Sad news from the Widows of India from Anna, but we can help! They are experiencing a terrible drought and need $3,000 to help raise the funds to bring water to women who desperately need it. Please read the story below.

To help now, donate via PayPal below, specify “Widows of India” as the project to support during PayPal process:

The drought in Tamil Nadu and in our Old Age Home is becoming very serious. For many weeks we have had to buy water, which is delivered in lorries and filled in our tanks, which we had to install in our garden. These are costs which we did not consider in our budget. I made a Facebook post about this matter and we’ve graciously received nearly $4,000, which have helps us with costs for water, tanks, pumps and the boring of a well that took place last week. Though unfortunately, the boring did not have success. Please see the video on this post.

For now, we have found a water expert here in Germany, who will travel to Tiruvannamalai as soon as possible to find water and then the boring might be more successful. We are organising this at the moment. These costs might amount to $3,000, and an additional boring, maybe two borings. I cannot calculate these costs, as we do not know, when we will be successful. It all depends on our good fortune!

The situation is very bad for everybody: farmers do not seed and harvest, building does not happen. Tourism suffers, and therefore so do shops and taxis and guesthouses, connected with tourists. Everybody is affected very badly. In addition it is extremely hot. The summermonsum (June/July) does not seem to bring rain and cooling.

Thank you so much for your help. We all pray for rain and hope it comes soon.

To help now, donate via PayPal below, specify “Widows of India” as the project to support during PayPal process:


Keira DonnellyMeet Keira Donnelly, who just got back from her first trip El Sauce. Keira is 13 and will enter 8th grade at Allendale Columbia in September.

While in Nicaragua, Keira commented that she hadn’t understood much about the trip before leaving Rochester. “Yeah, I knew we were going to build a house, but I wasn’t sure how it would work. I didn’t know how much we would get to know the family. I didn’t understand how emotional it would be,” she said. “I wish I had known more.”

Keira volunteered to be the person who makes sure future students know everything they need to know.

 

4W: Thank you for signing up for this job.

KD: I think I can help kids understand. I am good at talking to people my own age. We have similar interests.

4W: We love that more and more student groups are volunteering with the 4Walls Project. Your role will be important.

KD: I know. It’s important to get the message out. That will be my priority. I want parents and adults to understand, too, how moving this experience is — how moving it was for me.

4W: How will you start?

KD: Over the summer I want to design a plan with goals. I’ll do a slide show that I can bring to different schools. My mom is in education. We live in Victor. I’ll probably start there. I want to tell the stories — what we did, who we met. That’s what people want to hear.

Keira thinks she was her best self in Nicaragua. She is already planning to go back. Check out the video she created for the family and friends who helped raise the money for her own trip.

We love this video/music montage of the latest 4Walls trip. The videographer is Gwen, a Keuka College student who travelled in January on Keuka’s first student learning trip. She captured the building time in El Sauce, as well as some R&R time in the colonial city of León and at the Pacific beach called Las Peñitas.