GRABUU:
Gram Bangla Unnayan Udyog, Inc:
Please do come and join us:
OUR MISSION IS TO FIGHT HUNGER AND POVERTY, ILLITERACY AND HELPLESSNESS THROUGH JOB CREATION, TRAINING AND EDUCATION IN THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN RURAL INDIA. We, a few friends and families in the United States and India have established a secular non-profit charitable public foundation called, Gram Bangla Unna
yan Udyog, Inc.: GRABUU to fight hunger and poverty in the poor and marginalized communities in India. GRABUU is registered in the State of North Carolina, USA, and EIN: 45-4487432. GRABUU is currently working on several projects in the villages of Sunderban and Santhal Parganas, West Bengal, India in partnership with two humanitarian charitable organizations including Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Kolkata, India, www.bharatsevashramsangha.net and its US unit, www.bsswest.org, Brea, California. We work primarily in three areas:
Supporting poor villagers to earn their livelihood in a sustained way
Vocational training
Improving academic standard in the rural primary schools. Livestock project: Livestock is a powerful response to hunger and poverty. It is natural and integral part of the villagers’ daily life. In 2012 we initiated a livestock project in three Sunderban villages. We bought and distributed domestic animals, as described below, among the members of the SHGs (Self- Help groups) so that they can raise the animals, earn their livelihood or add to their family income in a sustained way, save and build assets for themselves over time. There were two conditions: One: All recipients must undergo compulsory animal husbandry training. Two: The first recipient must pass on within one year the same type and number of animals he / she received to the second recipient who would do the same to the third and so on and so forth. Thus GRABUU’s one time donation will make hundred of villagers owners of some valuable assets over time which they will be able to use and earn a living. The domestic animals distributed were:
2,890 Chicks
316 Goats
28 sheep
319 kg Fingerlings for fish farming
4,66,000 pieces of Earthworm to produce Vermicompost
Number of beneficiaries: 837 Families
2. Dr. Bose’s project to help farmers:
With the donation of $200.00 (INR 1,000.00) from Dr.Bimal Bose, Professor Emeritus, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, a program was created to help the farmers in 2011 in the Sunderban villages in the district of South 24 Parganas. The amount was distributed equally among 4 farmers who used it for cultivating and harvesting paddy. At the end of the season farmers returned the amount with 15% p.a. interest to their SHGs that would loan out to four other farmers. In 2012, Dr. Bose’s donation of $1,000.00 (INR 50,000.00) will be similarly distributed among 20 more farmers.
3. Tailoring training School
Two Tailoring schools were set up in the two villages in Santhal Parganas in the district of Birbhum in May, 2012. The program has been designed to admit 30 participants in two schools, train them in various techniques of cutting and sewing for 9 months including three months of apprenticeship and also they will be trained in business basics like buying, producing and selling and book keeping. At the end of the course, the participants should be able to make garments of marketable quality and their labor rate would be around Rs.50.00 /hour. If they start their own business individually or in a group, their earnings will be substantially higher.
4. Science Laboratory instruments for a Higher Secondary School:
The school did not have a science laboratory, although several science subjects are taught there. School authorities submitted a list of instruments they needed immediately. We bought the instruments to help them set up the laboratory for the science students of grade 11 and 12. One time cost: $833.00 (INR 41,643.00)
Number of students benefitted: 100 every year
5. Reference Book Library for a High School (grade 5 to 10):
We bought 25 reference books on various subjects written in Bengali, as selected by the school authorities to add to the school library. This will supplement the class room studies and enrich their learning experience. Number of students benefitted: 600 every year
Future Projects:
Two Tailoring Training Schools : $3,000.00 (INR 150,000.00)
Three 100-chick Poultry Farm : $1,300.00 (INR 65,000.00)
Two Fish Farming Projects : $1,200.00 (INR 60,000.00)
Educational Projects : $6,000.00 (INR 3,00,000.00)
You can help:
We urge you to come and join us:
Get involved. Spread the word of GRABUU and its mission to your friends and families in the States and in India. Raise funds
Start your own project with GRABUU. Donate as much as you can. No amount is too small. We have a program called “Send a gift and make a difference”. You may make project-specific contributions to one or more of the following Projects and bring about a positive change in the life of a family or a group of school children:
---A Gift of 20 Chicks for $10.00
---A Gift of 2 kg. of Fingerlings for $12.00
---A Gift of 2000 pieces of Earthworm for $18.00
--- A Gift of two Goats for $28.00
* You can help set up a library in a primary school by donating $100.00
* You can reward academically top performing 12 boys and 12 girls of the upper classes of a high school for $100.00.
* You can sponsor the annual “Education Fair” in the village for $200.00.
