11/18/2011
Dear Friends and Members of AID Lewisburg, November 2011
I write during this holiday season to ask your support for three projects that are bringing hope to those in India who have not known hope. Your dollars will empower local activists and community organizers to offer shelter and vocational mentoring to dalit and tribal girls, reclaim farmland wiped out by Cyclone Aila, and educate children from the slums of Mumbai.
The Jackfruit Project While Snehibhavan home for tribal and dalit girls in Kerala continues to await official clearance to receive foreign funds (FCRA), AID Lewisburg has managed to continue providing maintenance level support. Recent progress of the renewed application for the FCRA has encouraged Sajini, the director, and her husband, Mathews, to begin planning administrative restructuring that would help to ensure the long-term health of the organization. We truly hope that the coming year will bring, along with the FCRA, increased organizational stability and a plan for the purchase of land.
Parivartan Shikshan Sanstha This project provides informal education to children living in the slums of Wadala in Mumbai, India, thereby preparing them to enter the regular educational system. With AID Lewisburg’s support and the involvement of Bucknell’s South Asian Student Association last year, Parivartan was able to sustain its schools, expand its library, and open a much-needed computer center.
Sundarbans Sustainable Agriculture Project After Cyclone Aila struck the Sundarbans region in 2009, AID and two local community organizations collaborated to revitalize agriculture by training farmers in techniques of soil desalinization and organic farming. The effort resulted in 400 farmers adopting organic techniques for rice and vegetable cultivation on some part of their land in the 2010 crop year. Yields were comparable to chemical farming yield in the same area, and the inputs are cheaper for the farmer and more sustainable for the community. AID Lewisburg will join several other chapters of AID in supporting this project in 2012.
If you have given to AID Lewisburg in the past, we invite you to renew your support now. If you have not, this would be a great time to make your first gift. A supporting membership is a gift of $360 per year, but any amount is welcome and appreciated. All contributions made out to AID Lewisburg are tax deductible and will be used for any of the above projects as their need and ability to receive funds dictate. If you would like to contribute specifically to The Jackfruit Project, you can make your check out to The Jackfruit Project and we will be sure the money gets there, though your gift will not be tax deductible.
Please send all contributions to AID Lewisburg, P.O. Box 538, Lewisburg, PA 17837.
On behalf of the AID Lewisburg Executive Committee,* I wish you a happy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Paula Closson Buck
President, AID Lewisburg
*Sally Nyquist, Param Bedi, Karline McLain, Kathi Hannaford, Judy Peeler, Arlyne Hoyt and Darshan Shah
For more on our projects, see our website: http://lewisburg.aidindia.org or visit us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/AID-Lewisburg/128225413907413
AIDLewisburgLetter Nov 2011.docx
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