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Help Us Light a Lamp of Happiness

Story

Over the last three years we are trying to heal the scarred past of the victims and helping the little souls to prosper in life. Under the Renewing Himalayas Initiative we are working in Kedarnath region, with the women who lost their husbands in the flash flood of June 2013.

Under this programme we are trying to develop a synergistic system of collaboration with outer world to support the Kedarnath victims. On one hand we have initiated a dialogue with the community as well as the system and on the other we are directly investing in present and future generation through imparting skill development and scholarship schemes respectively. Though we can never bring back the life that nature took away from them nor replace the emotional aspect of the losing their husband/father but we can strive to give them moments of happiness they can cherish.

As Diwali approaches we appeal to you to help us brighten the lives of the people of Kedarnath valley. Diwali is as much a festival of lights as it is of giving. Giving enables us to increase the happiness within and around us especially when the recipient is someone who has lost a lot in life.

This Dilwali celebration will be unique in the sense that we will help women and children not only celebrate the festival but also make them aware about their rights. During our recent discussions with women in the area we realized that many women were unaware about human rights, property and land rights, financial management, government schemes etc. Furthermore a recent media report on compensation provided by the government towards rehabilitation of the flood victims, indicates that a sum of INR 7,00,000 (on an average)was given to the women who lost their husbands. In the absence of financial illiteracy, this money was used on unproductive things and now most of the widows are left with no resources. Appended is a link to a documentary featured on national TV, that talks about compensation provided by government for rehabilitation of disaster victims and how the money gets misused

Towards making these women self reliant and to increase their participation in public life as informed citizens with constitutionally mandated rights, the event will help removing the dark clouds of unawareness. We request you to come and join us during the Diwali celebration with these families. The Diwali Event will be organized on 22nd October in Guptkashi.

You can support the event in the following ways: