The 14th edition of the Tehlička public fundraising campaign for 2019 was entered in the register of public collections of the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic on 7 November 2018 under number SVS-OVS2-2018/34156.
The gross proceeds of the collection amounted to 137,141.07 euros. The costs of running the collection were 21.68%. The net proceeds were 107,409.57 euros. The collection was carried out to help repair flood-damaged houses in the Indian state of Kerala and to rebuild those that had been destroyed altogether. The project aimed to give priority to families from economically weaker areas living below the poverty line. The civic association SAVIO works with the local Salesians of Don Bosco, who have been present in Kerala since the early 20th century.
Directly involved in the collection were 95 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, 22 Salesian youth centres and other communities, 13 parishes and also 2 companies in towns and villages across Slovakia. All participants received promotional and background materials, which served not only the campaign for the collection but also as resources for education and awareness-raising in the area of development cooperation. As part of the collection, schools — with our consent — carried out their own activities serving its purpose.
In cooperation with the development organization BREADS, based in Bangalore, India, the collection made it possible to provide help to people in the Indian state of Kerala who were hit by devastating floods in August 2018. These were the worst floods in the past 100 years — they claimed the lives of nearly 500 people, around 24,000 people were placed in humanitarian camps, there were 35 landslides, the water devastated 57,000 hectares of agricultural land, destroyed 20,000 homes and left thousands of people without a roof over their heads. Thanks to the Tehlička 2019 collection, it was possible — through construction or reconstruction — to return a home to 23 poor families. In the first phase of the project 9 new homes were built and 3 homes were repaired. In the second phase another 5 homes were built and 6 homes were repaired. In total, 14 homes were built and 9 homes repaired.
The most destitute beneficiaries were selected for the project — people who had not only been left homeless but had also lost their source of livelihood because of the floods. Help was provided to families from economically weak areas who would not have survived the consequences of the floods without outside help. After the families were selected for the project, a planning meeting was held with representatives of all 23 families. Before construction work began, an agreement on the provision of the grant was signed. The construction and reconstruction of the family homes was carried out by partner companies under strict supervision and consistent monitoring by the partner organization BREADS. While providing assistance, coordination was ensured between the regional government, local authorities and the non-profit sector in order to avoid duplication of support to the final beneficiaries. The families themselves also took part — to the extent of their abilities — in the construction and reconstruction of the homes.
THANK YOU TO ALL DONORS AND PARTICIPANTS FOR SUPPORTING TEHLIČKA 2019
