BGR International

Village Flooding

The collapse of a dam in one South Asian country wreaked havoc on the villages in the flood’s pathway.

13 different communities were destroyed, leaving 7,000 people homeless overnight.

After the disaster, the villagers were left with many urgent questions: how would they prevent the spread of sickness? Where would they find clean drinking water? How were they supposed to rebuild their homes in marshland? Where would their next meal come from?

BGR International had answers and was able to deliver on them because of your donations.

Five camps made up of tents, school buildings, and temporary communal housing were constructed to keep the families safe. The children were given an education and gained access to clean water through the 2,500 water filters that BGR International distributed. In follow-up visits, families attended trainings on safe drinking and hygiene practices that helped them stay healthy and prevent disease outbreaks.

The relationships built through these trainings and distributions are priceless. Thank you for giving so that BGR International can continue helping communities like this in need!

School Sickness in Asia

A water-born E. coli and salmonella outbreak was threatening the health of school children who drank tap water and adults who relied on drinking rainwater to stay hydrated. One of the poorest regions of Asia, with plenty of poverty-based issues already, was suffering from widespread illness.

BGR International, after testing the water in the area, discovered the source of this illness—E. Coli and salmonella levels were over 800 times the normal standard. So we went to work!

BGRI installed water filters in 15 different schools across five regions that served over 4,000 students and 150 teachers! With a school district that large, infection was spreading rapidly before you helped stop the epidemic. Children and teachers alike were taught important hygiene lessons and shown how to drink water safely.

When we returned to the schools later to see how the students were doing, teachers told us that the number of children who were ill had been drastically reduced! Thank you for caring about these kids and their professors – donate to help more people in need today!

Helping Farmers in the Philippines

Farmers in the Philippines are facing some of the harshest conditions they have ever had to navigate, with natural disasters and little access to technology making it hard for the land to yield crops.

One group of farmers there did not know how to keep their animals from getting sick. They were struggling to keep food on the tables for their families and were in debt with many merchants who had been buying their fruits and vegetables. In desperation, many of them turned to gambling and lost even more money in the process.

But you helped train almost 150 farmers across three regions in health and hygiene practices, agriculture techniques, and life skills! These farmers represent nearly 1,000 people when their wives and children are included—many people are benefiting from this teaching. The life skills instruction has especially been helpful, with farmers learning how to cook, make organic fertilizer, keep pests away from gardens, and breed animals. With their new skills, they are starting bakeries, businesses for home care products, and fruit and vegetable stands!

These families now have healthy diets and consistent incomes because of your generosity in donating to BGR International! Many have even paid off all of their debts because of their new businesses and are living free lives for the first time in many years.

To help more families like this, donate today!

Children Find New Hope

In one rural region of an Asian country, it is common for parents to leave their families in search of better-paying jobs in the city. With many middle-aged members of the community leaving, the elderly are left to look after the children in whatever ways they can; but because of their age, it is difficult for them to discipline and care for the kids emotionally and physically.

This imbalance of power and structure has sent the community into a downward spiral.

Most children drop out of school by the time they are teenagers. Because they are not being trained in job skills or getting the education they need to work in the city, many boys are resorting to begging on the streets and many girls are left to raise families by themselves after getting pregnant.

This cycle is repeating itself.

But you are helping BGR International change this community’s story.

We started a community center that is teaching character development and art classes to children from the entire region! Along with after-school counseling and life skills training, these kids are learning how to succeed in class and thrive in a workforce environment.

Giving these children the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and structured way will transform their chances at succeeding as adults. You are helping the next generation experience full and meaningful lives!

Relief Efforts in Lombok

After the devastating earthquake in Lombok this past fall, ongoing relief efforts have managed to quell some of the aftereffects, but the reach of such a monumental natural disaster is extensive. BGR International has attempted to be a mainstay of reliable aid and resources in the area through continuing social support programs and provisions.

The various goals of these individualized programs were replenishing the community’s depleted water supply, supplying families with clean water filters, and offering free medical and counseling services. Other targets also included erecting the appropriate sterile facilities, holding trauma trainings and healing workshops, providing transitional housing opportunities, and strengthening faith communities in their outreach efforts.

These endeavors at rebuilding and supporting the affected communities in Lombok have proven successful and are empowering individuals to reclaim independence in the face of tragedy. You can help support similar relief projects at www.giving.sg/bgr-international.

Indian Community Development

BGR International is intentional about focusing on overlooked people in need, and when local partners became aware of a commune in West Bengel, India, that was being pushed to the edges of society, they moved in to take action. Often, in marginalized communities, lack of access to education and necessary resources is the root cause of a lot of underlying issues, so community development and solution identification quickly became the main objectives of the program that was set in place.

Local leaders were able to establish a weekly group of trailblazers who set goals tackling the main issues that their friends and families were facing: income generation, successful migration and integration, and exploitation. These pioneers identified ways in which they could create startups whose success would reveal ways in which their labor was being unfairly compensated and their men were exploited.

Specifically, the main pilot project involved building a large brick kiln that all the families could easily access and earn a consistent income from. After weeks of hard work, the kiln was built, and families were able to make a 160% profit from their efforts, even doubling the standard labor wage for local workers.

The hard work of these individuals combined with your generous donations made a real and lasting impact on this community! To learn about similar projects and giving opportunities, stay connected with BGRi through our blog and social media platforms.

BGRI Life Skills Program

The goal of coming alongside communities in need is always to have them eventually become self-sufficient and empowered to sustain meaningful lives. For one group of villages, all that was needed was an initial spark of inspiration for the local leaders to rally and create their own internal structures and systems for the benefit of the community.

BGR International partners were informed of the need for guidance and instruction on infant and mother nutrition, preventative healthcare measures, general life skills, and generational literacy training. To fill this gap in education, a life skills program was created and made available to a community comprising almost 1,000 women and children. This group of pioneer women focused their weekly meetings on empowering each other to enhance their capacities for life and happiness, to become competent workers, and to be confident in their capabilities.

Soon after the group was started, outsider involvement was deemed unnecessary, as problems were being solved internally and the group mindset had shifted from mere survival tactics to potential for community development. This transformation from reliance on outside resources to self-sufficiency within a village is ideal and serves as a testament to what educational and training programs can do for a community’s growth. To learn about ways to collaborate with BGR International on similar projects, visit http://bgri.org/contact/.

Empowering South Asian Women

In many rural South Asian communities, the subversion of women is still a major issue that needs healing and addressing by internal authorities. One way that South Asian women participating in a recent BGRi project found to empower one another was by meeting in small groups on a regular basis to discuss healthcare issues, disease prevention tactics, and income generation for the female population in general.

Through these regular meetings, almost 30 matriarchs were able to problem solve for important issues surrounding their community, such as general nutrition and dietary problems, clean water deficiencies, and agricultural complications. These women were able to execute a pilot project to test some of their theoretical solutions by starting a communal kitchen and garden that was available to all surrounding tribes. This endeavor resulted in revived soil health in the region, a renewed interest in composting and recycling, and the collective construction of a fresh water well.

It is truly remarkable what this small group of invested mothers was able to accomplish when they banded together for the good of their families. Please be in prayer for these women and the thousands of others struggling to provide for their communities!

Author: BGR International