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 "
The cycle of poverty that creates desperate living has to be attacked
at the root. As people begin providing for them, dignity is restored
and a new cycle of hope is born. "
'Reachout',
a Charitable Trust, as its name suggests, is reaching all out
to help persons become self-dignified individuals, filled with
a sense of purpose about where their lives are heading.
Reachout
has adopted an urban slum located in Kamarajapuram and is totally
involved in creating the environment necessary for a 'human' life.
And
it has also embarked on a 'blanket distribution' scheme to ensure
that the needy are sheltered from winter's furious rages. And
this wonderful mission is "manned" by ladies!! No wonder the proverb
'the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world'.
Let us hear from them what they have in mind for the betterment
of the society at large.
* About yourself, and what prompted you to start 'Reachout' ?
Destiny
played a very important role in the conception of Reachout. Fifteen
years ago the three of us entered as daughters-in-law of the same
family. Over the years we developed a great rapport & understanding,
which became a major strength between us. It was our tradition
to feed the poor on the 1st of January. Every time we prepared
for this ritual and saw the poor, frantic to get their package
of food, it always agonized us. We often used to wonder and discuss
among ourselves if it was possible to do this poor feeding on
a day-to-day basis.
For
quite some time, we had been engulfed by a feeling of empathy
for the downtrodden inhabitants of slum areas. These persons do
not have even the basic facility of shelter and food. The women
here are a courageous lot who struggle everyday to provide their
children with the bare essentials of food and clothing. So where
does the question of proving education, health and hygiene etc.
ever come in their agenda? And how will things ever change if
these children do not get the basic education that is needed for
their material progress? It is here that we wished to step in
and assist them.
After much thought we realised that feeding them alone would not
fulfill their requirements. If in any way we could improve their
lifestyles by providing them with education, health, monetary
assistance etc. they would take care of themselves in the long
run. It was this minute idea that has taken shape in the form
of Reachout.
 *
What are the avenues with which 'reachout' is planning to reach
out to these needy?
We
have come up with different programmes by means of which we hope
to make a difference.
We
concentrate solely on giving monetary assistance to deserving
people who are willing to work hard, thereby making them financially
independent. So, rather than feeding a man with fish we are
teaching him how to fish. We serve the need and not the want.
Coming
to logistics measures, the end want of a man is only money..it
is here we make a difference, We assist him and motivate him to
earn money, rather than giving money in his hands.
Other
than this we are planning to have regular health camps, distribution
of clothes, blankets,free food distribution, providing special
tri-wheelers for the handicapped destitutes and other basic essentials
needed for a decent living.
We
plan our projects and phase them out, so that each one of our
projects arrives at successful completion.
*
There are many such charity organisations, why didn't you join
any one of them ? What made you start it on your own?
Most
of the organisations are concentrating in remote villages, of
course the need is there, but we wanted to start some thing similar
in the city (Chennai ) around us, where city residents could also
take part in our activities
 *
What are the resources available to fund your projects?
1.
It was heartwarming to note that there are several likeminded
persons, who just needed to be called for contributing. For instance,
when we announced the project for distributing blankets, within
a span of 2 days , 100 blankets piled up. Goes to show that your
cause needs to be noble and resources happen!
2.
To generate income, we have designed greeting cards to welcome
this New Year. It is part of our tradition to greet people and
wish them good tidings for the years to come. We have designed
our cards with this in mind and we are sure that you will enjoy
sending these cards as much as the persons receiving them will
do. What more, you also have the satisfaction of contributing
towards a noble cause when you purchase these cards, as the proceeds
of the sale of these cards go to the charitable causes that Reachout
is pursuing.
3. We accept sponsorships in kind as well as in money format.
So anyone willing to sponsor, is most welcome to join this noble
cause. Presently, since we are yet to be granted an NGO status,
we accept only Indian currency.
*
What are your current projects?
Our
focus is presently on Kamarajapuram; we have adopted an urban
slum located here, consisting of eighteen families dwelling
in huts, closely built with narrow passages in between. Many a
time the huts have been burnt down due to various reasons like
electrical short circuits, fire accidents during Deepavali etc.
The people residing here are unable to rush out through these
narrow passages and therefore suffer severe burn injuries. Besides
this, they have barely any shelter from the rains during the Monsoon
season. The rainwater not only floods their house but also seeps
through their thatched roofs. In an attempt to protect them from
these problems Reachout plans to
-
change the thatched roofs into tiles.
-
send the dropouts back to school by sponsoring their educational
expenses.
-
provide tuitions for children as a back up for their school
education.
-
help the women living there become literate.
-
conduct health camps to make them aware of diabetes, Blood pressure
etc.
-
identify and provide the source of livelihood for the hardworking
and deserving people
-
provide higher education for deserving candidates.
We have a note about this on our website. Please do visit it.
For your convenience we have placed all our card designs on our
web site, including the order form and the sponsorship form. All
you have to do is print it, fill it and send it across to us.
They
can be reached at www.reachoutindia.org,
or by email : info@reachoutindia.org
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