The power of $1

Do you know how far $1 goes in India to help children in need?

In Hyderabad, India, there is a group of about 30 children that live in a “Pipe Village”. Tanya first visited the Pipe Babies in 2008 and was horrified by what she saw. Families living without toilets, electricity, running water and making their homes in dark pipes. She was determined to do something to help these children, but the situation was complex as most were not orphans and the parents did not want to leave the village. Annamama, a social worker Tanya connected with, had made sure that most of the children were enrolled in the closest school and through her own fundraising locally she was providing vitamins, eggs twice a week and soap. Some of the children were so malnourished that their hair was light and the nails were white and opaque. One child had a hole in her heart and Annamama was able to raise money for a life saving operation.

Tanya worked with Annamama to try to do something sustainable for the children, but again because of the complexity of their circumstances, fear from the parents and other issues, they had to focus on their most critical need. Nutrition. So, every time Tanya goes to India, Baal Dan provides small grant amounts for the children for Pediasure and food so that their meager diet can be supplemented. And it is making a difference! Most of the children have gained weight and are doing much better. And should there be greater needs in the future, Baal Dan will be there.

The following shows what Annamamma was able to buy for the kids with a donation from Baal Dan.

As you will see, our money goes so far in India, which is why the Baal Dan approach of leveraging our dollar and making these small ongoing grants are critical to helping children in need.

15,000 rupees = $319
24 tins of Pediasure
8 tins of Ensure
6 packets of baby food
2 kilos of apples (considered a luxury)
40 bathing soaps
I talcum powder
Hair oil 500gm
I big bottle of Maza (mango drink)
5 big packets of biscuits
1 packet of toffee
A generous packet of different foods like dal, peanuts, poha, washing powder, tooth paste, toiletries etc.

Thank you so much for your support and grateful thanks to Annamama and Kim in Hyderabad for their dedication to these children.

A Good Night's Rest

So happy to report that I made it through the long run this weekend. My prayers were answered and the weather stayed cool and there were many other runners on the path to keep me company.

Often times, my favorite part of a long run is the good night's sleep I get after. There's nothing better than that moment when your head hits the pillow and you are tucked in for the night. I never really stopped to think though that this moment could be something I was taking for granted.

That is until I read about the girls that Baal Dan is helping at the girls night shelter. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon to see young girls tucking themselves in at night on the streets of India. It breaks my heart just to think about it. But thankfully, The Girls Night Shelter is answering the prayers of these young girls and welcoming them in for a safe place to sleep.

The shelter not only gives them a place to rest their heads, but also provides them with a snack and dinner time meal, access to bathrooms and toilets, basic clothing and blankets. And is secure with 2 social workers on duty and security guards.

Thanks to donations such as yours, Baal Dan is able to help supply the food which the shelter provides for the girls.

I ask you as you go to rest your head on your pillow tonight, that you take a moment to think of these young girls and how they too deserve a warm, safe place to rest their heads and dream.

12 Miles Tomorrow!

So I have my long run tomorrow morning. This week it's 12 miles. I have to say, I'm digging deep for some motivation this week. The heat and humidity are really getting to me. It's been a blessing that it has cooled off today. I'm hoping it will hold through tomorrow morning.

I'd love to raise an additional $60 for the run tomorrow. I've had such great support so far. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to upload the link to your Facebook pages and for the blog posts and email forwards. It really means so much!

I wanted to share the following video with you as it's a great testament to what Baal Dan is all about. Enjoy and happy Friday!

What You Can Do To Help

So now that you are familiar with Baal Dan and it's amazing cause. I want to let you know how you can help.

Did you know that $1 is equivalent to 47 rupees? And did you know that 47 rupees is enough to provide a child with a meal, toy or book?! Amazing how far a $1 can stretch right?

Well, this year I'm running the Chicago Marathon on October 10th. With each step I take in my training, I'm hoping to help these children. My goal is to raise $5 for every mile I run through the coarse of my training and the marathon itself. That's 583 miles, which would mean just under $3,000, which would hopefully help buy thousands of meals, clothes and/or books for these beautiful, smiling children!

I'm sure your saying, Lauren that's a pretty ambitious goal. But I truly believe that with your help we can make this happen. Here's the thing... nowadays we have this thing called the Internet right, oh and that other small thing called Facebook. Just think how quickly the message and inspiration of Baal Dan can spread if we all just took the time to share it with 5 people and then asked them to do the same, and so forth?

I'm calling on you, my friends, family, co-workers to help me spread this message and to help change the lives of these children!

One VERY important thing I want you to know Baal Dan is another part of what makes it so special. 100% of the funds we raise go directly to these children. There are no "charity" fees, no salaries to pay, there's simply just lives to change.

So please start spreading the word now and take 5 minutes out of your day to share this with at least 5 people you know that you think will be moved by this cause!

Baal What?

Some of you may find yourselves asking.. "What is Baal Dan?" and "What the heck does it mean?".

Well if your scratching your head in wonder, wonder no more, because you're about to learn that Baal Dan is something wonderful!

In Hindi, "Baal" means "Child" and "Dan" means "Donation". But these two words put together mean so much more, as they are the name of a fantastic charity started by a dear friend of mine, Tanya Pinto.

Tanya was inspired to start Baal Dan, in 2005, after a 3 month sabbatical in Calcutta where she volunteered at Mother Teresa's orphanage. She saw many children, even babies, who lived on the streets. Begging, sleeping on pavements, foraging through trash looking for things to play with.

However what surprised her most was how these little children were so playful and full of life, despite their extreme poverty.

Her mission for Baal Dan is to help these street children, slum children and orphans in Inida as directly and efficiently as possible, while also investing in ways to provide them with an education.

I myself have been inspired by not only Tanya's story and mission, but by the children themselves. If only we could all see the beauty in life despite what terrible things may surround us!

I hope you continue to follow my blog and that you too are inspired to help these wonderful children of India.