For a long time I have been intending to write to you all but never materialized! Today I hope to send this letter.

More than to say ‘Thank You’ to the SCN Ministry Fund team, I want to share with you all the unbelievable positive changes that are happening in the children, their families/caregivers and the community to which they belong due to the continued support from this fund. 

I want to give few examples of deep changes that are happening in children. There is a girl named Rinki. She is of one of the aboriginal communities. Her parents died of ill health and malnutrition; the relatives were going to sell her off but we brought her to live with us. Unbelievable changes are happening in her – from a frightened, skinny girl in rags she has emerged as a beautiful vivacious little thing! 

With the support of the Ministry Fund, we have been able to provide a primary level of education to approximately 14,000 children. The same number of children was prevented from child marriage and bonded labor. Among these, at least a thousand children got married to literate/educated men. To our knowledge about 800 girls (now women) are doing job/ micro-enterprise and educating their children. Few are working in our organization. A notable fact is that when we began the project, girls’ (belonging to the rock bottom in the social ladder- the Bhuiya community) education in Chatra district was just four percent and marriageable age was from nine years onward! 

Side by side with education the communities/families too were supported by the project. As a result, there is an organization of 1,200 empowered women who operates self-help programs and act as a liaison between the community and the government. This organization is the backbone of the villages for their socio-economic and political liberation. They lead many campaigns/movements against the destruction of the environment/land grabbing/many social evils.

I feel girl’s education is the seed from which a strong ‘tree’ (the village/family) grows to shelter/protect the community. The SCN Ministry Fund has been providing necessary nourishment for the fruition of this tree. 

Thank you indeed!

Sister Joel Urumpil
Chetna Bharati NGO