The wedding of two daughters from Vadia village has been arranged with the help of you all. We wish that all the daughters from this village get married. There are thousand obstacles but the moment family of any girl thinks doing that then there will be wedding ceremonies definitely at her place. We decided to collect Rs. 1,75,000 for one daughter and 3,50,000/- for two daughters and we did could collect that much amount. But looking at the circumstances, we feel the need to increase this help amount. Basically, gifting the buffalo would increase the expenditure. So, the budget has gone off the track.
Ceremonies being performed at Vadia Wedding
But we are not giving the buffalo right now. Dear Nagjibhai from Khanpur heard about gifting the buffaloes to the daughters. He said, if you want to gift the good buffalo then the expenditure will go beyond Rs. 70,000/-. So, he suggested to get the buffaloe in August- September. Nagjibhai is a farmer himself so, we have given him the responsibility to buy the buffaloes. He will select the best buffaloes and let us know.
In this entire work, Shardaben was with Bababhai during the shopping and other things. Salute to her services. The things to be gifted at the time of Ganesh Sthapan (excluding buffaloes) can be seen in the photo. Brideโs father Bababhai feels that he wonโt be able to spend so much. But we are confident about everything going good.
A few of weeks back we had written about our efforts on sensitising the community of Vadia towards rainwater harvesting. Our constant well wisher and guide Shri. Rashminbhai Sanghvi from Mumbai had briefed the families on the same and provided guidance on how to go about it. He had advised them to deepen the already existing ditch the village had in its periphery. This was intended to accumulate the rain water so as to recharge the ground water.
The families have began digging a Canal
The community of Vadia is on a path of rehabilitation. The families are choosing to stop pushing their daughters in to sex trade, instead they are sending them away for education. So creating other sources of income for these families is very crucial. Agriculture is becoming one of the prime occupations here but availability of water is a big issue. One bore well isnโt enough to meet the demands of a 100 families. Hence it is important these families harvest whatever little rain the region receives.
Canal Deepened
Will the families do it was a big question because it was not an individual job but a community effort as the common property was being created. To our surprise the families have began digging a canal to take the rain water to this large ditch (as seen in the picture).
The Families have began digging a Canal
On behalf of the organisation am thankful to our donor and well wisher Shri. Rameshbhai Kacholia for providing the financial support for deepening the ditch. The community of Vadia requires our support, once they are up and about they will not need our help and the demonstration of such sincerity shows that day isnโt very farโฆ..
VADIA – a small sleepy village tucked on the border of Gujarat and Rajasthan, a village infamously famous for the profession the ladies of this village are engaged into. The village is undergoing a gradual but very concrete transition in a positive direction. There was a time when the village was divided into many fractions, bringing them all on one platform was next to impossible. A meeting called to discuss some crucial issues the village faced could no tho beyond half- an-hour, it was bound to end on a bitter note. How will we be able to bring them all together, how will we bring the young girls and women out of the hell they were living in?? were the questions that constantly bothered us, we struggled to find a way out. Amidst all the depressing scenario all around it was one thing that ket us going and that was our FAITH in the people of Vadia, consequent to which after 8 years of persistent efforts we are abel to witness some concrete change in the the ground realities of this village, a change that always brings a smile on our faces.
Mittal Patel addressing the meeting in Vadia village
A lot of families in Vadia are now willing got work hard to sustain their families. The occupation they are turning to is farming. In 2006 when we first visited the village it felt like along with the women and girls, the land of this village was also cursed. 180 acres of land which was allotted to the villagers was lying uncultivated. The reason being absence of irrigation facilities. Later a bore-well was installed and people began farming the small plots of land they were alloted. One bore well was not enough for water to reach so many families. In 2012 the village witnessed another ground breaking event . The mass marriage ceremony of its daughters. This was one event that triggered amongst the villagers the desire to stop pushing their daughters into the traditional profession that was practiced by the women of this village. It made them realise that change is possible and if one is willing to work hard life can be much better from the ones that they lived right now. Not all agreed to educate and equip their daughters for a better life but a lot of them pledged give up the profession that made lives of their daughters a living hell.
Shri Rashmin Sanghvi addressing the meeting on water management.
To stop living on the earnings of their women and daughters the families in Vadia needed some concrete alternates to earn livelihoods. One bore well was not enough and there was an urgent need for another one. But the underground water tables in the this part of Gujarat are so low that the cost of digging another bore was too high. Again getting the government clearances of another bore was also a challenging task. With such low water levels the possibilities of bore-wellโs running dry too soon was also high. One major issues the farmers face are the depleting water tables in almost entire Gujarat. The greed and over exploitation of this precious natural resource is the reason behind such worrying situation. The water levels here are as low as 1200 to 1300 feet. The potability of water at such low levels is another issue of concern. How long can we just keep taking from the nature. The need to strike a balance here was crucial too.
There is no doubt that second bore well should happen in Vadia, but how can Vadia contribute towards sustaining and improving the water tables in their region?? A meeting to discuss the matter was organised on 26th January 2015. Rashminbhai Sanghvi, VSSMโs patron from Mumbai and some one who has been very actively associated in the water management works in Surendranagar district was with us to guide us through. He had pledged to make people think in the direction of water management and conservation. What will happen if we will pump out the underground water that has been accumulated for thousands of years, why conserving rain water is important, how can they contribute towards conserving rain water in their fields??? were the some of the focal points explained by Rashminbhai in very simple language. The villagers were quite receptive and plans were made to commence digging before the monsoon parts of their farms to store the rain water and in the village deepen the lower grounds where the rains water naturally accumulates every year. This because Vadia does not have a lake.
It is a feeling a deep gratification one feels on hearing the men in the village say โWe are prepared to work hard and we shall work hard.โ VSSM has supported numerous families in Vadia to begin alternate professions. One such Gulabbhai came to us just as we were leaving the village after the meeting, โBen, I have bought a buffalo, I sell 8-9 litres of milk to the dairy everyday, come and see my buffalo once!!! These are the same men who were once taunted by others as lazy lumps. Th faith we put in them is showing such remarkable results. I am deeply thankful to all of you for supporting us in such challenging tasks, it would have been difficult to go ahead without all of yours undoubting support.
In the picture – Rashminbhai addressing the meeting on water management.
Young man who has set up his own kiosk with the funds provided by VSSM.
A lot has been written about the on Vadia a village where in prostitution is practised as a traditional occupation. And no one can deny this fact, the families here still need to fall back on prostitution as there is absence of other options of earning livelihood. This precisely was the reason why almost six decades ago few women of this village had taken up this trade to meet the needs of their family. Later as time went by pimps entered this village and the trade. For them money was of utmost import ace and hence a practice that was taken up voluntarily began to be forced upon small and young girls of this village. The men in the families rather than working to earn living enjoyed the incomes the women fetched. The families also began to fall prey of the debt traps that the pimps strategically weaved around them. The victim families have had no option but to push their daughters/sisters in to prostitution. VSSM has been working in Vadia since 2006. The activities of VSSM in this village influence social, economical, education aspects of the families here. A lot of families have pledged to stop sending the daughters in their families into prostitution. VSSM is striving to pull these families out of the traps of the pimps, it supports families and youth willing to start up their own business so that the women in their families can live a dignified life. The picture below is of young man who has set up his own kiosk with the funds provided by VSSM.
Even before a girl is born, her fate is sealed in the village of Vadia. It is an unwritten rule of this small village tucked between the boundaries of Gujarat and Rajasthan that if a girl is born she will have to take up โprostitutionโ thetrade that women of this village have been practicing traditionally. Another unwritten code that that this village practices is if the girls is engaged or married when she is young she will never be allowed to enter the occupation of prostitution. Hence marriage became important for the girls of Vadia if they had to save themselves from the clutches of such horrifying trade.
The Wedding Ceremony in Vadia Village
VSSM has been working in Vadia since 2006. With the support and contributions from our well-wishers we have been able to create opportunities for the villagers to earn their livelihood with dignity. We have been able to bring about a change, which is much evident in the village. The infrastructure facilities have changed the faรงade of the village, the village is also witnessing a gradual yet consistent shift in public attitude . They are showing readiness to stop sending their daughters into flesh trade and try other options to earn living. Last year, 90 families pledged to stop pushing their daughters into flesh trade.
Mittal Patel and other well-wishers were present at Vadia Wedding Ceremony
In March 2012 Vadia witnessed its first ever-mass marriage ceremony. The ceremony was able to ignite the much-needed faith of the families in the institution of marriage. On March 24th this year two daughters from Vadia got married and so did another two, Bhanu and Savitri on March 26th this year. The marriage took place in the city of Palanpur amidst the presence of leading social and administrative leaders of the district. The district collector was also present in the ceremony. He was briefed about the winds of change that are sweeping Vadia. He has promised to do the needful and help us maintain the momentum.
The leading citizenries of Palanpur Dr. Surendra Gupta, Shri.BharatbhaiThakor, ShriKanubhaiAcharya, ShriBhagwandasBandhu were present at the ceremony. Their presence uplifted the morals of the community. These gentlemen also helped in easing out some financial burden of this wedding.
We are very thankful to all those who have been our pillars of strength in this extremely difficult struggle of securing freedom for the daughters of Vadiaโฆ
