Hi, thanks for visiting my fundraising page!

I’m currently working with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) at The Deaf Way Foundation in Delhi, India. VSO does some amazing and unforatunately necessary work around the world. Why not have one less beer/coffee/burger and donate now? It always feels good to be helping to change the world!

So please, put your hands in your pockets. Or rather stick your card details into the next page!

(Lots if info about my placement and the great work of VSO so you know where your money is going...)

About VSO and what I will be doing...

VSO is an international development agency that works through professional volunteers. Their vision is "a world without poverty in which people work together to fulfill their potential."  VSO works in partnership with local people with the aim of "empowering disadvantaged communities to inform and influence decisions that affect their lives, in particular people with disabilities and mental health problems, women and displaced people."

 

Why India?

India is home to 1/3 of the world’s poorest people; 350m Indians live on less than US$1 per day.  India has the highest infant mortality rate in the world and a high maternal mortality rate.  About 2.2m infants die every year from preventable causes (1/5 of global child deaths); 53% of children under 4 are undernourished; 33m children have never been to school and nearly 36% drop out before completing primary education.

There are up to many millions of Deaf people in India. Some reports say up to 60m which is equivalent to the population of the UK. The issues faced by Indians will be worse for Deaf people who are marginalised, excluded from society, and not afforded the same rights.

The persistence of poverty is for a variety of reasons. Agro-climatic factors in drought-prone areas and unequal access to land. Many farmers have committed suicide as they cannot provide for their families. There are social factors in the tribal areas of central and north-east India. In urban areas large scale development projects and changes in modern technology and capital intensive production techniques have become important issues in the impoverishment of poor and marginalised groups.

 

My work with VSO

The Deaf Way Foundation states on their website, ‘The general impression still is that the Deaf are a curse of God upon their parents and a burden on society. This is a most unfortunate state of affairs and yet it is slowly changing for the better. The real issue in India is the woeful inadequacy of facilities of any type for the Deaf’.

 

Deaf Way provides health education, training courses, interpreting and advocacy. My particular role will be to develop the interpreting profession and bring together a training course for interpreters in partnership with Deaf Way. Developing the interpreting profession will in turn help to   

 

Why donate?

VSO currently works in 43 countries. It gets funding from the UK government and has some corporate sponsorship. For the rest it relies on fundraising and individual sponsorship. More money is more programmes, more volunteers and mroe development work done. Just £25 can help VSO keep a nurse in Sierra Leone for a week educating local health workers and communities to combat malnutrition, malaria and dysentery.

If you feel able to contribute, any amount will help VSO to continue and extend its work.  Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: VSO gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid plus a 3% supplement are added to your donation.

 

More Information: 

http://jendoesdelhi.blogspot.com

www.youtube.com/jenpenwen

www.vso.org.uk

www.thedeafway.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=80&Itemid=55

www.nationmaster.com/country/in-india

www.dfid.gov.uk