Help me build houses in INDIA!!!

I've signed up to spend my Golden Week vacation this year volunteering in India. I'll be going with an organization called Longitude, a non-profit who "facilitates volunteer opportunities in conjunction with our foreign partners, raises funds for project growth and improvement, and provides material and programmatic support for the foreign NGOs with whom we collaborate". The specific NGO I will be working with is called the Association of Relief Volunteers, "an Indian non-profit working on issues of human rights and caste discrimination in rural Indian villages."


photo from golongitude.org

In particular, I will be helping to build houses in Chevuru Village. The following information is taken from the May 2010 trip page:

Chevuru Village Background

A total of 459 Dalits (formerly known as Untouchables), including 70 widows, live in thatched mud huts in Chevuru. Most of the adults in the village are unskilled agricultural laborers and are unable to find work outside the 3-month growing season each year. Because they earn barely enough wages to support their families, missing even one day of work to repair their fragile huts after heavy rain or floods can affect their ability to feed their children. Acquiring permanent housing will not The only allow these Dalit villagers to work more days of the year but will also raise their social status, giving them the confidence they need in order to stand up for their rights.


Fifty-one families in Chevuru were able to begin building permanent houses under a state government scheme that provides housing grants to people living below the poverty line. However, these grants are not enough to cover the remaining costs of the houses. These families have requested Longitude and ARV’s financial assistance to complete their homes, which have been sitting unfinished since last year. In order to put a roof on every home, we must raise US $1500 per house.


How You Can Help

Our group’s fundraising goal of $15,000 will subsidize the completion of 10 houses in Chevuru. Please help us meet this goal by either fully or partially sponsoring one family’s home. A contribution of any amount will bring piece of mind and security to a very deserving Dalit family!

---

If you are interested in helping out, please visit the group page at

http://www.golongitude.org/www/JET_May_2010.html

You can donate online through the group webpage, or they have an option for if you prefer to donate by check ^_^