I will start this letter with a story, a true story. On the Parinaam Homepage, there is a photograph of a Mother and her daughter holding a doll. This is their story.....
Last year we had a summer intern, Sandeep, from one of the B schools. His passion was photography and he always had his camera with him. One day I'm not sure where, he saw this woman, a construction site worker (exactly the kind of lady we target for our Urban Ultra Poor Program, so they don't get taken by those awful contractors). She was carrying a load of stones on her head from one area to the next and her little daughter was "helping" by trotting after the mother, carrying her own little stones. Needless to say the stone fell and the child burst into tears. Nothing the mother could do would stop her crying. So Sandeep, who had this little doll in his bag (don't ask me why), pulled it out and gave it to her - which only made her cry even harder! The mother in a desperate attempt to stop the crying, took the doll and started shaking it in front of the child's face (such a typical action of every mom who is trying to distract a distraught kid) and suddenly the little girl burst out laughing and the Mom was so relieved that she started laughing too - pure joy - and Sandeep clicked!
Such a little thing - only a doll - and a happy ending. Too many sad endings in our line of work - this reminds me of my Dad's favourite song "Little things mean a lot" - it is what Parinaam believes in......this photo is a constant reminder that if we take care of the little things - God in His Heaven will take care of the rest....... (with a little bit of help from good people :))
Last year was very tough, with our 80G application pending and hit with the recession, it was a struggle to just keep going. Yet we managed - Parinaam took up the challenge of providing the maximum possible benefits to the Ujjivan microfinance customers and their families at minimal financial cost. A huge part of that success was due to the generosity of our volunteers and partners who supported us with their time, areas of expertise and enthusiastic involvement with our programs. Our Volunteer Program with organizations and individuals became a very important aspect of our work. It is still the backbone of our existence.
Ujjivan Financial Services, with whom we have a strategic partnership, has supported our efforts in every possible way. Both the organizations have understood the absolutely critical premise that neither financial services nor social initiatives can stand alone to truly make a dent in the dreadful disease that afflicts so many of our brethren. Today, we channel joint interventions from every angle; we have created a Dream Team to fight poverty.
In the same spirit of joint efforts, last January we decided to research and develop a program for the urban ultra poor, the most marginalised of our society. Most government and organisational efforts are channelled towards the rural sector, the urban destitute do not even exist for any viable support from any source. We soon realised that Ultra Poor Programs usually targeted single women (widowed or divorced) for a livelihood asset. It went completely against the Parinaam ethos - where the family and especially the children were our priority. We needed to throw out all the time worn perceptions and work out a program that would truly provide for every single member of an urban ultra poor family. Today Parinaam has one of the most unique programs ever developed and the launch of the pilot in September 2009 has all of us very excited and hoping for its success.
Finally, I have to say this - we need your help. Funding is an important component of any program for the poor and we seek financial aid for them and to cover our administrative costs. We need your support if you have a product that will provide our families with a better quality of life. We need your interaction as a Volunteer for our various programs. We need you to help us help the poor to survive and move to a better life.......
Please get in touch with Parinaam and tell us how you would like to help.
Elaine Marie