Dear Donors:

Welcome to your second quarterly e-mail newsletter.
We’d like to start by thanking you profusely for your thoughtful generosity. Because of your contributions, we are making great progress in our fund-raising effort.

In October, we completed the installation of 115 water hand pumps in our project village of Khairo Dero which has given these low income families access to clean drinking water in their own homes for the very first time. They are thrilled at being able to get such easy access to water for cooking and washing.

We also initiated a project to provide all the handicapped people in the village with aids such as wheelchairs, crutches, hearing aids etc. We began by donating a new wheelchair to 15-year-old Shehzad Ali Memon, who is afflicted by polio in both legs. He plans to use his new wheelchair to get to his high school in the neighboring village every day.

We also plan to initiate work on building a new sewerage system in the village to improve sanitation, which we expect will lead to a dramatic reduction in disease, especially among children. We have partnered with Orangi Pilot Project, a pioneer in this field, to help plan and execute our sanitation project.

For our primary school project, we have so far raised 7.7 million rupees ($95,000) out of our total target of 12 million rupees ($200,000). Slowly but surely, we’re getting there.

Unfortunately, the land that we acquired appears problematic since it is water logged and will add substantially to our construction cost. We are working with our architects and engineers to see if we can find a solution, failing which we will have to acquire another piece of land, which we have already identified. Our aim is still to complete the building by early 2009 and also proceed with teacher recruitment and training. Of course, we still have a way to go before we reach our total fund-raising target. And that’s why we’d like to request all of you to please spread the word among family, friends and colleagues. Also, if you are able to match your initial donation, that would help us make a huge leap toward reaching our goal.
You’ll be hearing from us soon again. Meanwhile, do take a look at http://www.alihasanmangitrust.org, which will tell you more about our projects and plans.

Do also write to us at mt@alihasanmangitrust.org with your feedback and suggestions. We’d love to hear from you.
Thank you once again from all of us and especially from the people of Khairo Dero, who send their gratitude and blessings.

All the best,
Naween A. Mangi
Managing Trustee
October 2008
Issue: 02/2008