Barir kache aarshee Nagar,
Shethai Porshee bashot kore,
Ek ghar Porshee bashot kore,
Ami ek dino na dekhilam Tare.
Near my abode, there lives
a Great Neighbor,
Alas so near, yet I have failed my chance
to see Him even for once, even for once!
- Song of Bauls - the Native Mystics of Bengal, calling God as "The Great Neighbor" Who is nearby, forever and ever
The Bengali word 'Porshee' simply means neighbor. The vision of Porshee Foundation is to help those who are in need and situated nearby, who are our neighbors. We envision to inspire conscious individuals in communities and societies to engage in extending their hands for those in need near them - acting locally, empowered globally, based on the universal value of "small kindness", "loving one's neighbor" and "loving for one's brother what one love for one's self."
The beginning and the end of spiritual path is servitude, the beginning of it is service to man, while its highest aim to realize and attain to the true servitude of God and without the one the other is fruitless; for the mystery of God is summed up in the statement, "Serving the creation is serving the Divine."
Porshee Foundation is initiating a new project called, "Project Zam Zam" where we wish to set up hand operated tube-well in rural areas of Northern Bangladesh and in further expansion to other third world countries in future, Inshallah. The access to clean water which most of us take for granted is something for whcih the poorest of the poor struggle on a daily basis. The lack of clean water is a global crisis of staggering nature. For example,
* 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world's population. (WHO/UNICEF)
* 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation, this is almost two fifths of the world's population. (WHO/UNICEF)
* 1.4 million children die every year from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation - 4,000 child deaths a day or one child every 20 seconds. (WHO/WaterAid)
* Some 6,000 children die every day from disease associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene
* The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is six kilometers.
* Tens of millions of children cannot go to school as they must fetch water every day.
* If we did nothing other than provide access to clean water, without any other medical intervention, we could save 2 million lives a year. (source blue planet, water aid)
Each tube-well, which are hand operated pumps to draw under ground water, can serve more than 8 to 10 families or even more, also travelers, counting more than 100 people everyday. These tube-wells are durable and long lasting, thus hopefully will continue to serve long time. Thus helping to set up these tube-wells are a great source of sadaqa jariya or perpetual merit or continuous charity. Sadaqa jariya are the kind of charity from which spiritual merit is received continuously.
This is confirmed in the tradition where the Prophet said, "Whosoever digs a well, when anyone amongst near ones and strangers or even birds drink from it, will receive reward for that from Allah on the Day of Judgement." - Sacred Tradition from Bukhari and Muslim
According to our staff at the ground, each of such tube-well costs about 85 USD or less with all its parts and labor cost. Below is a breakdown of different costs involved:
Header of the Tube-well : 40 USD
Pipings (2 kinds) : 15 USD
Cement & Brick for base : 15 USD
Labour charge : 8 USD
Supervision and other : 5 USD
Estimated Total Cost : 83 USD / 53 GBP / 63 Euro
You may choose to contribute fully for one or more tube-well or even for part of it. We remain grateful for any contribution you may be able to make.
| Donate US $85 | Donate US $50 | Donate US $15 |
 |
| Women in rural areas are the major user of Tube-well as seen in this photo of a hand operated Tube-well |
- Saying of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Matthew
Is there any reward for good other than good?
- the Quran 55:60
Be prompt in doing good deeds.
- Sacred tradition of Islam
O Muadh, I advise you: Be conscious of Allah, speak the truth, fulfill promise, pay up trust, give up breach of trust, save your neighbor, show kindness to orphans, be modest in talk, spread peace, do good deeds, stick to faith, earn knowledge about the Qur'an, love the next world, be mindful of rendering of accounts.
- Saying of Prophet Muhammad
We, Porshee Foundation is a very small organization. You may be aware that organizations like Water Aid does a great lot of work with Water, but in donor organizations of gigantic size often a significant part of the donation is spent in admin and management cost, but the advantage of a small organizations which are mostly run by volunteers who do not depend on these donations to pay staff salary, or spend in office rent - so we can direct maximum donation for the intending project itself. If you feel inspired by this project, you don't have to donate here, but take initiate to install a tube-well in your own country, in some village where this will address the need and may you receive its blessings in doing so. You will be amazed how a small amount of money can do good of larger benefits.
The Name "Zam Zam": It is the name of the well that gushed forth at the place where Ishmael was left by Abraham with Hagar, may Allah's peace be upon them all. Zam Zam well is mentioned in the Old Testament book of Genesis, Chapter 21: "God heard the boy Ishmael crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation... then God opened her eyes and Hagar saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink."
Hagar noticing the abundance of water and called it Zam Zam. The well is located in the sanctuary of Mecca and the well since the days of Ishmael, son of Abraham has never ceased to supply water in abundance to millions of pilgrimage who go to Mecca. The water from the well is known for its ability to satisfy both thirst and hunger and believed to carry healing properties. Modern research has found unique properties of Zam Zam water, such as much higher concentration of minerals.
We named our Project as Zam Zam in remembrance of abundance of blessing of the Zam Zam well in satisfying the thirst of millions. We hope that God willing, with your noble intention and generosity, Project Zam Zam will also quench thirst of many, for many days to come. You may also record this donation as your Zakat, the prescribed yearly charity given by Muslims to the poor and needy.
We would like to dedicate each tube-well to the donor with markings on them and will also map them on Google Map with exact location and credit information (those who wish to be anonymous, we respect their privacy, but reward is with them from God for their gift) so that you may know where exactly the fountain from the heart of the earth is quenching thirst of so many, literally, with the gift from yours.
Where the initial Tube-wells be? We have initializing this project on Northern part of Bangladesh called Saidpur, Nilphamari - a part of the country which is remote and comparatively less developed
View Larger Map
The sign of God's love is to bestow three attributes on His lover:
A generosity like that of the sea,
a kindness like that of the sun, and,
a humility like that of the earth.
- Bayazid Bistami
* Sacred Activism | Our Path to Wholeness
* Sacred Activism @ Technology of the Heart
* A Very Short Documentary About Zam Zam Water via Youtube
* Zamzam Well via Wikipedia
COMMENTS