At our monthly Trustee meetings, we often discuss “sustainability”. It is a word evoking different meanings depending on the context.
Sustainability in the context of a warming planet is uppermost in all our minds, especially those of our partner communities in the desert state of Rajasthan, India, who have suffered from severe drought for the past 27 years.
For charities, sustainability comes down to whether we can raise enough funds in a year to continue our important work. In pursuing this aim (and to achieve every charity’s goal of making itself redundant) we frequently talk about helping the communities we support to become more “sustainable”. But what does this mean? Perhaps what we really mean in this context is “self-sufficient”. But how can we help them achieve this?
We have had many discussions about encouraging an artisan culture in the villages. Imagine, if families could only produce enough clothes, bags, bedspreads, jewellery and other marketable products, we could sell them here in the UK and the circle would be completed.
Job done.
But, in Khandel and surrounding villages, tradition and culture have revolved around agriculture. By asking them to change, we would be imposing our own cultural ideas, using our own cultural lens. The golden rule of development is to listen to local communities. What they tell us is that, if we can just give them a helping hand to enable them to survive for a few years, they will come up with the solutions. Give them a sufficient supply of fish while at the same time supporting them to make their own rods.
This is exactly what we have been doing.
By resourcing projects such as The Girls' Parliament, we are enabling change from within the community. Girls are more likely to stay in education and feel less pressure from their families.
Water tanks, monthly water tankers, houses, toilets, tree planting, improvement of Infrastructure (giving much-needed employment), community groups, educational bursaries, food parcels during the COVID-19 pandemic and, the icing on the Capability Cake, the Girls’ Parliament, are changing lives.
Many of our beneficiaries already no longer need benefits. They are self-sufficient, but still want to come to the monthly community meetings to discuss further community development.
Girls are now feeling confident enough to stand up to family pressures and delay marriage. Many are staying on in education and going to college and university to gain qualifications and degrees to enable them to enjoy stable jobs and sustainable futures for themselves and their families. Khandel light and our partner communities are mindful of the African proverb: “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”. This is sustainability. In action.
Thank you for all your loyal and sustained support.
Dr. Peter Gough
