Purkal Youth Development Society

Looking at the Himalayas is not the main purpose of our visit to the Dehradun area. Since more than fourteen years, Doris is supporting the work of Swamy and Chinni. They have started the Purkal Youth Development Society by tutoring students from low-income families in the village where they settled down after retiring. Over this time, Purkal has grown into a school attended by nearly 600 children from the surrounding countryside. The aim of the society is to enhance the lives of underprivileged rural children through holistic education, nutrition and healthcare.

We strongly believe that the most efficient way of improving living condition in countries like India is achieved by educating girls and supporting women. Therefore, Doris began to invest into the future of some of the students at the school by becoming their Patron and paying for their education. Sarasvati had the opportunity to spend a year in Hawaii with a foster family. Coming back home, she had to fight with her family who wants her to get married early, but is now attending college and studying law and economics. Rupali is in 12th grade and will hopefully be able to spend next year with a family in California, but first has to get her documents from Nepal, where she was born. The youngest is Radikha, who is still a little shy when she first meets Doris. We meet Vaishali in Delhi where she is now working after graduating from college with a bachelors’ degree in pharmaceutics. It is just absolutely stimulating to see what these girls achieve, once education is available to them.

Speaking with Swami and Chinin over lunch at their house, we are deeply impressed by the impact Purkal has on the development of the whole area, as the students bring much of their experience what they learn back to their homes and villages. You have to be aware, that in this region most villages don’t have any toilets, let alone any of the houses. Swamy has just started a program to provide public toilets, thereby greatly improving the sanitary situation. Chini started a programm where the women of the villages learn to produce quilts, cussions, toys and even a line of clothes, so they can earn some money for themselfes and their families. And both of them are still full of more projects …… they could use your support too: http://www.purkal.org