Tag: rice donations

Update – South India

On my buying trip to India in February I made it a point to visit the people who we donated rice to during the covid lockdown. I wanted to meet them, hear their stories, and see first hand if we touched their lives in any way.

I was uncharacteristically nervous on the drive there.

Please click here to follow my journey throughout Asia on our Instagram page. I recently traveled through North and South India and Nepal.

My first stop was the young woman who was pregnant during COVID last year and did not have a place to live. Here she is with her husband and daughter, now 9 months old. Her daughter is a beautiful, happy and healthy young girl. As we were leaving she told me “thank you” in English and I could see in her eyes that she truly meant it. The “thank you” touched me deeply.

Next, we visited the family with two blind sons. Only one was there at the time. The mother was a wonderful woman who was all smiles and chatting to me in Tamil. She showed me her house and how they all slept on the floor together in one cinderblock room with a corrugated roof and a fan. She told me that when she got the rice, she immediately started a fire to start cooking it because they literally had no food to eat. She was so thankful for what we had done for her family.

We visited a village that could not have been any more marginalized by society. They lived on the outskirts of town with no water or electricity. No government aid gets to them and they are purely subsistence living. On the drive getting there I was amazed at how my friend, Balan was even able to find these people. When I was there Balan told me how some of the villagers were amazed that the rice was whole grain rice. They were used to only eating cracked rice, basically, they could only afford the low-quality rice that had some defects to it.

It was an incredibly rewarding and difficult day for me. It was rewarding to connect with the actual people we donated rice to, look into their eyes and feel how appreciative they were of our help. It was difficult because you can see how large the issues are with poverty in India and the world. As much as I would love to solve the issue, it is not something that one person can come in to correct. It would take a massive effort to change society.

Balan and I were brainstorming over things we can do in the future and hope to bring another donation opportunity to everyone again soon.

Thank you again to everyone who donated to help make this happen.

~Kyle Tortora, Founder, Lotus Sculpture

Click to watch the video of my experiences visiting the people we donated rice to during the covid lockdown.

Together we can make a difference…

As many of you have already seen on the news, the situation in India is very dire. With over 26 million cases of COVID and close to 300 thousand deaths and counting, India’s daily death toll has hit the world’s highest and unfortunately is not showing signs of slowing any time soon. Spreading to India’s rural communities which lack adequate medical facilities, people are desperate for any help they can receive. 

I have been brainstorming with my good friend and Lotus Sculpture artist, Balan, on what we can do to help. Balan, who lives in Mahaballipuram in Tamil Nadu, India, toured local villages to speak with the people and see what families need. Two of those stories are below and I encourage you to read them and hear firsthand what daily life is like in India. 

“I had visited more than 20 villages nearby Mamallapuram.  I just understand… we must help them with 25-kilo rice bags to every poor family… the basic food is rice. 25 kilos rice bags cost 1000 Rupees ($13.75) depending on the quantity we buy.”

~Balan

Together we came up with a plan to distribute an everyday staple that families need; 25-kilogram bags of rice. Earlier this week Lotus Sculpture donated $2,000 for Balan to purchase rice for local families. He will be distributing the rice on Monday, May 24th. 

I am personally asking you to help us with donations for the 2nd round of aid scheduled for later this coming week.

Lotus Sculpture will match every dollar donated. 

100% of the money donated will go to direct aid to the people struggling to make ends meet in this terrible time. 

Not one Rupee or Penny will be wasted! 

One 25kg bag of rice costs $13 and can save a family in need. Please click on the link above to make a donation or contact me directly if you would like to donate more; [email protected]

This is one of those times that you have the ability to change the lives of families who need help. 

– Kyle, founder of Lotus Sculpture

Below are two of the most extreme stories we have heard but these are the people who will benefit from your donations…

Kumar and Chathanthi are a couple also from Karumarapakkam village. They have two sons, Johnson and Ruben. Both of their sons have down syndrome.
Kumar and Chathanthi work in the fields and earn 100 to 200 Rupees daily ($1.40 – $2.80). They use this income to feed their sons, for medical expenses, and for essential items including rice, sugar, cooking oil, and kerosene at the ration shop in the village. In the current situation they are unable to feed their children and take them to the hospital without any money coming in. They too are relying on charity and desperately waiting for the curfew to be lifted.

Ansari and Gunsar are a Muslim couple from the village of Karumarappakkam. They have two sons, Kalisa and John Pasha.
Ansari buys and sells scrap metal. He earns between 400 and 500 rupees a day ($5.50 – $6.50). Similarly, their eldest son, Kalisa, walks to the villages around his home every day selling samosas. He makes 50 to 100 Rupees ($.70 – $1.40) a day.
The second son, John Pasha, was born with cerebral palsy and hand and foot deformities at birth. He is 14 years old. With the coronavirus curfew, the father and brother are unable to move around and thus cannot earn an income even to feed themselves. They have been living off of charity alone and will continue to do so until the curfew is lifted.

Families in need are depending on us! Please help us spread the word so that we are able to continue our outreach in South India.

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