Supporting Children

Our sponsored children come from families who are in various states of need. In some families there may be a parent or sibling who is disabled. In one family with eight children, the only one to ever have attended school is an eight year old girl sponsored by one of our members. In other cases, students would not have been able to continue their education beyond primary level if they had not received sponsorship.

For most of these children, the furthest they have ever ventured away from home is eleven kilometres to Gaya, a nearby city. Thus, when members of Kusala Projects visit Bodhgaya, we have been able to broaden their experience by taking them on excursions to places like Rajgir (Bihar) and Varanasi (Uttara Pradesh).

Supporting Families

There have been opportunities to help the families of some of our sponsored children. An example is donating cycle rickshaws to two fathers of the children.

Previously, these men had to hire cycle rickshaws to earn a livelihood. Now, with their own cycles, they are able to increase their income and be more independent.

Kusala Sewing Centre

We opened this free vocational centre in January 2008. The first six month course had thirty students & the first graduation ceremony was held on 15th August 2008. A third course commenced in January 2009.

Future Projects

• Kusala Micro Loans: we wish to give sewing centre graduates the opportunity to set themselves up in business. By establishing a micro loan scheme the women will be able to borrow money to purchase their own sewing machines. Loans would have fixed minimal interest rates and minimal deposits.
• Kusala Women’s Co-operative: we wish to establish a women’s co-operative to enable sewing centre graduates to be involved in future marketing ventures emanating from Kusala Sewing Centre.
• Additional vocational & educational courses: we wish to have other vocational subjects taught at our centre. Also, we may be able to offer primary level education to children from poor families.
• Building a combined vocational and educational centre: a plot of land in Bodhgaya has been gifted to Elsa Charitable Trust for this purpose.