India (MNN) – Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday and India Partners has a way for your gift to be amplified.
Clean water to help prevent deadly disease among children. Mosquito nets to protect families from the threat of malaria. Livestock to provide for a healthy diet and an income. Sewing machines to give a mother a viable income to support her family.
This year’s gift catalog has several options to choose from. Each gift goes towards impacting a life in India.
Donna Glass previewed some of the items of the catalog with us to give people an idea of just how life changing your gift can be.
Clean Water
She says, “It’s about $53 will provide clean water for ten years. This is in an interior village area so … the water table is much deeper, so it requires [drilling].”
(Photo courtesy of India Partners)
And because hand pumps are insufficient to draw water with a deep well, this gift also provides a motor pump for the village. This monetary gift provides for one family.
Not only have recent weather patterns exacerbated the water access problem in India, but it’s also caused water sources to become harbingers of disease.
“Young children under the age of five are dying because of preventable diseases and often times it’s from contaminated water or not understanding the hygiene practices—simple things like washing your hands.”
So before the well is drilled, a team goes into the villages to train the people in safe hygiene practices.
“They are healthier. They don’t have to travel long distances to gather dirty water that’s unsafe.”
Livestock
There are also a few options that provide ongoing income for families through livestock.
Glass says a goat or pair of goats can provide milk for a family as well as the opportunity to breed and sell goats for money.
Chickens are another option. A brood of chickens can provide enough eggs to improve a family’s diet. They can sell the extra eggs for income. And when the hens are no longer laying eggs, they can be eaten.
Days of Safety
Another life-changing option is to gift “Days of Safety” to a child.
(Photo courtesy of India Partners)
Glass explains, “We have a program that we work with a partner who is working in the red light districts, helping to bring children out of the red light districts into safe homes. So there’s always Days of Safety to provide for children.”
This gives a child a chance to escape abuse and trauma. It gives them a chance to hope for the future. They have resources that can help them heal and pursue a brighter future. This reduces the chances that the children will be trapped in sex slavery as well.
You can read about this gift in more detail here.
Sewing Machines
India Partners has several sewing schools where they are training women living in poverty how to be a tailor. This allows them to start a home business, meaning they can stay home with their children during the day and provide for their families.
“When the women graduate from this six months of training, they receive a treadle-operated sewing machine. So a person could buy a sewing machine. A lot of times people do this in honor of somebody—a mother or grandmother who has taught them to sew when they were growing up. And so, this is a way that you can help somebody else start a home business.”
Gifts that change lives
The gift catalog is perfect for Christmas, not only to bless the lives of people in great need, but also to honor someone you know and love.
“These are gifts that foundationally help people in India. And, I know that on a personal basis—we have so much. And people go through this struggle of trying to find the perfect gift. And, sometimes that perfect gift is giving a gift in honor of somebody else and letting them know that you have given a gift.”
India Partners even sends the honoree a card to let them know the gift was given in their name. So, even if that person says they don’t need anything for Christmas this year, you can still let them know you thought of them.
Giving Tuesday amplifies impact
Tomorrow on Giving Tuesday, your gift will have twice the impact.
Glass says, “We are really excited about Giving Tuesday this year because we have a matching grant. So, any online gift made, tomorrow, through our gift catalog will be doubled. So, if you can provide one sewing machine, two sewing machines will be provided. If you can provide clean water for a family, you provide for two families because it will be doubled.”