Spotlight On… Khandel Light
We are a small charity, based in Hertfordshire villages, run by volunteers, committed to the empowerment of women and girls, and reducing forced migration from 26 very poor villages in the Indian desert state of Rajasthan. Our team of trustees, many of whom have been with us since the start, have worked with the same NGO in Rajasthan since 2000. We are in constant communication with them and can respond to emergencies quickly and effectively. During the Covid pandemic, we have been able to authorise the delivery of emergency food parcels to thousands of villagers.
In Khandel light’s project area of Rajasthan, India, girls are under pressure to leave education as young as 14 to get married.
Over the last 21 years, through improved access to drinking water, sanitation, healthcare, housing, and education Khandel light has established the basis for creating opportunities. Since 2018, we have funded a Girls’ Parliament, which empowers girls to negotiate the barriers to continuing their education. One of the girls, Puja, has a particularly moving and inspiring story to tell.
Puja’s mother is blind, and her father is disabled, which makes employment almost impossible. There was pressure on Puja to leave school at 14 and get married to reduce the financial burden. Through membership of the Girls’ Parliament, and visits from the local girl MPs Puja’s parents have acknowledged the benefit to her and to them of staying on at school. 
Puja was spending several hours a day collecting water and doing domestic work, so we have given the family a 10,000-litre water tank and arranged for it to be filled with drinking water every month. She has also received an education bursary, allowing her family to have the financial freedom for her to attend school.
In Puja’s own words, translated from Hindi:
“After joining the Parliament meetings, I started feeling that the window of my mind, which used to open and close in my house, was now open and I started to feel that the world outside is very peaceful and beautiful. By attending the Parliament sessions in myself, I felt that from the windows of my mind I can now look all around, that is, now it is increasing my self-esteem and self-confidence. After joining the Parliament, my identity in the village has increased. By giving priority to me, I was made a water house in which drinking water is being regularly available every month, due to which my time is saved. Now I can buy medicine for my blind mother and handicapped father by sewing more, and I am also able to run the household expenses”
£5 will enable Puja and the other 700 girls like her to attend the parliament for a WHOLE YEAR!
£27 will fund Puja’s further education FOR A YEAR!
£130 will give another family a drinking water tank (or a toilet)
£3.80 will pay for the delivery of a month’s drinking water
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have delivered 1,500 food parcels to families where the breadwinner has been unable to work.
£15 will buy a food parcel which will sustain a family for 5-6 weeks.
You can buy gift vouchers from Khandel light this Christmas. Cards and vouchers are available for £10, £20, £30, £40, and £50. Your donation and gift will make a world of difference in Khandel.
If you would like to send a gift of support please contact Bridget Gough on 07815 846447, or visit Barley Christmas Market on 4th December, where we will be selling cards and vouchers, or visit:
www.khandel-light.co.uk/fundraising/gift-of-giving
www.khandel-light.co.uk
