of enormous hope through efficient and inspired humanitarian initiatives undertaken by TPRF and its partner organizations around the world.

Otinibi FFP Before Grand Opening

Our first posts covered the Ghana Food for People projectin detail beginning when the facility was an undeveloped piece of land awaiting governmental approval of the documents transferring title of ownership to the local charity set up to manage and run the FFP.  We have literally watched the facility rise up out of the ground, culminating in a triumphant opening one year later.  The FFP in Otinibi has materialized thanks to the dedication of mostly local volunteers, an expert construction team, funding from TPRF, and donations from individuals following the story on the Internet.

Five hundred children and adults will be fed nutritious meals every day in Otinibi. The same thing happens at two other Food for People centers which opened in 2006 and 2009.

The logistics and effort required to establish and keep the FFP facilities operating boggles the mind. Yet it is happening.  It is a privilege and a joy to make these stories about people who benefit from the Food for People program and the individuals who volunteer to make these daily miracles occur available to our readers.

Six months after our first post, we decided to open up the scope of the blog to other feature stories while still reporting on the progress of the project in Ghana. We covered the other two Food for People facilities located in the villages of Bantoli, India and Tasarpu, Nepal. I began to see the profound effect the program has on the people it touches.

Now, children go to school instead of doing manual labor (like crushing rocks to support their families.)  The nutritious daily meals allow the children to grow and develop normally. Plus, they learn proper sanitation habits and enjoy watching educational television programs while eating.

With healthy bodies and the opportunity to learn in school, these children have a vastly improved chance to realize their dreams later in life.  And something more.  I have seen through these stories that Food for People is an oasis for these children, a place where they can flourish and enjoy their precious childhood.

The Food for People program is only one example of TPRF’s life-changing work.  We regularly cover stories about  TPRF’s Peace Education Program in prisons, independent fundraising efforts, disaster relief, clean drinking water initiatives, and other humanitarian efforts undertaken by TPRF’s carefully-selected partner organizations.

Relieving Drought in Ethiopia With Partner IRD

The voice of the TPRF blog that we searched for in the beginning has become the many voices of hope and positive change as stories continue to stream in from around the world.

As Prem Rawat’s message of peace continues to reach more people, we hope to keep pace by allowing more voices to tell their stories spontaneously in an even greater diversity.

The new blog will present stories from regular contributors, expressions from blog subscribers, people involved in the work of TPRF, and others involved in independent humanitarian efforts. In time, regular contributors and TPRF partners will be able to post directly to the new blog template as stories break.

Photos Courtesy of IRD and Premsagar Nepal

Supporting Education in Nepal

With the long wait over for the arrival of key equipment, the construction team in Ghana began tackling the final tasks necessary to open the Food for People facility in Otinibi.  Here is Kafui Esi Adjei’s report on the day-to-day events leading up to the historic inauguration of the third location for TPRF’s unique and highly successful feeding and education program.

We have had several guests visiting the facility. The Chief of Otinibi, Nii Adjei Kweidzamansah III, and his entourage came to the facility to have a taste of the favorite and delicious local dish “Ga  Kenkey” served with fried fish and hot pepper sauce.

Ga Kenkey is a staple food in Ghana made from corn/maize dough kneaded into a ball and then wrapped in a corn husk.  After boiling Ga Kenkey for about an hour and a half, it is usually eaten with meat, chicken, fish and soup dishes accompanied by a hot pepper sauce seasoning.

The District Chief Executive, the political head of the district, Honourable John Kwao Sackey, also came with the Assemblyman for the area, Honourable Adams Thoro. The head of the nutrition department of the University of Ghana was also there with her team on three different occasions as part of a base line nutrition study underway at Food for People Ghana.

The baseline study is a research project designed to gather statistics on the school children’s health status, school attendance, performance in class, and other related statistics. These benchmarks will be gathered before the feeding program begins. The same statistics will be gathered periodically after FFP Ghana opens.  By comparing the original benchmarks to the statistics gathered over time, the baseline study will reveal the impact the feeding program is having on the children in the community.

On May First it will be exactly a year since sod was cut for the beginning of the project. It is really amazing how things can move very fast. Finally, the long-awaited coolers arrived in a van after the close of work on Tuesday, April 3^rd. By the end the next day, the coolers had been fully assembled. After installing the refrigerator piping system, the construction team tested the coolers for over a week and the system checked out fine.

Everybody is happy for the arrival of the coolers, so we are ready for the inauguration of the facility. We anticipate feeding 450 people including invited guests at the inauguration.  We expect the opening ceremonies will happen between May 15 and May 22. From then onwards, we will be feeding about 500 people every day.

Photos by Francis Ahore

2012 marks the second consecutive year TPRF has partnered with The Adventure Project (TAP) to raise funds for their excellent water well mechanic training program. The program creates new jobs and re-establishes access to clean water in areas where water wells are broken. Becky Straw is a “clean water activist” and co-founder of The Adventure Project.  This is her World Water Day contribution to our blog, reporting on the success of TAP’s partnership with TPRF in 2011.

Last year, something remarkable happened. Four days before World Water Day, my new nonprofit, The Adventure Project, asked The Prem Rawat Foundation a last-minute, crazy question: “Would TPRF match what we raise in 24 hours?” Without hesitation, TPRF jumped on board, and turned March 22 into one of the best days of the year.

Over 150 people joined us in spreading our message on World Water Day, and over 400 people generously donated to match TPRF’s grant. Collectively, we raised over $23,000 for a revolutionary water program in India, implemented by WaterAid, in partnership with a local NGO, Gram Swaraj Samiti Ghosi (GSSG). This program trains and empowers local leaders to become well mechanics, fixing broken wells in their communities.

One year later, I am proud to report that WaterAid has successfully established two well mechanic shops in the Kako and Ghosi blocks in the Jehanabad district of Bihar. As of February 29, 12 new mechanics have repaired 85 hand pumps, restoring access to clean water for 12,386 people in need!

The two shops in Kako and Ghosi are thriving, serving a total of 10 communities. The shops are equipped with water quality test kits, tools and spare parts necessary for repair work, as well as a cell phone to receive repair requests and a motorcycle for transport to the repair sites. This is an innovative and enterprising way to ensure rural communities have access to sustainable water services.

Twelve mechanics have been trained in hand pump repair, pipeline fitting, and use of GPS technology. The mechanics provide an additional benefit in educating communities about maintaining their hand pumps to prevent breakdown, by establishing volunteer village water and sanitation committees.

The twelve mechanics are committed to rapid response times, with a goal to fully repair hand pumps within 24 hours of receiving the request, when possible. Of the repairs conducted to date, 54% have been completed in less than 12 hours, 91% in less than 24 hours, and only 9% between 24 and 48 hours after receiving the request (these are often major repairs requiring extensive labor or spare parts.) Furthermore, in the past three months alone, the shops have averaged 27 repairs per month. Of the total fee the community pays, 60% of the repair charge goes to the mechanics for their labor and 40% goes to the center to cover operating costs.

Water issues have always been close to my heart. I have spent the last five years of my career focused on evaluating water programs in developing countries. It always pains me to see so many broken wells throughout Africa and India, watching in dismay as mothers and children walk past broken wells to collect water from dirty rivers. The Gates Foundation estimates one third of all wells are currently broken, often because there are no spare parts or trained mechanics.

This partnership with The Prem Rawat Foundation gave us hope that there are organizations and citizens who believe in enterprising solutions to ending the water crisis. I cannot thank TPRF enough for all their support, inspiration and shared belief in investing with dignity.

Thank you,

Becky Straw

Co-Founder & Chief Adventurist | The Adventure Project

130 7^th Avenue #354 | New York, NY 10011  | 774.238.7761

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Photos by Esther Havens

During their vacation in Southeast Asia, David and Debby Horsford are combining sightseeing with visits to areas where TPRF is helping people through its various partners. Debby is writing a diary and David is taking photos and videos of their journey. In February, the Horsford’s visited an ear clinic in Cambodia. With grants from TPRF, the clinic dug clean water wells. Debby writes:

February in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is one of the coolest, driest months of the year. Yet for us, stepping off the airplane was like stepping into an outdoor sauna. Rush hour traffic clogged the streets with tuk tuks, motorbikes, cars, and trucks. We arrive at our hotel relieved to be in air conditioning and spend the remainder of the evening confirming our appointments with the three non-government agencies we will be visiting this week.

Glyn Vaughan (R) With David Horsford

Our first visit is with Glyn Vaughan, founder and director of All Ears Cambodia (AEC). TPRF granted funds to AEC to dig clean wells in two of the poorest provinces in Cambodia where Glyn’s clinics are located. He is an amazing English doctor who began volunteering his services during his holidays in Southeast Asia. But as he became more aware of the acute need for ear care among poor people, and especially children throughout Cambodia, he left everything in England behind to begin clinics here. Now, seven years later, he has trained eight audiologists to serve the community.

The three facilities AEC operates, two in the rural countryside of Cambodia and one in Phnom Penh, are shining examples of the organization’s ear care work. With very little money, these audiologists have created an environment of calm and beauty to reassure their anxious young patients. A curving line of small Buddha statues in the waiting room resembles the children waiting their turn. Wonderful posters of friendly animals, teaching the children about ear health adorn the walls. The technicians are gentle, caring professionals. The children we see today are all HIV positive, living in an orphanage.

Especially in the rural villages, where clean drinking water is not available, the new wells TPRF has funded provide a service not only to the clinics but to the whole community. One 10-year-old girl walked 15 miles with her baby brother on her back to the AEC clinic. Audiologists treated the little boy’s ear infection with antibiotics and further check-ups were performed.

Statistics show that 60-65% of the children living in these rural areas suffer hearing loss. Glyn says much of this is due to the lack of clean water and the hygienic benefits of clean water. His goal is the prevention of hearing loss in young children. The little girl who brings her baby brother to the clinic helps him grow up to have a purposeful life.

Poor children and adults with hearing loss in Cambodia, whose lives are very difficult, are further marginalized as they are forced to do the most menial work and are not given any education.

Glyn stressed over and over again the value of TPRF’s role in providing clean water. His model of training ear health technicians and setting up clinics is working beautifully. But in order to continue this work in the more extremely impoverished areas of Cambodia, clean water is essential.

Photos by David Horsford

During their vacation in Southeast Asia, David and Debby Horsford are combining sightseeing with visits to areas where TPRF is helping people through its various partners.  Debby is writing a dairy and David takes photos and videos of their journey.  This is the first article in a series featuring the humanitarian work of TPRF grantee and partner, the Sao Sary Foundation.

The Sao Sary Foundation is located in the Kampong Speu Province of Cambodia, about a two hour drive from the capital, Phnom Penh. This mountainous area rarely gets enough rainfall to provide drinking water, let alone enough to grow crops and raise animals.

Sao Sary, a government worker from the province, was tragically murdered for the humanitarian work he undertook to help villagers in this area. Sao’s son, Vichetr Uon, created the foundation to continue his father’s work. The enemies Vichetr deals with are loan sharks and prostitution groups who prey upon the innocent people in these impoverished villages.

TPRF has partnered with the Sao Sary Foundation to build clean water wells in an organized effort to bring dignity and self-sufficiency to these extremely marginalized Cambodians.

Most children in this province receive a poor quality of education and are forced to give up school completely by the time they are 13 years old. Many parents force their daughters to forge their documents, saying they are women of working age, in order to work in garment factories and provide financial support for their families.

The older women left in the village care for the children and are given the task of traveling long distances to buy water. They are often charged unfairly for the drinking water they buy. Most of the men and older boys are forced to work on fishing boats in Thailand, where they are exploited and often forced to work without pay.

The day we arrive, a work crew is here with equipment to drill more than 30 meters through solid rock to reach water. The cost of this operation is high because it requires many attempts to find water and there is always equipment breakage.

TPRF has provided water filtration systems so that the water gathered in the nearby pond can be cleaned. Until recently, this pond was the only source of water the villagers had, and  it dries up months before the rainy season begins.

As many villagers gather to watch the drilling of the well, Vichetr calls a village meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to ask them questions and, of course, for them to ask us questions. A woman’s face lights up as she hears the translation after David asks if the clean water has made a difference in the villagers’ lives. In unison, they all chant, “Yes.”

Sanitation conditions are so improved, and with the new well going in, the people here are hopeful for even bigger changes. Time and money will no longer be wasted traveling long distances to buy water.

The villagers are eager to use the well water to start irrigating their land to grow vegetables that they can eat and perhaps even sell in the market.

There is one grandmother here who is raising five grandchildren. The mother died and the father, unable to support the family in any way, abandoned the children. The grandmother is pictured with short, cropped hair. The three daughters are in the photos also, with brightly colored skirts given to them by a Vietnamese doctor. The children hold out their skirts proudly to show us.

They now have clean drinking water, recently in unknown luxury.  With the well, they have a way to begin to grow vegetables,  raise animals, and become self-sufficient. No longer having to borrow money to buy rice, the family will be free of loan sharks.

The grandmother sees that her grandchildren will have an opportunity to stay in school and end the cycle of poverty that has trapped families in this area for untold generations.

Photos by David Horsford

Peter Novick, a retired Software Engineer, is the volunteer grants team manager for TPRF. As the team’s manager, Novick reports on humanitarian aid grants and provides information about grant  procedures and accountability.

In addition to his other duties, Novick helps keep the grant program aligned with TPRF’s strategic objectives while overseeing and coordinating the work of grant reviewers and grant managers.

TPRF: How did you become interested in volunteering for the grants team?

PN: I’ve been moving in this direction for a while—involved with foundations, non-profit organizations, and philanthropy for many years. I started a small family foundation about 14 years ago, and I’ve been active in that ever since. I have helped a few non-profits get off the ground, and I’m on the board of a private school. A friend who served as TPRF grants manager and who knew my background invited me to serve as a grant reviewer. So that’s how I first got involved with the grants team.

TPRF: What criteria does TPRF use to select partners?

PN: We have a comprehensive form that our grant reviewers use to evaluate the organization and its grant application. We are continually seeking ways to expand and fine-tune the criteria, based on TPRF strategic goals, our working experience, and professional development.

Here are a few criteria. First, a grant application for aid must match one of our funding priorities—nutritious food, clean water, and eye care to prevent blindness.

We research the organization quite thoroughly, looking for evidence of stability, expertise, good reputation, solid partnerships, and the potential for an ongoing partnership with TPRF. Additional criteria include, but are not limited to, financial management, including low overhead, creativity, and integrity.

One of the most important criteria our reviewers examine is impact. For the amount of funds requested, we look at how many people will be helped, in what ways, and for how long.

There is so much more, but I think this gives you a good idea of the process.

Daily Meal Program for Yucatan Children

TPRF: What are some of the reasons for TPRF’s success in delivering life-changing aid in a cost effective manner?

PN: It starts from the top. TPRF is an environment that values and promotes integrity, teamwork, compassion, creativity, quality, accountability, and making your best effort.

TPRF: How has your involvement with the grants team affected you personally?

PN: It is a transforming experience. Engaging in very challenging work; collaborating with other dedicated, wise and inspiring people; making the world a better place; helping to spread a message of peace—everything about it has been good.

Saving and Enhancing Lives

TPRF has made a long-standing commitment to providing the basic human necessity of clean water to people in severe need.  Financing the well drilling program in the remote village of Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India is  the latest example of TPRF’s commitment to this cause.

In September 2010, TPRF granted $100,000 to WaterAid in support of a multi-phase program to help the survivors of flash floods in Pakistan. WaterAid is an international charity whose mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene, and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities.

The following post includes excerpts from WaterAid’s August 2011 report on the goals achieved by the aid program.  TPRF’s grant helped WaterAid assist over 133,000 people in Pakistan whose lives were devastated by the floods.

On July 28, 2010 Pakistan experienced the worst floods in its history as a result of the monsoon season. The floods affected 20 million people (10% of Pakistan’s population). More than 1,700 men, women, and children lost their lives and at least 1.8 million homes were damaged or destroyed.

The people most severely affected were predominantly small farmers and unskilled workers. They are among the most vulnerable group in Pakistan and almost all live below or just barely above the national poverty line.

Pakistani Flood Survivors

WaterAid’s comprehensive effort to prevent the spread of disease included the use of temporary tankers to deliver fresh water directly to survivors. In addition, purification tablets, rehydration salts, and basic hygiene kits containing soap, toothbrushes, combs, towels, and water vessels were distributed widely.

The spread of communicable diseases was minimized by hygiene education, and medical camps that provided both preventative and curative aid with particular attention to maternal and child health.

Munawar Hassan, WaterAid’s Program Manager in the region, said:

“The demand for water and sanitation provision had never been so high. The destruction of water supply schemes and the already limited capacity of existing systems meant the need for water was crucial from the start.”

Twenty-seven-year old Basira is a health worker responsible for 144 households in the rural farming village of Choki Drab, which was reduced to little more than bricks and mud following the floods.

Basira is a flood victim herself.  Camping in squalid conditions in the grounds of her destroyed home, she has continued working for the sake of her community and her family as the only wage earner.

“In the early days of the floods, almost everyone in Choki Drab was suffering from fever, scabies, diarrhea, eye infections, and malaria because of the contaminated water,” Basira said.

“The water was so polluted it was green in color. It smelled terrible and there were dead animals everywhere.  Organizations such as WaterAid helped educate people about the importance of clean water, encouraging people to either boil it or use tablets and telling them they must wash their hands, especially before eating. Basically, clean water equals good health. The water is cleaner now and people have gone back to using the water supply from their own hand pumps.”

Photos Courtesy of WaterAid

Pakistan Floods and Relief Efforts

Recently, TPRF made a grant of $25,000 to the International  Relief and Development Organization (IRD) to support an emergency effort to supply clean drinking water to 24,000 villagers in Ethiopia. The grant to IRD is one of three TPRF has made to organizations working to help East Africans survive the worst drought in sixty years.

This week, we are fortunate to have Scott Webb’s on-the-ground report of the situation in two villages where IRD is working to supply clean water to some of the most vulnerable people in the region bordering on Somalia.

Scott Webb is IRD’s Program Officer for Relief and Humanitarian Assistance.

On September 1, I visited seven Kebeles, or villages, throughout the Dollo Ado and Dollo Bay Woredas, or counties. The local Woreda administrations indicated that these villages were some of the most vulnerable and in urgent need of water.

No Rain Produces Arid Conditions

Dollo Ado and Dollo Bay (pronounced like “bye”) are in the southern Somali state of Ethiopia along the southern border region where Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia meet, and the people are all Somali. Most of the Somali refugees from the Somalia side of the border live in four different UNHCR-administered refugee camps in and around Dollo Ado, which has become the base of operations for all international NGO’s serving refugees in southern Ethiopia.

Dollo Ado is therefore a bustling, booming town, with NGO workers buzzing around monitoring and catering to the refugees, and enterprising Somali businessmen selling everything to the NGO’s from building materials, vehicle fuel, and bottled water to cell phone cards and espresso.

While refugees come to Ethiopia with their own heartbreaking stories of malnutrition and violence from Al-Shabaab-controlled Somalia, the surrounding host communities of southern Ethiopia are in the midst of a crippling drought. The region has barely received any rains in two years.

The Somali people are pastoralists. Their livelihood depends entirely on their animals.  Somali families live in sedentary villages near usually consistent water sources, and the men and boys herd sheep, goats, and cattle around the region in search of grass and water. The villagers subsist on milk and purchase their food by selling various animal products such as milk, hides, and meat.

This lifestyle depends 100 percent on the rains. A mere 200 to 400 millimeters of rain per year can support hundreds of thousands of villagers, replenishing grasslands and the leaves on trees, filling up watering holes, and maintaining the water table.

Villagers use various coping mechanisms to deal with the scarce rainfall. One of the most effective methods involves digging wells by hand and constructing burkits, which look similar to in-ground cement pools with roofs. In the intense rainstorms that normally occur, water rushes into the burkits and can be safely stored for several months until the traditional water sources dry out.

The Burkit at Bangol

Each village has a water committee comprised of select members of the community (including women) who help maintain equitable and fair water access for the community. In the villages we visited, notably Bangol, the burkits had just dried out, within 48 hours of our visit.

Thanks to generous support from The Prem Rawat Foundation and other donors, IRD is able to help the people of Bangol and 15 other communities in the region. Immediately after visiting the region, Abdulahi Muse and I negotiated a temporary water-trucking contract with Egal Mohammed, a local water-trucking company. Water was delivered to the target villages starting that very day. By September 7, all villages, including Bangol, had received 5,000 liter water tanks, hundreds of extra jerry cans, and daily deliveries of clean water.

Photos by Scott Webb, IRD

IRD Emergency Relief Coordinator Listens to Bangol Villagers