An alternative Christmas, birthday or anniversary present that is environmentally friendly, low carbon, recyclable, life-changing, green (well brownish really!) ...
Do you struggle sometimes to think of the perfect present for a family member or friend? Do they seem to have everything they want or need? Or are you fed up with how the commercialisation of Christmas has taken over the real meaning of Christmas?
Here’s an alternative to ponder over. With Christmas soon here, alongside your normal present buying, why not be part of a sheep-giving scheme for the Dalit people of Southern India who benefit so much from just one sheep that costs only £21.50?! I can assure that out of all your presents, this one will be the most appreciated!
Supporting Dalit Children ran this scheme for the first time in 2009, with specific funds given throughout the year to buy 81 sheep for Dalit families living in four villages. In the week leading up to Christmas whilst we visited the Dalit school children and their families, 81 sheep were bought from the local market and each one was handed over to a Dalit mother ourselves, a incredibly joyful and humbling experience.
What does a sheep cost?
A sheep costs 1400 Indian rupees, £21.50 at today's exchange rate, (in 2009 the cost was £20 as pound was stronger a year ago).
Father Eric's belief is that it's better for each party to pay something towards the cost of the sheep rather than it being given totally freely, so he asks each Dalit family to contribute to the cost of transporting the sheep from the market to their village, and he also requests that the first-born lamb is given back to him to pass on to another family in need, on the same basis. This way the partnership gives a greater sense of ownership to the Dalit family and they retain their self-respect.
Why is a sheep so beneficial to a Dalit family?
One sheep can provide up to half a litre of highly nutritious milk per day. Milk may be the only nutrition available to a baby or young child as Dalit families are extremely poor, their staple diet being rice and maize rotis . To buy a litre of milk costs the equivalent of a day's wages which is much too expensive for a family living hand-to-mouth, so consequently they go without. The great advantage of this particular breed of sheep is that they don't cost anything to keep - they eat practically anything, even maise rotis if they can steal them from the huts (!), they don't need bought forage.
Why give sheep specifically to the Dalit women?
Father Eric recognises that one of the great needs within the Dalits' impoverished villages is to re-build broken communities; broken because life here is so tough. He has encouraged the women from each village to form a self-help group so that he can teach them more about their employment rights, about certain aspects of the Law as well as the need for their children to be educated.
The women work every day in the fields as well as raise their families so life is especially tough for them; their wages are low, their children are almost all malnourished and life expectancy is low. Women are badly exploited by local landlords, they are paid less than men and are made to work longer hours. Despite all this, it is the women who are the back-bone of every village, they are totally trust-worthy and already 11 lambs have been given back to Father Eric from sheep given out last Christmas.
If you'd like any further information about the sheep-scheme or about any other aspect of the charity's work, please do get in touch.
With many thanks for your support.
Dinah Findlay
www.supportingdalitchildren.com
01279 843248
On behalf of the charity ‘Supporting Dalit Children’, registration no. 1125102
