DIR needs your support
At the age of 3½ years, Yashika weighs just 9.5 kg while a healthy child should weigh 13 kg.
Why Now: The covid pandemic, has destroyed the livelihoods of many people living in Janta Colony. They are struggling to put food on the table and provide basic necessities for their families. Children are losing weight or not gaining as they were before.
About Us: DIR is a non-profit organization that has been working since 2004 to improve the health of more than 14,000 slum dwellers in Janta Colony which is just outside Chandigarh (India).
The primary goal of the organization is to improve the health of children and women by educating the residents of the slum about nutrition, hygiene, immunizations and prenatal care.
Young men and women from the community are trained to become health promoters (HP’s). These HP’s then go out and disseminate the same information to the rest of the community.
With this model, DIR had achieved a reduction in infant mortality from 87% to 12%.
DIR also runs a preschool for the children and an income generation program for the women in the slum.
What Will your Donations Support?
With your help, DIR will be able to provide families in Janta Colony with basic groceries so that no one goes hungry. The HP’s will be able to continue monitoring children, ensuring that they receive immunizations and provide prenatal care to pregnant women.
Paying salaries to the Health Promoters:
The HP’s are men and women who live in the community and are paid by DIR. Your donation will make it possible for them to continue receiving their salary which is an average of ~$200 per month.
Preventing childhood malnutrition:
DIR will be able to continue providing a daily high calorie, high protein meal for all the children who are underweight or malnourished. The cost of this daily meal is ~$14 per month per child. Around 50 such children receive the benefits of this program everyday.