Just Christmas is an invitation to do Christmas differently. Focusing on giving to others in recognition of the gift of life we have been given through Jesus whom we celebrate the birth of as well as doing Christmas in a more just and simple way. Over the past four years we have raised over £100,000 for various projects in conjunction with Operation Mobilisation in Maharashtra, India. These projects have been focused on the empowerment and education of the Dalit caste that are historically downtrodden, poor and lacking the employment opportunities beyond the most demeaning and lowly paid jobs.
This year we will be raising funds for two projects.
75% of the funds will be used to establish Livelihood Augmentation Management Programmes (LAMPS) otherwise known as Micro-enterprise or Micro-finance projects. These are a means of providing financial security to Dalit families who lack the financial security to access banks and savings. The LAMPs projects provide start-up capital and relevant training that can empower and enable a Dalit to start a micro-enterprise which will provide the relevant income for their household. These groups are administered by Operation Mobilisation (OM) who have a history of micro-enterprise to help relieve poverty and bring a message of hope. They are now hoping to setup these projects in Maharashtra with our help. For more information check out www.om.org.
Each of the LAMP groups we will be raising money for has 10 members who will receive a loan of Rs, 20,000 (approx. £260). These will be trained and managed by staff from OM India who will constantly visit and give assistance to sustain their enterprises as successful business. As the loans are repaid at a very low interest rate, this money will be used to form 50 more LAMPS groups which will in total give financial security to over 3,000 Dalits in a sustainable way. Money collected from interest will be used to support the cost of further training and office costs.
These groups have been extremely successful in other parts of India and we have the exciting opportunity to provide the funds for them to start in Maharashtra state. For the first 10 LAMP groups, £358 will provide financial security for a Dalit family for life and this money will also go on to provide the funds to setup further groups.
This year 25% of the money will be going towards the Bethany Christian Trust’s Pass the Baton project. Passing the Baton is Bethany’s community resettlement project which works to prevent repeat homelessness. It works by helping formerly homeless or vulnerable people to resettle into communities. The service is coordinated by trained staff and delivered by the people that we believe can really make the difference – the people in our communities. They equip volunteers to support families and individuals to paint and decorate their house, participate in social events, and build positive relationships. They help people to settle in their home and integrate into the community. For more information please visit www.bethanychristiantrust.com.