Building Bridges India
From Desperation to Hope for,
poor Widows in Punjab…
Our Goals
We seek to improve the conditions of rural women and their families in Punjab, India. Our work centers on widows whose husbands committed suicide due to agrarian indebtedness.
Target Population
- Women between 15 and 35 years old
- 57% Sikh
- Primarily from low-income families who earn 2,000 – 2,500 rupees ($28-$34) per month.
Organic Farming Initiative
Large scale commercial agriculture and the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are causing massive environmental damage and contributing to malnutrition and other illnesses
Women’s Health Camps
- Provided diagnoses for an array of health issues, primarily severe anemia due to malnutrition.
- Improved natal care and health are for women and girls
Our Initiatives
Herb Garden Cultivation
Participants learned to produce medicinal herbs and herbal remedies in several workshops.
Imparted the value of herbs on wellness while also creating sustainable incomes.
Pickling Workshop
- Taught women to make organic pickles from lemon, mango, ginger, and garlic.
- Fostered community values and entrepreneurship as women donated pickles to gurdwaras and found venues to sell product
- Participants produced about 50kg of pickles worth 20k rupees ($272) in each workshop
Outcome
Outcomes include increase in family income from 2,500 to 5,000 rupees ($34 — $68) per month, on average. Many women are able to earn 8,000 – 10,000 rupees ($109– $136) per month.
We help teams build the society of their dreams
The Building Bridges team has gained the trust of widows and poor women and community leaders alike. Several village Gurudwaras have already offered permanent meeting space for the women in the villages.
Building Bridges India is finding ways to meet the needs of this lost generation of women, first in a pilot project in an especially hard-hit district, Sangrur, and then, with help from friends around the world, in other districts too. We have begun gathering the widows of Sangrur – isolated and afraid – into supportive, self-help groups that will help them to address their problems together, as a community.
“The best part is that BBI comes with hundreds of professionally designed projects to help and upgrade the lives of rural women.
Local Sarpanch (Head of the Village)
Why We?
Passionate
Our whole team is passionate after the training to upgrade their skills.
Professional
Team is Professional.
Support
Support is what we get and we provide to the needy.