Purkal Youth Development Society

Purkal Youth Development Society is one of the organizations AWAZ Voice for Empowerment works with in India. We are so excited about what they do we wanted to share a recent update with you!

Purkal’s mission is to “enrich the lives of poor rural youth through education, and empower women through skill development, whilst at the same time preserve the beautiful Himalayan environment and local cultural traditions.” They do this through four main education programs, for pre-school children, school-age children, young adults and recent graduates, and adults. The society was started by the Swamy couple tutoring out of their home and has grown to this excellent education program diligently working to eradicate poverty and ignorance in their village.

Purkal also houses another of our partners, Stree Shakti that makes many of the purses we sell (see their products here).

However, Purkal's education program is truly exceptional. They operate a Learning Center that not only has classes and mentoring, but has a holistic focus and incorporates nutrition, fitness and health care into its offerings. They exclusively help the poor thereby focusing their resources on those who need them most, even including transportation and scholarships to private schools to truly improve the access to quality education.

In April, Purkal announced a new a relationship with their village. Traditionally, Purkal has been only open to the poorest in the community, but the village requested their education program be open to all students in the village for a fee, in exchange for a lease on 6,000 square feet of new property. Now Purkal has the opportunity to expand its education program and help many more students. They anticipate three or four more students each year to be accepted under this new program.

The Purkal Youth Development Society has truly harnessed the reality that education is the best road to lasting individual and community development, and they are applying this understanding with lasting benefits for more than 300 young people in their community. AWAZ is so glad to help with this empowering work and is excited about the new direction!

To donate to the Purkal Youth Development Society, visit http://www.purkal.org/donatenow.html. On the site you can choose to sponsor a year of a child’s:

• Food for $200
• Education for $489
• All needs for $730
• Or even an entire class of 21 for $19,550
• They have many other donation options with a variety of costs, including funding a meal for as little as $85

Visit their website for information about this great organization http://www.purkal.org/.

Artisan Profile: STREE SHAKTI - www.purkal.org

The Purkal Youth Development Society is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing the lives of disadvantaged rural youth through education and empowering women through skill development. I worked with this organization for 6 months and was impressed with their honest and sincere efforts to help elevate the communities they work in. They work in a rural village in Northern India in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains where they operate a Learning Center for youth and run a handicraft skill training program for women. The society is providing mentoring and education to over 140 youth and helping over 70 women in the village earn a steady income to care for their family. Stree Shakti, meaning ‘women power’, is the name of the handicraft project which for the last five years, has been teaching women how to make quilts and various other home and fashion products. The women apply beautiful appliqué and patchwork techniques to cotton and silk fabrics and make items such as cushion covers, handbags and placemat sets.

The products are unique and high quality which has helped them earn an international reputation, especially for their patchwork quilts. The success of the program has created a demand for products and more women are joining the program daily. The women are organized into four Self Help Groups which give the women greater control and decision making over their work. PYDS provides the women with free working capital, management, designs, infrastructure and tranportation. The program also includes healthcare benefits, a security fund for issuing loans and an English and Computer Training Course for those who are preparing for a professional career.

Yuva Shakti

In addition to a focus on women empowerment, PYDS works to educate and provide support to over 140 children and youth in the village where they work. The society provides the children with scholarships to go to good English Medium Schools in the city and then they return to their Learning Center in the village after school for help with their studies and development. Over 13 teachers and 10 staff work with the children to provide holisitic support that includes a daily meal, attention to nutrition and healthcare, career and personal development. The society also has an education program for young children and an English and Computer course for Young Adults in the community. The society survives off of donations and child sponsorship. You can also participate in their Fund A Meal and Healthcare Scheme by paying $35 to sponsor a daily meal for the children. After my experience working with PYDS, I can say that they're doing true, honest work for the community. I can verify that your donation will directly help to benefit the children they work with. Sponsor a Child or Fund A Meal today!