A very hot summer  

Our state, Jharkhand is facing a very hot summer this year. Summer season has just started and the temperature has rose up to 42 (+) degrees Celsius and it is still rising. The terrible hot winds are blowing. The water level has gone down by two to three meters. There is crisis of drinking water and cultivable water everywhere in the state. In this terrible hot summer people of this state is also facing acute shortage of power supply. We are fully dependent on power generator to maintain the water supply in the kitchen and in the hostels. It is very expensive and we can’t afford to run the generator regularly because of limited means. This is a great cause of worries for us. We hope that the monsoon will start by the middle of June. We are also hoping for a good monsoon this year.

We are very sad that we are not going to harvest mango this year as expected. We had a very big storm that turned our hope disappointment. Almost all the small fruits and many of the branches were destroyed by the storm. We are now thinking of removing the branches of trees fallen on the paths.

President rule  

As you know the state of Jharkhand is under the President rule. The State Legislative Assembly is under suspension. There is a slight improvement in the Law and Order situation in the state in comparison to the former government. The political parties are blaming each other for the suspension of the elected coalition government. They are not in a position to pressurize the governor to declare a fresh election in the state. We hope that the parliament will soon declare for a fresh mandate in the state.Searching for doctor  

We are trying hard to find a suitable doctor for the health center of Jagriti Vihara. We have posted advertisement in the internet and are happy to know that the applications have started coming to our mail address. A team of doctors in Ranchi will scrutinize the applications and called the applicants for interview. Hopefully by the month of July we will be able to find a doctor for the center to start it functioning.

Searching for teacher  

We are working hard to open a girls’ school in the campus of Jagriti Vihara. The classrooms are ready. Regarding the furniture we have decided to shift temporarily some benches from the meeting hall. We have to appoint at least two full time teachers. Regarding the names of the teachers we have some suggestions. We have to interview the teachers and then make a list of both the teachers and the pupils. Hopefully after summer vacation, by the middle of July, we will be in a position to start the school for girls in our campus. Everyone at Jagriti Vihara seems to be very eager to start the school for girls who are willing to get education. The school project , as we expect, will be a great step towards the empowerment of women. We all hope that with your cooperation and support we will make it possible.

The wall  

The construction of the compound wall is also under consideration of the Executive Committee of Jagriti Vihara. As soon as we procure money and materials for construction we start the work as advised by Jayaji. He has arrived in Delhi and waiting for tickets for his journey by train to Ranchi. As soon as he arrives at Jagriti Vihara we will finalize the schedule for meeting with the builders from Korri to start the work for the compound wall. They have already worked to fix the doors at our guest house.

High prices  

The prices of food articles are still very high in Jharkhand. Poor villagers can not afford to buy essential commodities from the open market because of the price rise. Our government announces many programs to control the price rise of essential commodities but unable to fulfill their promises. This is a very disappointing situation for the poor villagers.

With Warm greetings,  

On behalf of the information group and the Executive Committee of Jagriti Vihara

We, the entire group of workers at Jagriti Vihara, express our deep gratitude to our friends and supporters whose contributions made it possible for us to carry out our plans and programmes.

As you have been informed earlier our priorities are as follows:  

1. Health  

2. Education  

3. Empowerment of women and action to bring about gender equality

Village hospital

You will be glad to know that the newly built CHIKITSALAYA (health care centre/village hospital) was started on 16 July 2013. Since then it has been serving the villagers in our neighbourhood. Three persons,  a doctor, a nurse and a pharmacist, work in the CHIKITSALAYA.

School for girls  

The long and eagerly awaited news now!  The newly started secondary  school for girls is functioning well. Three ladies, two teachers and a  warden for the girls´ hostel are, as expected, taking good care of the school. The work which was started to empower women having only subservient  positions even in their families has been progressing satisfactorily.

The wall  

And another thing. The planned compound wall on the entrance side of the campus is also being constructed. We hope to complete the work before the end of this year, depending on the availability of the required amount of money.

Lack of Caretaker

What we are now worried about is the lack of means to appoint a care taker of the buildings, a couple of persons to carry out the skill training activities and a gardener

Some of our friends are fully aware about our needs, but it takes much time and energy for a non-profit voluntary organization like ours to get people involved in fund raising activities. Anyway, we will, as usual, continue working to find ways and means to overcome our difficulties.

With warm greetings,

Lucy, Sushil and Rajesh  ( The Information Group )