Dear Alka,
Johar! Thank you very much for your letter dated April 10, 2005 we are very grateful to you for sanctioning the aid we needed in order to run the school. We have had a very hard time, this past year. I hope the future will be better this coming year. Because of all the struggle over the school our students have also dropped to 75. Even the bulgur that we were receiving was stopped.! The children were deprived of their lunch for four months. Now once again we are coming back to normal, at last.
At the same time, we had a lot of blessings, in the form of our FCRA being sanctioned and a project we had written to "Manos Unidas" of Spain for the construction of the hostel. We hope that with this, we will be able to attract more children to our school and hostel. Now that this project has been approved I am sending you a copy, so that you know what we plan. It is difficult for the poor to manage to continue supporting their children through school each year. This means a lot of encouraging every year. At least till one generation gets through sc! hool.
Since January 2004 we have been running the school and hostel on our own. Most of the time having to borrow and return. We therefore, were not able to attempt changing the well we had proposed. As we needed the money urgently to run the school with a whole set of new teachers, etc. besides this, the well would cost us much more than Rs. 50,000/- you had sanctioned. It would cost us at least Rs. 1, 30, 000/- so we didn't even try. There is no other place that has any water. I hope you will forgive us for not using the money as specified by you and for not letting you know before.
This summer was unbearable! The temperature went up to 50 degrees. We had to close the school as requested! by the villagers because of a lack of water- all the wells, including the hand pumps (tube wells) went dry! And even then we had to extend the holidays for a week, due to a late monsoon.
We are enclosing herewith some proposals. The rest of the reports will be sent to you sooner by this week.
 
1. The teachers' salaries we got upto July 2005. Their salaries are as follows:-
 
A. John Hembrom @ 2000 a month but since he is an untrained teacher and does the work of headmaster.
B. Kanchan Tete @ Rs. 2000 per month.
C. Elizabeth lakra @ Rs. 2000 per month.
 
We would like to ! have one more teacher @ Rs. 2000 per month.
 
2. Salaries for the Night Watchman @ Rs. 500 per month.
 
3. Hostel subsidy for food @ 6000 per month because the hostilities have increased.
 
4. Other hostel requirements (like household equipment and kerosene oil etc) @ Rs. 1000 per month.
 
5. School requirements (like register, chalk etc) @ Rs. 1000 per month.
 
6. Game (Indoor and Outdoor) @ Rs. 3000 per year.
 
This amount is requested for one year after which most of the expenses will be taken care of by the fishery and the piggery. But we will need the teacher's salaries for a couple of years or until we can build up funds for this purpose.
 
There is a school in Harli which is run by the government and has a teacher appointed but being in a very interior area the teacher is absent most of the tim! e. Therefore we have been approached to run the school for them if we appoint a teacher for too, the school will run very well. There are almost 450 children in the surrounding area as it is very remote and the people are highly uneducated. Initially we would need a salary for two teachers that will be Rs. 4000 a month and the maintenance of the school will cost about Rs. 2000 per month. we will be very grateful if you will kindly consider this request.
 
We have one more request to make of you. Please try and fund this for us as we are in bad need. We plan to conduct a health education program for the people. The infrastructure is already there. We just need to give some input rega! rding Health and that related to it. The infrastructure that we have in place
1)       One or two Health Workers in every village or tola who is equipped with a box with simple medications.
2)       And some herbal medicines that is widely practiced by the sandals in this area.
 
We would like to enhance this in this area.
 
Of late, we are having several deaths due to cerebral malaria and that of children who have very little resistance. This doesn’t need medicine alone, but also very importantly a control of mosquitoes. Education has to be given to the people who still have belief in the spirits and witch crafts and it will take a long time before they will believe in the scientific methods of control of disease. Most of the deaths we have had from cerebral malaria are because of damage of the spleen due to a massage that is given to children when they are not responding to treatment; they get recurring attacks of fever. This is normal in malaria, when an attack of fever is expected every second day or every day at the same time, until the medication is given properly in the correct dosage.
The plan we have in mind to control this dreaded disease is:
  1. To get every person in the village a blood test for the malaria parasite and treat those who are positive. This is done by the block, who is supposed to come back with those positive slides and give them the radical treatment. This unfortunately never happens to be positive. And so the people are left with the half treatment, thus making the resistant to the only cure of malaria.
  2. The spray of Deltamethrine or K-Othrine as a mosquito repellent every 6 weeks for 3 sprays and tapering it down to 2 sprays a year. This is done in and around the house.
  3. Bacticide around all the water catchments areas in and around the village.
  4. Supply mosquito nets that have been treated with Deltamethrine every 6 months.
  5. Make available a mosquito repellent that is available in the form of a soap called mosbar.
  6. Give primaquin to all those who have enlarged spleens, making it a routine for all for the first time.
  7. Supply of the oil cake of the mahua seed for slow burning in the house at sunset and until you go to bed and tucked in your mosquito net. Or supply of the Mortein Coils, also a good mosquito repellant.
  8. Give Choloroquine 2 tablets one a week for six weeks, then once a month for another 3 months.
 
In order to ! carry out this program, we need:
 
  1. All the cooperation of the health workers in every village.
  2. A lab technician to read the slides of the blood tests.
  3. A person who can get an acting team fo! r on the j spot acting to get the people to talk about malaria.
  4. A person to see to the smooth running of the program.
  5. A person to keep records accounts, etc.
 
1, 2 and 4 can be taken care of by Lajrus Soren. He needs a salary as I was giving him his salary from my friends and relatives, most of which now goes for! my treatment and medicines,
Lalji Manjhi can take care of the records and accounts. His salary also will have to be paid.
Hans Hembrom can take care of the acting and public relations qualities in order to get the people to benefit from all the program.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cost of the program:-
 
  1. We have a microscope. We would need to get the slides and the needed dyes etc. for staining etc. for this we need Rs. 500/-
  2. Deltamethrin- the spray for the houses: 250 ml per bottle, we need 24 bottles at present. 24 X Rs. 250 = Rs. 6000/-
  3. Bacticide – needed 12 bottles of 500 ml each. 12 X 500 = Rs. 6000/-
  4. Mosquito nets at 2 per family for 70 families: 140 X 100 = Rs. 14,000/- Most of the families will pay for the mosquito nets though they will pay in installments i.e., by 10 months.
  5. Mosbar – also will be paid in installments. Needed at present are 400 pieces at 600 per pieces = Rs. 2,400/-
  6. Choloroquine tablets at Rs. 5.50 per 10 tablets. Needed at present = 5000 tablets or 500 strips = Rs. 2,750/-
 
Salaries needed:
 
Lajrus Soren @ Rs. 6000/- per month = Rs. 72,000/- per year.
Lalji Manjhi @ Rs. 4000/- per month = 48,0! 00/- per year.
Hans Hembrom @ Rs. 4000/- per month = 48,000/- per year.
 
We are also in need of a vehicle, as I can no longer travel by motor cycle, a jeep will be needed. This will cost at least Rs. 5,00,000/- its maintenance initially will be about Rs. 5000/- per month- Rs. 60,000/- per year. Later this maintenance will be charged for the purpose it is used for.
We are very grateful to Asha mit for encouraging us during the difficult situation.
Yours sincerely,
Lajrus Soren and all the Jaher team.
Bag jobra
India
 

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