Maya Devi has lived her entire life in the tiny village of Beed Pinarpura, which is near the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The tiny village of 17 families does not have electricity, and people depend on oil lamps for their day to day activity. They end up spending a substantial portion of their income on oil for the lamps, and at times when money is tight, they do not have any man-made light in their house.

It was, therefore, a wonderful surprise for her when a solar lantern was gifted to her family. She could see the excitement all around. Her grandchildren were excited as they could now study at night. Her daughter-in-law can now cook the food late in the evening and can spend more time in the fields and increase their income.

The main advantage of the lantern is that it is odorless and fumeless and the family does not have to spend extra on the oil lamps which they were using. As the lantern also has provision to charge the mobile phone her son has got a new mobile phone.  This is extremely useful for him as he works as a laborer in the nearby city of Jaipur and he can now stay connected with his family even when he is out for work.

Thank you Laurent for this wonderful gift that has brought happiness in so many lives!

Phula Devi lives with her husband Ram Swaroop in Beed Pinarpura, a village near Rajasthan. Most of the men in this village work on daily wages and their income does not always suffice to meet their basic needs.

To provide sustainable livelihood to such families living below poverty line, the Government has introduced a scheme called MNREGA (The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). Under this scheme, all adult members who volunteer to do unskilled manual work are guaranteed hundred days of wage-employment in a given financial year.

This program thus, provides the perfect platform for women in the village who can earn an additional income and support their families. With miles to walk to reach a local phone booth, these women often missed out on job opportunities as they had no other means of communicating with the MNREGA authorities.

Phula Devi was thrilled to receive a mobile phone, thanks to your generous donation, Yosia. She now uses her new phone to correspond with the MNREGA authorities who keep her updated on upcoming vacancies.

Thank you, Yosia, for your support of Phula Devi. Thanks to your gift, she now looks forward to working and earning more to support her family.

Madhu is 15 years old and lives with her parents Pappu Lal and Kanchan Devi in Beed Pinarpura a village near the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan. Her father works as a  labourer on daily wages in Jaipur. Her mother works in the farms. Madhu goes to school in the nearby village, Chaksu, along with her brother. In the evenings she has to help her mother with the household chores, including fetching water from the village hand-pump which is often out of order. By the time she is finished, she barely has enough time to do her homework.

Thanks to your gift of a solar lantern Fran, Madhu can now study late in the evenings. Since she has the lantern to light her way, she can even go to fetch the water before sunrise or after sunset.

Thank you, Fran, for giving Madhu many extra hours in a day.

On a bright sunny day Ram Lal is all set to go to the market but before doing so he checks the prevailing prices with his new mobile phone to get the best prices for his produce. Ram Lal lives with his wife Kamala Devi and three children in Beed Pinarpura a village near the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan.

He grows groundnuts in his farm. Thanks to your wonderful gift of a mobile phone he can check the rates of his produce from the local agricultural markets and sell them only when the rates are good. This also saves him time as well as increase his family revenue. This additional income will help him send his children to college.

Thank you, Todd and Jennie, for this wonderful gift that keeps Ram Lal updated on market prices for his produce!

Dear Peter,

Mangi Devi is almost 100 years old and lives with her son Babu Lal, daughter-in-law Phula Devi and three grandchildren in Beed Pinarpur a village near Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. This tiny village has only 17 families with around 140 people and Mangi Devi is the oldest among them. The families seek her advice when children fall ill and she usually has a remedy for all the small illness.

Thanks to your wonderful gift of a solar lantern, Mangi Devi is delighted to have light in her home for the first time. She has lived all her life without electricity and was excited to have a fumeless and odourless light which she could carry along with her. She no longer has to worry about the wind blowing away the light or refilling the lamp with oil.

Thank you, Peter, for this gift that has brought light to Mangi Devi’s life!

Dear Khalid,

Kamla Devi lives with her husband Shyoram and two children in Beed Pinarpura, a village near the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan. The village does not have electricity or any other facility. The nearest village Chaksu is 4 kms (2.4 miles) away and her husband works there as a laborer on daily wages. She has led a life of hardship as the meager amount they get is not sufficient to run the household. Her children study in a primary school which is 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) away.

Thanks to your wonderful gift of a solar lantern, Kamala Devi can save some money on kerosene oil which was earlier used for lighting the oil lamps. She can now cook in the dark and her children can also study till late night.

Thank you Khalid for making Kamala Devi’s life more bearable!

Dear Rajinder,

Sanjha Devi who is 27 years old lives with her husband Hazari Lal and 2 children in Beed Pinarpura a village near the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan. This tiny village of 17 families does not have electricity and any other facility. Her husband works as a motor mechanic in Jaipur and comes home once in a week to be with his family. Both, Sanjha Devi and Hazari Lal hope to give their children good education so that they can get good jobs. Almost all the villagers in Beed Pinarpura are illiterate and as the village does not have any school the children go to the nearby village for primary education.

Your gift of a solar lantern, Rajinder, comes as a big boon to this family. Sanjha Devi and Hazari Lal are very thankful to you for this wonderful gift of a solar lantern with which their children can study at night. They can also now save money which was earlier used for buying kerosene for the oil lamps.

Thank you, Rajinder, for this thoughtful gift which will help ensure a better future for Sanjha Devi’s children!

Thanks to your wonderful gift of a Solar Lantern an elderly couple Chittar Singh and and Teeja Devi living in a remote village in India can see light in their homes. Their village Beed Pinarpura is near the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan. The tiny village of 17 families does not have electricity and people depend on oil lamps for their day to day activity.

Chittar Singh is 75 years old and his eyesight is very weak and he can hardly see. With the help of the lantern he is now able to see better in the dark. Earlier after sunset his life used to come to a halt but now they can wait after sunset to prepare dinner and also spend some time with neighbours.

Chittar Singh has two sons who work as laborers in New Delhi. They send money to him every month. As both of them cannot work they have to manage with the small amount they receive from their children.

Thank you, Barbara, for this gift!

Sixteen year old Raju lives with his parents Ram Sahi and Uganti and 3 sisters in Beed Pinarpura, a village near Jaipur in Rajasthan. Till recently his dad was the only earning member in this large family. Ram Sahi worked in the fields but due to scarce rainfall in this part of the country their income was barely enough to meet the needs of the family.

This village is tucked far away from any source of electricity, medical facilities or even schools and marketplaces.

Raju travels a distance of four kilometers everyday to attend school in the next village. He loves pottery and makes beautiful pots. He wished to put his talent to good use and help his father by making pots and selling them in the market. But, since he gets home from school only by evening, with no electricity in the village, making pots in the dark would be extremely difficult!

With your generous donation of a solar lantern, Cole,  Raju can now take up pottery in the evenings and help his father. This talented boy dreams of getting a good job in the city when he grows up.

He is thankful to you, Cole, for your gift of light which will help him pursue his talent and help his father!