On February 16th Hamlin’s 6th grade welcomed Arezoo Riahi from the nonprofit OneProsper and her friend, Madhavi Bhasin.

OneProsper is empowering women in India to break the cycle of poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy.

6th grade social studies is working with OneProsper as part of their comprehensive study of India.

Some key points from their talk were:

-Fetching water is viewed as women’s work in many parts of the world. Women in the Thar desert of Rajasthan have to walk extremely far to fetch water, and because of the amount of time it takes, it can prevent girls from having the opportunity to attend school.

-Both presenters felt strongly that women and girls don’t have equal access and opportunities as men and boys in most parts of the world (including the U.S., to a lesser degree of course) which is what drove them to get involved with this kind of work.

-The drip irrigation system connects villages with water sources. The water is brought into villages with thin metal pipes so that women and girls don’t have to walk miles to get it anymore. The system is on a timer, and people in that village can gather to collect water at the right time.

-The water from the irrigation is also used to water crops along the way. There are certain crops grown in the Indian desert region that are very drought resistant and require minimum water, such as dates and a certain kind of melon.

In commemoration of March 8th’s International Women’s Day, Hamlin is participating in Yoga for Good (an event sponsored by OneProsper)

Women and girls in the Thar Desert of India walk 5-7 hours per day to collect water. We are supporting Yoga for Good so women in the Thar Desert can create rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation systems allowing them to grow organic pomegranates. As a result, women beneficiaries will be able to increase spending on their children’s nutrition and education.