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It’s been a great few days for GoodBag™ recipients!  Earlier this week we distributed our second set of Sanitary Supplies in South Africa, and a few days before we completed the School Supplies GoodBag™ program in rural India.  

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[GoodBags plus bananas- part of every festive Indian occasion!]

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As of November 12, half a hundred more students are now decked out with pencils, erasers, crayons, activity books, and backpacks - yes, backpacks!- which will continue to serve them as they progress in their studies. Parents, teachers, and the village head were present to celebrate with the children.

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[our November 12, distribution, with date displayed in continental fashion!]

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Of course, the distribution event is only part of the story.  Learn more about our School Supply GoodBag™ program here!

It’s back to school in America, but children around the world need new school supplies, too.  That’s why GoodStripe has partnered with the Ambedkar Integrated School in rural India.  On September 28, 2011 GoodStripe and our field partner DISCC India distributed fifty new GoodBags™, chock full of school supplies and including a backpack, pencils, eraser, crayons, and a drawing and activity book.  The students also got bananas and nutrition biscuits for a healthy snack!     

The GoodBags™ were given to lower and upper kindergartners, ages 3-5, at Ambedkar.  Our field partner reports that before the children’s families were persuaded to send the little ones to school, they were aimless and likely to wander the village during the day. As such, Ambedkar is an entirely new experience for them, one that introduces positive activity like drawing, playing games, and learning poetry, along with lots of change.  We hope that by offering these young scholars support, like the specially designed GoodBags™, they will be excited by education and motivated to learn.  

The giving event brought members of the community together at the colorful and brightly decorated Ambedkar Integrated School.  Local village leaders, parents, and students enjoyed the festive day, which included speeches, performances, and the GoodBag™ distribution. Older students, pictured below, sang welcome songs for the guests and were accompanied by their teacher, who plays harmonium.  Next month, another fifty youngsters will be present at a distribution ceremony of their own, so stay tuned.  In the mean time, Click for more about the school and the School Supply GoodBags™.

[photos courtesy of DISCC India and Dr. Tulsi]

It seems we spoke too soon.  In our last post we explained that Fairific was discontinuing the Mosquito Net GoodBags™ in India and replacing them with School Supply GoodBags™ because the rains and accompanying mosquitoes were making their seasonal exit.  It marked a natural time to turn our attention to other pressing needs in the area.  But like we said, it seems we spoke too soon.  

Our field partner Dr. Tulsi has been keeping us informed about local conditions.  This morning he reported that the “whole of Varanasi city [is] completely submerged in water due to the heaviest rains I have ever seen,” and that neighboring villages were experiencing extreme conditions as well.   “Electricity was gone,” he says, “mobiles and computers stopped working, people were deprived of food… for 3-4 days and all communication systems including roads, railway tracks, and airports were also full of water.  Everything was at a standstill.”

On the east coast we recently experienced Hurricane Irene and her furious downpour, so our sympathies are especially fresh.  Luckily for us, a flood doesn’t trigger thoughts of water stagnation, mosquitoes, and mosquito-borne illness like in India.  

As we reflect on these natural events, we can be glad that the Fairific community gave as many Mosquito Net GoodBags™ in July and August as they did.  The 100 families who received Mosquito Net GoodBags™ are better prepared to deal with the flood and it’s aftermath than they would have been without them.  Of course, there’s nothing we could put in a GoodBag™ that would completely protect someone from all the trouble the world has to offer, but at least each one offers something good that can make life a little better.

Click here for more on our Mosquito Net GoodBags™

(photos courtesy of Dr. Tulsi and Fairific)

The rains have finally passed in rural India, and with them the year’s most severe threat of mosquito-borne malaria and dengue fever.  As the season changes, Fairific looks ahead to new needs we can alleviate with our September GoodBag™ distribution.  By working with our field partner we’ve found that, just like American children starting a new school year, the students in rural villages need school supplies, too.  Happily, the Fairific community is here to help!  In late September, Fairific and field partner DISCC, India will distribute 50 School Supply GoodBags™, each with a school bag, two pencils, an eraser, a set of crayons, and a drawing and activity book, to kindergartners at Ambedkar Integrated School.  We talked with DISCC President Dr. Tulsi Das about implementing the new GoodBag™ program.

[current students at Ambedkar Integrated School]

Fairific: Dr. Tulsi, can you share a little about the Ambedkar Integrated School with our readers?
 
Dr. Tulsi: The Ambedkar Integrated School is one of DISCC, India’s permanent projects.  The school was started under a tree many years back and gradually, with the support of international friends, we have built a structure of 4 rooms where children can study.  The school is situated in a completely rural area with mud huts, grain fields, cows and buffalo, small roads, and villagers who are mostly below the poverty line. Here, below the poverty line means they have a very meager income and few resources to manage their family. Most of them are from a lower caste, have reached a low level of education— just enough to read a little bit, and work in the grain fields where they earn about 100 rupees per day (note: about $2.02).  To put that in perspective, potatoes cost 15 rupees per kilogram and onions cost 25 rupees per kilogram— quite a lot compared to the average income.  Another quality of life issue is that the children generally don’t have sports or games to keep them occupied, so their choices are working in the fields with their parents or roaming around the village.  You can see why going to school, even under a tree, is a much better alternative.       

[the early days of Ambedkar Integrated School]

Fairific:  Is there anything significant about the school’s name, Ambedkar? 
Dr Tulsi: Yes!  Dr. Ambedkar was the person who wrote the constitution of India. He was a social activist who devoted himself to the poorest of the poor as well as the oppressed communities of Indian society.  This school was established in keeping with his ideas and philosophy.  As such, it is located in a remote village with the intention of providing basic education, health, and hygiene skills and boosting confidence in the village’s poorest children.
 
Fairific: What is a normal day like for the students at the Ambedkar Integrated School?

Dr. Tulsi: The students’ school day runs from 9.30AM to 2PM.  Usually the day starts with a prayer, followed by Yoga lesson, followed by Thought of the Day, and then children go into their respective classes. The timetable for these children is not like any other school of the world but is based more on functional knowledge and life skills. For example, they learn the concept of money, the concept of time, and good values, and they do so through stories, songs, and cultural programs.  Along with this functional education, children are taught health education, sports and games, English, Hindi, mathematics, and science up to grade 4.  The students also enjoy a class picnic each year.  

 
[Dr. Tulsi with older students at Ambedkar Integrated School]

Fairific: We’re excited to be giving out creativity boosting materials like crayons and activity books.  As a psychologist, can you share a bit about the importance of these items?
 
Dr. Tulsi:  For starters, the kindergartners love drawing and painting and we wanted them to enjoy their creativity. From a more scientific angle, people see everything of this world in the form of colors, movements, voices, and excitement. These four elements are very important for the growth of the brain. In fact, a hard scientific fact is that we don’t remember in black and white.   Rather, we remember in the form of sounds, movements and colors, and excitement.  We also know that at around 4 years of age, children are developing their understanding and recognition of color.  This, along with the four elements of memory, are for better or worse.  For example, if I ask you what is the meaning of Papa in your memory then the face of your papa with colors and sounds is there, but no word which comes in memory as “papa.”  That’s just the way it is.  All this adds up to the great importance of colors, shapes, actions, and so on, and we saw that by supplying young students with crayons and activity books that we could help them develop these critical functions, and do it in a fun way.

Fairific: Thanks for talking with us, Dr. Tulsi.  We can’t wait to see photos from the September GoodBag™ distribution!

Last month Fairific distributed GoodBags™ to villagers living near Varanasi, India, and this month we’re back at it!  On August 25, Fairific and GoodBag™ partner DISCC distributed another round of incredibly simple, ultra-helpful disease prevention devices: mosquito nets.  

Fifty rural women, many with children, attended the GoodBag™ distribution event.  They learned about malaria and other mosquito borne illness from DISCC president Dr. Tulsi and DISCC secretary Mr. Shyamlal, enjoyed a bit of social time with sweets, and received brand new mosquito nets for their beds.  The women also met with Chief Guest Mr. U.S. Singh, a bank manager who actively assists rural women with loans, micro-financing, and other income generating projects.   

So what is life like under a mosquito net?  Our GoodBag™ Partner was able to catch up with a woman who received one in July, and she shared that thanks to her net, she and her child are able to sleep soundly without the frequent interruption of insect bites.  As a result her days are better and her work is more productive (and we bet she’s less itchy, too!).

Stay tuned for more GoodBag™ distributions, here and around the world.  And remember, for every Fairific purchase, we give a GoodBag™ full of useful supplies to a community in the developing world.  Get Good, Give Good™—that’s the Fairific idea!

Earlier this month while the Fairific team was enjoying some cool Bolivian weather, our GoodBag™ partners in Bachhaon village, India were heating things up with GoodBag™ distribution!  (GoodBags™ are, of course, Fairific’s way of giving back.  Every time you purchase a Fairific product, we give a GoodBag™ full of useful supplies to a community in the developing world.  That’s how Get Good, Give Good™ works!)  



The July 5 event hosted fifty local women and their children; DISCC president and Fairific interviewee Dr. Tulsi; Dr. Ashok Bhatt, general physician and cardiologist; Dr. Poonam Bhatt, gynecologist and wife of Dr. Ashok Bhatt; and DISCC members.  Our GoodBag™ recipients were selected by Mrs. Vidya Patel, who coordinates the Annapurna Vocational Center and is intimately connected with the surrounding villages.  



After making introductions the physicians discussed malaria and prevention techniques with the women, highlighting the effective use of mosquito nets.  Dr. Tulsi explained the GoodBag™ program responsible for distributing the nets, and then handed them out to the waiting women.  We couldn’t be more proud of our GoodBag™ distribution event. Thanks to everyone who has helped make Get Good, Give Good™ a reality!      
         
(photos courtesy of DISCC)

On all our Fairific tags you see the phrase Get Good, Give Good™.  Once our website is live, the getting will be easy— you’ll  shop our store and get good, maybe even great, stuff.  But the giving… come to think of it, that’s easy, too.  For every order you place with us, we give a GoodBag™ full of supplies to a community in the developing world.  It’s really as simple as that, and we’ve already gotten started. 

Our first GoodBag™ project is in collaboration with the Annapurna Vocational Center, run by the non-profit, non-governmental organization DISCC.  Annapurna Center is the brainchild of psychologist Dr. Tulsi Das, and it’s located in the northeastern Indian village of Bachhaon, near the city of Varanasi.   

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We don’t suppose to know what good means to the people of Bachhaon, so we asked Dr. Tulsi to find out.  The answer?  Mosquito nets for the coming rainy season.  Mosquitoes transmit malaria and dengue fever among other things, and a simple net hung around the bed during sleep can dramatically reduce the likelihood of an infectious bite.  The Annapurna Center, overseen by Dr. Tulsi, serves as the distribution point for our GoodBags™. 

[Local woman holding a new pink mosquito net, and her adorable baby!]

In May 2011 we talked to Dr. Tulsi to learn more about the Annapurna Center and the trouble of mosquitoes.   We’ll ask our readers to note that while Dr. Tulsi’s English is very good, some alterations have been made to his wording.  The alterations are intended only to clarify his meaning for a Western audience.

Fairific: What can you tell us about Bachhaon village where the Annapurna Vocation Center is located?

Dr. Tulsi: Bachhaon village has a population of about 15,000 people, including a village head known as Gram Pradhan who is an elected member from the community.  Almost 99% of the village population are farmers by profession, though they each have very little land. The farmers are highly dependent on the rains and seasons for their crop, which means that there is sometimes hunger if the crop is poor.  Most live in mud houses, but some have small homes made of brick. 

Fairific: What is life like for women and girls in Bachhaon?

Dr. Tulsi: About 80% of children, including girls, go to school and this ratio has increased due partly to the various awareness programs by the Annapurna Center. Some girls’ educations are even sponsored by the Annapurna Center when they are too poor to pay for their own studies. 

Generally, women are limited to child rearing and household work, and most of the time they are confined to the four walls of the house.  Typically, their recreation and time to express their pent-up emotions comes near the village well where they all gather to clean their utensils, a village fair, or coming to the Annapurna Center.  For income apart from farming, the ladies and girls also participate in small house based earning programs like making bead chains or stitching work on saris. However, this activity is limited to a few families.

Fairific: What is a typical day like at the Annapurna Center?

Dr. Tulsi: A typical day at Annapurna starts around 10am and, depending on the time available to the girls or women, it runs up to 2pm. However, this time changes season to season. When girls come to Annapurna they work under the coordinator Mrs. Vidya Patel, who is a trained teacher of sewing and stitching. The girls first clean the center, do some gardening, some group prayer, and then learn stitching and sewing skills, paper work, and some other decorative skills based on their interests and hobbies. 

[Girls piecing sewing work together at the Annapurna Center]

After almost one year the girl is trained to work on a hand sewing machine and at least make small clothes for children, blouses, petticoats, and can also mend old clothes.  Sometimes if the girl is very poor we also try to help her buy a sewing machine, which costs about $67 USD.   The women also learn cooking and occasionally take time to go on a picnic.  The important thing here is that they come here to enjoy their time and also through enjoyment they learn good communication skills, expressions of feelings, and become more confident.

Fairific: What is the age range of women who come to Annapurna?

Dr. Tulsi: The age range of women is generally adolescent girls between the age of 13 to 20 and sometimes newlywed brides who have come to the village. They generally come to Annapurna to learn new skills so they can empower themselves, not only in household activities but so that after marrying they can start earning a little bit of pocket money for themselves. 

Fairific: Are any men or boys allowed at Annapurna?

Dr. Tulsi: No, no men or boys are allowed at the center except one security person who stays over night. In the day time whole centre is managed by Ms. Vidya Patel under my direction.

Fairific: We’ve talked about the women learning to sew, embellish, and cook, and I have also read that they learn to make candles and incense sticks.  Why has Annapurna chosen to teach those specific skills?

Dr. Tulsi: They learn all of those skills, and they also learn how to care for their body, communicate well, manage anger, do yoga, and speak English.  We hope these skills will make them stronger and more confident so that after marriage they can live a happy life with some kind of earning.

Fairific: How are the women able to utilize the skills they build at Annapurna to generate more income for themselves and their families?

Dr. Tulsi: At present the major income generating skill is stitching and sewing, through which they earn a little money, maybe $3-5 per month,  which is better than nothing.  How they use it is up to them, but some save it for emergencies.

[Products of the Annapurna Center]

Fairific:  Are there any special success stories from the Annapurna Center?

Dr. Tulsi: Hiran is a girl of 20 years, tall and slim, with a sister and a brother. Her mother is very old and uneducated and her father is no more. Hiran came to the Annapurna Center for 10 years and she was very enthusiastic about learning these skills and also educating herself to become a nurse who could help the village community.  Ultimately, after a lot of hard work she is now doing her Bachelor of Nursing degree, which involves a lot of money, but thanks to people around the world who are helping her become a nurse, she is so happy!

Fairific: Do the women face any social consequences, positive or negative, for going to the center?

Dr. Tulsi: Earlier, when the Annapurna Center was started in 1995 the whole village was little apprehensive about what it was going to offer their community.  However, with constant efforts and group counseling, skill based programs, community lunches for women, and medical and health camps the community came to know that it really would be beneficial.  Now it has a positive impact not only on the girls, some of whom travel over an hour to come, but also on the overall community.

Fairific: Let’s switch gears and talk about the living conditions that prompt a need for the GoodBags™ with mosquito nets.

Dr. Tulsi: 70% of Indians live in villages with lots of trees, mud houses, and livestock.  This environment breeds mosquitoes which can cause deadly fevers like dengue and malaria.  Some villagers have mosquito nets, but most of the time the nets are utilized by men.  The rest of the population become a target for malaria.  We would like to help them by providing a mosquito net so that more people can be saved from malaria problems.

[A meeting with members of Bacchaon Village to determine a need that GoodBags can meet.]

Fairific: What role with the Annapurna Center play in distributing the mosquito nets?

Dr. Tulsi: The Annapurna Center will be the apex which will select the beneficiaries, make them aware of malaria, and give them nets to use when they are sleeping.

Fairific: Is there anything else you want the Fairific community to know?

Dr. Tulsi: East is east and west is west, and it’s true that we are different socio-culturally and spiritually, and that we have such different problems. However, there are some common things like sleep and nutrition which are important for every human being.  If you have good sleep, you can work all day long, and if you have poor sleep then everybody knows that what is going to happen in the daytime.  This kind of help, the mosquito nets, can really make a difference in people’s physical and mental processes and thinking styles.

Fairific:  We’re glad to help, and to have found such a great partner to kick off our GoodBag™ program.

Have Question?  Email us at goodbag [at] fairific [dot] com.