First steps

When I returned home for Christmas 2018, my wife Janet and I started a small fundraiser on Facebook called ‘Blankets for Bodhgaya’. I desperately wanted to help Amar to improve the lives of some of the children and villagers I had met.

We raised enough money to purchase about 500 heavy wool blankets that we donated to local farm workers and mothers who suffer from debilitating cold during the winter months (typically 8° C at night). Last winter we raised enough to donate almost 1500 blankets.

We also raised enough money to support Amar and the local community in building a much-needed new well for the village.

On the next trip to India, two months later, Amar and I, along with some friends from Spain, found an empty building in the village of Shivrajpur, about 10 kilometres south of Bodhgaya on the Falgu River and we paid $1000 USD for a year’s rent.

Mike Barrett