November 2021: Home of Hope's Auxilium Centre - Khapmara, Meghalaya, India
Khapmara, where the project is located, is a small, undeveloped, hilly village, 40 kilometres from Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya. The main occupation is agriculture and farming, but few people own land and must hire themselves out as day labourers, for about $3 day. Many people are “tribals,” who are among the poorest and most marginalized people in India. They are discriminated against as much as the Untouchables.
These poor families are unable to support and educate their children. Girl children are especially vulnerable; they are educated less, if at all; fed less and daily face sexual harassment. Polygamy is practiced in this area and as a man takes on the next wife, the last wife and children are often neglected or abandoned entirely.
It is a common practice for a poor single mother, in desperation, to trade a daughter for a cow. The cow will sustain the other members of the family; the girl will be an indentured servant.
Other girls have been bargained into a life of prostitution by unsuspecting parents who are duped into thinking their girls will get real jobs.
The purpose of the building is to provide a home for younger orphaned and abandoned girls and training accommodations for girls 15-20 years old. Most have received little or no education. As the sisters term it, the girls are in constant “moral danger” because of their low status in the eyes of young boys and men of their villages.
The girls will be trained, according to their ability, either in courses that will lead to higher education and/or in computer, music, animal husbandry, agriculture, gardening, tailoring. They would then be eligible for real jobs instead of low-paying fieldwork, or have skills to make them self-sufficient.
The presence of the Salesian Sisters in this area through the establishment of the
Auxilium Training Centre which is the first centre of this kind in the whole region
that will focus on skills trainings is to response to the urgent need of these poor
young boys and girls to provide various job employment skills for them so that
they may be able to have a descent livelihood and live a dignify life.
The centre aims at eradicating the social evils that are present in the village and
its surrounding areas by providing a healthy society, healthy families and dignified
way of living these will be possible only through trainings that will enable the
young boys and girls to tap the various job opportunities. So, directly or indirectly
will eradicate poverty. The Salesian Sisters dream to see these energetic, vibrant
young people have a bright future.
Setting up the Computer Lab in the training Centre will surely give hope and be a great asset to help the young people to realise their dreams.
The various courses will be introduce in the Training centre which will prepare the
poor young boys and girls to tap job opportunities or which will enhance their
skills to be employed in different Privates / Government sectors for different
types of works.
April 2021: COVID - Oxygen concentrators for India
We are procuring and shipping oxygen concentrators to India. Our joint goal is to procure and send 2000 oxygen concentrators to India. We have already procured and shipped over 200 units. These are to help our family, friends and community in India.
We are working with TVIMA and Round Table India (RTI) which is an international organization under the umbrella of Round Table International present in 57 countries. They have a National and City wise Covid task force who are helping people with essentials.
Please note:
1. We are not suppliers of Oxygen Concentrators. We are procuring it for free service to the public by the Round Table India team.
2. These machines will be property of Round Table India and once the pandemic subsides will be donated to needy old age homes and hospitals.
Please donate generously to save the lives of our People - gasping and dying.
Time is of the essence.
Payment can be made using one of the following options, or using Donate:
Venmo: @ReliefPal
Paypal: relief@reliefpal.org
March 2021: Amazon Gero Tours
As Brazil continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, the once-booming tourism industry has been hit hard. As a result, many Brazilian residents are finding it hard to make ends meet and get food on the table for their families.
We were recently contacted by friends from Brazil who desperately needed our support. They run Amazon Gero Tours, an ecotourism company that has not been able to see business due to the travel restrictions. Your support will help them keep their heads above water until they are able to restart their tours. A way to show your support is to prebook Amazon tours at www.amazongero.com . It is an amazing opportunity to visit one of the most unique and gorgeous places in the world.
December 2020: Los Angeles Mission
We held our first annual give back drive for the holiday season. Our community is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and Los Angeles has faced many challenges in providing for the homeless and underserved populations. We gave back to our community by collecting canned food items and other food donations from our community members. We brought the items to multiple nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles, such as the Los Angeles Mission, which feeds
people three meals a day and is running very low on canned food items.
Thank you for helping us take part in offering a helping hand to our neighbors in need!
January 2021: Ventura County Homeless Education Program
We partnered with Ventura County Homeless education program. The program supports three hundred plus homeless kids. The program provided kids with school supplies like binders, folders, calculators, markers, glue sticks etc.
Besides supplies, gift cards between $10 to $25 for Target, Walmart, grocery stores or restaurant were welcome.
ReliefPal donors provided lot of supplies and two hundred dollars worth gift cards. Thank you for helping the kids during this pandameic.
