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At the Shantidhara Children's Hostel Project, where we accommodate, educate and feed 32 children from very poor backgrounds, mostly tribal/rural, in the area around Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, we have been feeling the effects of the world food price inflation problem.

If you would like to see a short two minute video of the hostel and the children please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDnmUjw3rn0&feature=related

Because we are such a small, local, charity we are well below the radar of the aid agencies and depend very much on the support of a very small but dedicated few friends who provide from our own resources and fundraising efforts, most of the necessary funding to bring essential projects forward. In short, when we come up against a major problem such as the food price fluctuations and inflation now being experienced, it's a real problem and we have to find a way to deal with it. So that's what we're doing! But we're going to need a few more friends!

Sun drying tomatoes at the hostel...

We're in the process of buying a small farm (just over 8 acres) which will provide pretty much all the staples necessary to guarantee ongoing food security for the children. You can see all the details in our page on The Plan.

You don't even have to have available funds to donate! Your ideas, suggestions or expressions of support will help to encourage and motivate us to keep up our efforts. The great thing about Shantidhara is that such a small group of people are involved that you get to know everyone and what they're doing. Since I've become involved (I'm Gerry Manning from Ireland by the way), I have found the experience so much more rewarding than I used to do when I just sent my few dollars to some large aid agency once in a while, usually in response to one of their fundraising drives where you see a TV ad or get a standardised letter through the mail in common with tens of thousands of others! I fully appreciate the great work they do, but I always felt the need to become involved in a more personal way, seeing a project through, working with the people directly involved, making new friends in a worthwhile endeavour and sharing the ups and downs, and getting to know and enjoy the progress of the recipients.

Would you like to see our hostel children? Here's a recent picture of them thanking the participants at a house party arranged by our good friend Pablo Maureta of Madrid, Spain. Pablo is an architect and spent some time as a volunteer with Shantidhara. He has maintained his contact and support for the project since returning to Spain. His 'Fiesta de la Casita' has been a great fundraising success in contributing to the funds needed to complete the purchase of the farm. Here's a video of the children at the hostel thanking him for organising it. The video also contains some shots of Pablo's time spent volunteering at Shantidhara and some lively Indian music! Well worth a few minutes of your time if you can spare it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8L9VtJWP0s&feature=related

Could you do something like this for us? Doesn't have to be a house party of course...whatever works for you. We'll get to know each other. And we'll have fun. When my family went to Spain for our Summer vacation a while ago Pablo took the bus down from Madrid to Marbella (where we stay) and spent a bit of time with us. He brought some gifts back from India on behalf of Joji (that's Mr. Maria Jojayya Addagatla, the Director of Shantidhara - more about Joji later, a great man whom I hope you will come to know personally).

 Joji sent a saree for my wife Joan, but first Pablo had to be shown how to put it on so that he could show us...which he did...but I don't know if he will let me keep this picture up here! Let's chance it!

We've been in very regular contact with Joji and working together for the past few years. As it so happens his main supporter, planner and strategist Clara Gari, like Pablo is also from Spain and he will be visiting her there in November 2008, so I'll head down to Marbella and he'll come and spend a bit of time there with me too. I'm looking forward to that! Here's a photo of the main man himself,Joji!

If you can join our group of friends of Shantidhara, you will be helping to guarantee many bright and professional futures for children who otherwise have nothing to look forward to but scraping a subsistence living from hard labour on the land at the mercy of landlords and money lenders. The life is such that suicide is very common. You would not think that the bright and smiling children in the picture above go home to places like you'll see in the next picture when they're not at Shantidhara during term times, but that's the reality. With our help, the reality will be different for them when we've done our work, hopefully together with you!

BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD

Mahatma Gandhi