Salt of the Earth (SOTE) has been supporting rural poor communities since 1983
So, Why Help India?
Despite India’s economic growth, 216 million people still live in rural poverty with as many only just above it. The richest 1% of India own 53% of India’s wealth. This inequality means that most of the population do not have their most basic needs met.
26% of India’s population are illiterate with little to no education. Without an education, people are unaware of their rights, opportunities and are excluded from formal sectors of employment.
Employment is a major challenge for rural communities due to the lack of connectivity to towns and cities. People in rural areas are forced to work in low paid informal jobs that are often seasonal relating to agriculture.
Millions of people living in rural India do not have good access to medicines or facilities. The majority of deaths in rural villages are due to preventable and curable diseases such as diarrhoea, measles and typhoid.
Minority groups struggle to register for documents. Without proof of address, bank details and a passport, forms of identification cannot be issued making it difficult to join banks and register for things such as food banks. This continued exclusion from Indian society means that people living in rural areas are being left behind and the cycle of poverty continues.
We are based in Leicester, UK, and work with experienced partner Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) in South India. Through their local knowledge and dedication, we are able to assess and meet the needs of the villages we support in a timely and effective manner. Together, our impact changes lives. We are committed to funding projects that continue to provide dignity and hope, to some of India’s poorest communities. Below is an overview of the impact we have had in the past 35 years, through the various projects we have implemented.
The impact of Salt of the Earth so far
Water Purification and generation
Water provided to villages by India’s authorities is contaminated and unreliable. Communities are regularly left without water for days at a time and populations suffer accordingly. Over the years, SOTE has helped to provide safe drinking water to over to 100 villages.
Salt of the Earth donations help to dig bore-wells in communities, repair taps, implement filtration systems, repair toilets, build pipes and install Reverse Osmosis plants. In 2019 alone, we created access to safe drinking water in 6 villages. These incentives improve the health and livelihoods of people living in the area.
Our reverse osmosis plants are forward-leading in the local areas we support. The machines take in contaminated water, strip it of bad bacteria, and pump out water that is safe for consumption.
We even run a successful filtered water delivery system, where local staff collect and re-fill 20 litre bottles for a cost of around 5 pence. The minimal cost pays for the maintenance of the machine and offers a cheaper alternative to shop bought water (20 litres of water in a shop costs a local around 25 pence).
Access to Healthcare
Throughout the years, SOTE has funded over 50,000 eye operations, provided prosthetic limbs for the disabled, funded physiotherapy sessions in schools and built communities for people with leprosy, who were previously ostracized from society. Our mobile health camps have helped close to 1 million people.
We believe that the implementation of health projects is a fundamental step in improving the lives in rural communities. Our health awareness classes teach communities about the human body and the importance of hygiene. We have taught many local women in first aid training and euip them with first aid kits. Our education incentives revolutionise communities’ understandings of their bodies and health. Many of the women we teach, were never aware of the placement of their womb or organs, or had never learnt about reproductive systems.
Our mobile health clinics provide health check-ups at no cost to the community. In 2018, we purchased two medical jeeps for our partners, which enables them to safely carry more equipment to villages. Patients are prescribed drugs free of charge and are checked for diabetes and hypertension at specialized camps. We also run cancer camps through Penn Nalam Hospital, Chennai. SOTE have funded mobile dental clinics, and have provided thousands of patients with free dental check-up’s. We also fund a separate project that specifically addresses the problem of anaemia amongst teenage girls.
Environmental Programmes
To date, we have planted over 350,000 trees in the villages and schools of Tamil Nadu. The presence of trees in Southern India increases the likelihood of rain, provides shade and decreases the local temperature; helping to reduce the effects of climate change. Planting trees also offers a natural defence against droughts and floods, enriches soils, safeguards natural habitats, provides food and ensures a safer future for local people.
SOTE are passionate about kitchen gardens and have been coaching families on growing organic vegetables for many years. Our partners oversee the implementation of kitchen garden projects, providing communities with the facility to grow their own food and herbal medicines. With a kitchen garden in place, families no longer have to travel long distances for food and have a sense of nutritional security.
We have educated thousands of people about the changing environmental in awareness campaigns. We believe that in order to encourage people to plant trees and maintain them, they must be aware of the reasons why it is beneficial. Our training days explain the impact of climate change on the local area and are followed up by marches through the villages. We empower children to create ‘eco-clubs’ at school and grow our own tree saplings in an organic compound.
Women’s Empowerment
Women are the engine of change in the villages we support. SOTE have actively encouraged the formation of thousands of Women’s Self Help Groups across Tamil Nadu.
We currently actively support over 500 Women’s Self Help Group groups (WSHGs). WSHGs enable women to have a voice, save money, support their communities, and be the driving force of information and learning. The groups create opportunities for women to support their families and feel a sense of community.
‘Adult literacy classes’ funded by your donations have taught thousands of women to read and write. We have taught women how to use computers and also educated women on their rights and opportunites. Our women’s refuge home for domestic abuse victims provides rural women a safe space to speak to a counsellor and spend a night away from home.
Improving Livelihoods
Using villagers’ skills and interests, SOTE and our partner organisations implement training programmes that encourage sustainable self-sufficiency within communities. We train teenagers and adults in a variety of skills programmes to encourage self-sufficiency and a source of regular income. Many of the people we work with left school at a very young age, and these incentives give individuals a sense of purpose whilst enabling them to earn a living.
In 2018, we funded the building of a three storey Regional Development Centre for MASARD, one of our partner organisations. This building has considerably advanced the reputation and standing of MASARD in the local community. From this centre, MASARD hold self-employment classes and act as an ‘office space’ for the MASARD team.
We also act as the link between local Panchayat (government) and the people. Our partners are well respected, and are able to utilise local incentives and put villagers forward for grants. We have helped families obtain sewing machines, livestock, and provided loans to help set up hundreds of small businesses.
Educating rural children
Our child sponsorship scheme has been successfully supporting children, their families, and their villages since our charity began. In order to encourage children to regularly attend education, we understand that the families need to feel supported themselves
After Covid, we funded counselling sessions and training days for the parents of sponsored children and help them to feel confident in sending their children to school. Our holistic child sponsorship scheme funds support for the child, their family, and their wider village community.
Emergency Relief
TSUNAMI AID 2004
Our tsunami appeal raised over £200,000 in three months to help move people from danger ozones and provide food. It was an amazing response from hundreds of individuals backed up by fund raising events such as an art auction, a belly dance event and musical evenings. Initially, the money was spent to feed, clothe and shelter thousands of fishing village families who had lost everything. After that the emphasis went on helping the fisherman to restore their livelihoods by replacing the nets and boats that were lost. We also funded counselling services for the many traumatised men, women and children.
We were also successful in getting over £200,000 funding from CAFOD, a large Catholic charity, to build eight new village community centres in ravaged shore line villages.
COVID-19 AID
In May 2020, we launched an emergency ‘COVID-19 Humanitarian Appeal’. In six months, our appeal raised over £55,000. During the second wave, we raised a further £40,000. With these donations, we were able to provide rural members of the community with food, water, and most importantly, hope.
Our native volunteers in each village were trained on preventative practises and acted as teachers in the villages. The villagers trust our local volunteers complicity, they are native to the village and are met with respect and trust. Through these volunteers, we were able to distribute thousands of masks, food parcels, soaps, water bottles along with information about the virus and the way it spreads.
Without our timely intervention and the support of our NGO’s, the people in the hard to reach villages of Tamil Nadu would have been left with little government, a lack of understanding and the inability to obtain food and hygiene equipment.