Dear friends and family.

As many of you know, my heart has been deeply moved by the work of an interfaith centered NGO, based in Pune, India, called Maher, so much so that I am taking time out to be with everyone at Maher in November this year.

I00% of the funds I am raising here will be given directly to Maher.

Poverty, for many individuals in India, means the risk of death. Maher has provided shelter and care to destitute women, children and men in and around Pune since 1997. Maher is run on a core philosophy of offering a sincere and loving approach to improve the conditions of the disadvantaged and underprivileged. This heart-centred charitable grass-root organization is a haven of hope, belonging and empowerment to these women, children and men, irrespective of gender, race, age, caste, spirituality or religion.

As I write this in 2017, Maher is present in over 85 rural communities around Pune as well as locations in Ratnagiri, Kerala and Jharkhand. I will be staying at one of the main sites in Pune called Vadhu Budruk, where there are approximately 220 children plus staff and housemothers. I will also be spending time at Vatsalayadham, where there are approximately 120 women with mental health challenges, 40 elderly women, 80 children, plus staff, housemothers and care workers.

All of the empowerment projects which Maher delivers in local communities are simply too numerous to mention here. Some of the initiatives include: award-winning values-based education, employment and skills training and tree planting initiatives. Maher has currently set up 550+ self-help groups in more than 100 villages with more than (10,000) members. The children create street theatre performances to educate villagers on awareness issues relating to health, hygiene, female empowement, family violence and the environment. Maher also conducts clean-up days in the begging communities, and offers psychotherapy and counseling, addiction programs, cultural and sports training, youth groups, and more!

Maher cites “Re-awakening our personal relationship with Mother Earth and treating her as the body of the Divine” as one of its core values. The children, women and men are taught about the fundamental interdependence of all life and include the earth and all of our human family in their daily prayers.

Maher supports family reunification where possible, providing counseling, work training and other services as needed. Many women and children stay at Maher for a short time and then re-unite with their families, others stay and attend school, university, and go on to get married and raise their families with the spiritual and family values they learned at Maher. Others train to be housemothers or counselors and stay to work at Maher, where their compassion is unparalleled.

It is no surprise that Maher’s efforts to strengthen India by providing empowering opportunities to individuals and communities have been recognized nationally and internationally. Maher has been granted Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. As I write this, the organization has received more than 130 awards for the contribution it makes to the betterment of women.

Maher is in need of support to provide vital services and further infrastructure that can allow the growing number of people there to live their lives with greater dignity. If your heart feels moved, Maher family would love your support with that, in whatever way you feel able, whether that be through donating here, or through holding the work of empowering women and children in your thoughts and prayers.

Even the smallest amount you can give will make a big difference.

I will be writing a follow-up blog post outlining my time at Maher, and will be sharing information on that as to the types of projects and needs your very generous financial gifts will go directly towards funding.

My intention for going to Maher is as follows: I feel we are one human family, and that we need to extend our love and care for each other across borders where we can. I have felt an inner connection with India for some time, feeling for a land and a people who suffer many debilitating effects related to our western society’s blind focus on economic growth and excessive consumerism today. I'm also aware that much of the comforts I experience by living here in the UK are derived from our country's taking from India since colonial times. I thus feel a sense of personal responsibility to make reparation, and to give back to Indian society in any small way I can.

Having met Sr. Lucy in person in London earlier this year, and witnessed in-person how her genuine compassionate heart and her faith fuels her work, I have decided to take some time away from my desk job to share my heart and hands, and to learn from these beautiful and humble life serving people who live their faith values every day in response to real needs in their families and local communities.

I am very interested in new economic business models, and particularly in how local inter-spiritual centred social enterprises can contribute to nurturing the soil, soul and resilience of communities in the challenging times ahead of us as climate, economic and social crises becomes more present in our lived reality. I am deeply inspired by Maher’s unique and simple holistic values-centered approach, and believe that this grass-root organisation is a living role model for creating local systemic social change which any community world-wide would benefit from.

For further information about Maher, you can view the website here: https://maherashram.org

Thank you for your support and your generosity for our family in Maher.

With love
Lynda Morrissey