How we work ETHOS' work
The two problems Ethos sees
Many projects we see through the charities we have worked with have assets, and vast expertise, but no funds to utilise these resources- there is often much
unutilised developement potential.
We see children in these projects who have been rescued, but now are merely surviving. Ethos works to give them things that makes life worth living.
There are many cases where the standard of living is not sufficient- simple things can be done to fix it. However other charities or individuals often do not think of providing funding for these things. Even though it is often just minimal spending, it is effective.
Where Ethos comes in
We provide the devlopement funding needed and work to find a way to use these non-utilised resources most effectively. By doing so we revivie these resources using the local staff'’s expertise
Once we have spent time at a project, we identify the effective ways to spend small amounts of money and other initiatives to enhance these children’s lives.
We provide goods and services that improve these children's lives. Even though the children are vulnerable and poor, we work to give them a dignified life
We call this part of our work Value Added to Living
How we work
We spend time living and working with the staff and children for a minimum two weeks at a time. Only then do we discover the expertise, resources and needs of each project.
We then have a collective discussion with the local staff to discuss what action should be taken. At this stage we often use links with other projects to ask for their advice from their experience and expertise.
Next Ethos follows through and keeps up to date with the work. We work hard to evaluate its effectiveness and improve the work.
An important part of our job is to then pass on advice to other projects: what worked, what didn't etc. With an effective development, we seek to extend the work to other projects and customise the scheme to each place
Infastructure Increasing infrastructure
Chettipatty Children's home, Tamil Nadu
Chettipatty Children's Home is run by The Jesus Mercy Home Association (JMHA)
When members of the Ethos team last visited JMHA in July 2011, the children's water situation was becoming increasingly insecure.
One well had dried up, and the other had been contaminated. On top of this, the toilet drainage system for the girls had stopped draining, and raw sewage was running near their washing and drinking water source.
Ethos acted by meeting a local mason, creating a plan to improve the quality of living for all 45 children and 10 staff living in the home.
Very recently Ethos has acquired the funds to carry out these planned sanitation and water capture improvements, which in the future will bring better health and more dignity to the children's lives.
This photo shows the conditions at the home before Ethos intervened- you can clearly see raw sewage running right by their drinking water source (in the dug hole)
Alamathy children's home, Chennai
Alamathy children's home gained 100 children from another project in May 2011, making the total 164 children- Alamathy is now the largest of 105 Inter-Mission India projects.
Although lots was spent on making this the new home for all these children, members of the ETHOS team arrived a month later to find some infastructure missing which was needed unexpectedly after the move.
Ethos provided a separate water purification system for the girls' home, as the capacity wasn't sufficient for both homes to share. Now both boys and girls have a higher capacity of drinking water available to them whenever they want it.
Ethos also supported building work to be done on a previously unused building on the campus. Now the building work is finished the project has a greater capacity and can accomodate more children.
Girls at the point of disposal for their new water purification system
Microcredit schemes Providing opportunities
Microcredit scheme- Puddupattinam village
Puddupattinam fishermens' colony was severely affected by the 2004 Asian tsunami with many deaths and the majority of the colony’s buildings destroyed.
The poor of rural India chronically suffer exploitation and usury from merchants and money lenders. As well as HOPE's school, they set up a small micro credit scheme in 2010 to give villagers the opportunities in enterprise without having their businesses destroyed by crippling interest rates.
However the HOPE foundation had very limited resources for this scheme, and were only able to give loans of 2,000 Rupees (£26) These loans will give locals more potential to invest more effectively and create their own livelihoods. Still loans are in high demand so Ethos hopes to extend the scheme further in the future.
Apart from new enterprises and higher incomes, microcredit has empowered women, and improved relations within communities.at a time. Ethos has extended the scheme to give larger, interest free loans of 10,000 Rupees. The scheme was designed after consulting other Ethos partners in India who had created very effective micro credit schemes.
Examples of Ethos loans issued:
Vishnathan recieved a loan to purchase and repair a second hand auto rickshaw.
His ill health prevents him from fishing, and with two children and two elderly parents to look after, this auto rickshaw will provide some much needs income
In Cuba, the first loan is looking to create the first Pizzeria in the community of Camaguey to improve a family's income and create jobs in the community
Ethos and the HOPE Foundation gave several small loans to this mother who gradually keeps growing her shop with each loan she takes out.
Microcredit in Cuba
Cuba is starting to change with more opportunities for local people to own property and participate in enterprise themselves. A church community in Camaguey, Cuba is seizing the opportunity to empower its members to start some small enterprises, and create a better future for their families.
The microcredit scheme will be managed locally through the Church and aims to improve the community's income, family by family to create better life opportunities for future generations. This microfinance scheme is one of the first of its kind to be set up in Cuba and looks to be a success to empower and prosper local people.
This church sees the pizzeria and other future small businesses as invaluable means for increasing the income of families, being a positive presence in the community and creating new opportunities for the church to develop its ministry to the city.
Value Added to Living Value Added to Living
In 2011 Ethos came across a project in which an orphan has just come to the children’s home. His father had committed suicide several days before. The boy had been in the orphanage only a short amount of time before he followed his father’s example, and committed suicide himself.
Lots of projects do a fantastic job saving these children. However so many of these children have experienced so much poverty that life is more about surviving than living.
Bhavani, enjoying trampolining as part of her new P.E curriculum
Ethos' Value Added to Living work aims to provide what many do not value as important. ETHOS aims to provide things in life which go beyond just surviving, things that give 'Value Added' to Living.
This includes materials and equipment which engage the children and bring them enjoyment. It also includes funding which gives the children a little more dignity in their life.
Things Ethos provides ranges from putting privacy curtains for girls' washrooms or buying better sleeping mats to stop the children waking up with bad backs.
Other things Ethos funds are events such as sports competitions in schools or days out of the children's homes to new places.
These are often undervalued by others in a child's life.
Deepika, putting on her first pair of shoes for the first time
Girls of Moriah orphanage on a day out
The boys of Alamathy home about to enjoy a prayer session on their new mats, instead of a concrete floor
Some children at JMHA orphanage enjoying their slide along with their other play equipment
Current projects 
ETHOS' current focuses
The section of Moriah Orphanage the government will seize
MORIAH ORPHANAGE
Moriah orphanage has faced many problems recently. They had no running water in the orphanage which made it difficult for the children to keep clean and healthy, as well as spending a lot of time each day walking to collect water. Recently the government informed the orphanage they will be seizing some of the orphanage's land to extend the highway.
Ethos since visiting Moriah has drilled a borewell, provided a pumping system and made a protective shelter and new washrooms for the children. Since investing in Moriah, the local government and other organisations have been willing to invest in seeing the success of what Ethos and Moriah have achieved together. The local governments has proven it's support by providing the building materials for the foundations of the community building.
The building will be used for eating, prayer and studying by the children outside of school times. During the school day Moriah staff will be teaching tailoring classes to local women. In time a nursery may also start up in this new community hall.
Ethos is working in partnership with a local construction company to provide the new orphanage and community building. The remaining cost of this building is 3 Lakh rupees, or £3,700
Alongside our project in Moriah, Ethos is looking to reach out further to other local missions and charities. We are aiming to increase infrastructure and the capacity of projects. Some plans include
Building classrooms for the HOPE Foundation
Providing support to the IID Care centre in Thideernagar- a Chennai slum
To provide sewing machines for new tailoring classes run by the Ethos and the Moriah trust
