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Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar distribute blankets to Musahar community, Koluha, Kushinagar, India, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
Every January, with the help of generous donors, Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar offers heavy woolen blankets to Kushinagar’s poor. January is the coldest time of the year and temperatures fall to freezing at night. Atul Chopa, who led the initiative and is legal counsel to Maitreya Project Trust, describe the impact of this year’s blanket distribution.
The Musahar Community in Koluha Village
In January 2016, the Maitreya Project Team distributed blankets to nearly 100 Musahar people in Koluha Village.
The Musahar are the poorest of the poor and are generally landless laborers. The word “Musahar” is derived from the Hindi words “moos” (rat) and “har” (eat) as it is said that out of necessity they catch and eat rats for food.
There is still a very strong caste system prevailing in India, and the small community of Musahar in the caste system hierarchy are considered even below the better-known Dalit (Untouchable) community. Musahar are only found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the Tarai Regions of Nepal. One of the largest groups lives in in Koluha Village in Kushinagar.
Blanket Distribution in Hospital Corridors
In the Indian villages it is very common that when someone suddenly falls sick or meets with an accident, the whole family immediately rushes to the hospital in the nearest city. Relatives, family members and attendants who come from the village simply end up sleeping on the floors in the hospital corridors and verandas. As most villagers use huge cotton sleeping quilts at home, it is not possible to carry these into the hospital. Poor families are forced to sleep in the winter on the hospital floor without any protection from the cold.
Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar staff distribute blankets to people sleeping in hospital corridors, Kushinagar, India, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
The Maitreya Project team goes every night and visits the hospital corridors and verandas, offering blankets to the families sleeping in the floor, giving priority to families with older people and children. Our blanket distribution teams starts patrolling the hospital corridors around midnight, when people are forced to leave the tea shop fires.
Anirudhwa Village
During the land acquisition phase for the Maitreya Project, the largest amount of land was given by the farmers of Anirudhwa. This land is most important as it touches the boundary wall of the Maha Parinirvana Stupa as well as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
Villagers from Anirudhwa use a coupon system to receive blankets from Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar, India, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
Blankets in Anirudhwa are distributed using a coupon system with input from the elected village head as well as government officials from the Revenue Department. This system ensures that each and every eligible person receives a blanket in the peak of winter, and there is total transparency in the distribution. This year 1,000 blankets were distributed.
Hospital Blankets
With the help of nurses and hospital staff, the Maitreya Project offers blankets to poorer patients using only government-supplied hospitals blankets not suitable for winter. Except for the critical care ward, hospitals here do not have central heating. Priority is given to women, children and older people. The team works every night until the early hours of the morning.
Poorer patients receive supplemental blankets at local hospital, Kushinagar, India, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
Blankets for People with Leprosy
Generally, stigma toward the disease has resulted in leprosy (Hansen’s disease) wards being treated as taboo. The Maitreya Project team makes a special effort to distribute blankets to every patient being treated for leprosy.
Patients being treated for leprosy (Hansen’s disease) receive blankets every year during the winter, India, 2016. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar
Home for the Elderly and Destitute
Blankets were given to each and every room in a small home for elderly and destitute people in Kushinagar.
A Buddhist monk offers a blanket to a resident at a home for the elderly and destitute, Kushinagar, India, January 2016. Photo courtesy of Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar.
A very big thank you on behalf of all who received blankets this winter to all who made this year’s distribution possible!
During the summer months the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar distributes mosquito nets to the very poor in the area. If you would like to support either of these programs or to contribute generally to Maitreya Buddha Project in Kushinagar, please visit: www.mbpkushinagar.org
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