Annual Letter

W E L C O M E

Dear Friends,

Its hard to believe that its already been a year since the PDI choir toured Australia. It was a true amalgam of

hearts and hands from all over the world that made the tour such an incredible success. 2014 is now in full swing

and we wanted to give you a glimpse at what our team on the ground in rural Swaziland has been up to over

the last twelve months since the choir returned to Swaziland. Inspiring, impactful, sustainable changes in the

lives of hundreds of families and individuals in the poorest and sickest areas of the Lubombo mountains. This is

what happens when possible dreams come true….

300

300 people received transport to medical services/medical investigations or acute medical care in 2013

M E D I C A L C A R E

396FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION

396 Monthly food supplementsdelivered in 2013 to 182 people

11INFANT NUTRIT ION

11 Malnourished babiesrescued from almost certain starvation in 2013

23AGRICULTURE

23 Fields of crops planted in 2013

6HOUSING

6 Homes built in 2013

19WATER ACCESS

19 Water tanks installed in 2013

15INCOME GENERATION

15 Small business projects commenced for poor families in 2013

PDI represents a new paradigm of development. Instead of seeing poor and sick people as

passive recipients of aid, we engage in a dynamic and ongoing conversation of change with

families and individuals seeing recipients as equal participants in the process of empowerment.

Coproduction involves actively using the capacities of those who receive aid to help others in

their community. For example if an individual receives a food supplement they are encouraged

to spend one hour a week assisting someone else in their community, it might be cleaning

house, chopping wood, fetching water, or just sitting and talking with a frail elderly person or

young orphaned child etc. In this way a circle of kindness is created, fortified and perpetuated.

THE MECHANICS OF EMPOWERMENT

F R O M H A N D O U T S T O C O - P R O D U C T I O N

The story doesn’t end here! There are thousands more families in dire and urgent need in

the rural areas of Swaziland. With your assistance we will continue to engage with them in

dynamic conversations of change as they walk the road towards true self sufficiency.

Together We Can!

Maithri Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke

Executive Director/FounderPossible Dreams International

Still Ahead in 2014:

VULA BEVALILE – LETTERS FROM A YOUNG DOCTOR (Second Edition) – to be released by Ilura Press in May 2014

WORLD AIDS CONFERENCE, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

PDI UNITED KINGDOM CHOIR TOURSeptember 2014 (Stay tuned for venues and full itinerary)

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