Last April, people in the village of Manjhagawan gathered to meet our India director, Shamsul Akhtar to decide how to irrigate their fields in the dry season.
They decided that we should construct a pond and two irrigation canals together. Seven months later, the irrigation system was in place, just in time for the start of the dry season. Thanks to your donations, Karuna-Shechen has funded 50% of the project as part of our rural community support initiative: small money, Big Change.
Villagers with Shamsul Akhtar, our India director
In this isolated area, over 70km from Bodhgaya, during the monsoon season (June-September), families grow rice that they harvest in November. From December, the beginning of the dry season, farmers grow wheat and mustard. Until now, the harvest has been small because there was no irrigation system.
Five small rural communities will benefit from this newly constructed pond — nearly 5,000 people! “It will be good for everyone and allow us to produce more during the dry season,” says Rajo, one of the oldest women in the village.
Rajo, the village elder, shows the project monitoring chart
Our Approach to Community Development
We involve the villagers in every step. For the village of Manjhagawan, a committee made up of 7 women and 6 men coordinated the project. We subsidized 50%, and the villagers financed the rest. Each family contributed to a special savings account and two villagers, with the support of a Karuna-Shechen coordinator, kept track of the finances.
Our goal is to improve the daily lives of villagers, without creating dependency on outside help. Through our small money, Big Change initiative, we teach financial transparency to communities, while strengthening their sense of responsibility. The villagers feel proud to show the accounts, accurate to the penny, and the daily monitoring chart of the project.
The village of Manjhagawan also benefits from the following projects:
Mobile medical clinic (since 2014)
Creation of organic vegetable gardens (since 2016)
Mobile veterinary clinic (since the beginning of 2017)
Literacy course for women (since the beginning of 2017)
Video: See what it’s like to meet with villagers:
October 16 2020
« One only needs to become conscious of the truth for error, no matter how deeply rooted, to disappear, just as one only needs to light a lamp for darkness to disperse in a cave, even if it has been...
September 30 2020
In the continuity of Yoga for Karuna, Karuna-Shechen, an association founded by Matthieu Ricard, launches Action for Karuna, to support humanitarian projects in Nepal. From November 2 to 8, 2020, use ...
September 2 2020
« Altruism is not a luxury, but a necessity. It is also the most pragmatic way to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Altruism is indeed not only the noblest state of mind of the human being, bu...
August 31 2020
Karuna-Shechen is committed, since 2000, to provide access to quality education to the greatest number of people. We believe in a more altruistic world and education is a tool of choice to encourage t...
August 31 2020
Karuna-Shechen integrates the practice of solidarity and compassion in its education programs. These are not only keys to solving many societal problems in the short, medium and long term, but also a ...
