Ganpati Norway: The family project before Ganpati Norway and where it all began

Aryan and his rented cycklerickshaw in 2005

This story begins back in 2003, when Cathrine went to India for the first time. Her third stop was Khajuraho and on the first day here she met Aryan*, a poor cyclerickshawdriver with a big family. Cathrine was travelling alone and spent many hours in Aryan's* rickshaw over the next few days. Cathrine did not know much hindi, and Aryan's* knowledge of english was also limited. Still, they were able to communicate and develop a friendship. They did not know it at the time, but Cathrine's decision to hire him to take her around would later change both their lives. This gentle, quiet, humble, honest and hard working father of nine is the reason Cathrine, her family and friends founded Ganpati Norway 14 years later.

Cathrine left Khajuraho with a dream of helping Aryan*and others like him. When Cathrine went to India in 2005, she went back to Khajuraho to find Aryan. She and her family had decided to help him buy his own cyclerickshaw so he would not need to use money on rent. Cathrine tracked him down, and Aryan invited her and her friend to visit the family. The family lived in a small village outside Khajuraho. Many village children came running to see what all this was about, and Cathrine and her friend had a lovely afternoon with the family and neigbouring children. Seeing how they and their neighbours lived made a huge impact on Cathrine.

Visiting the family in 2005, here in front of the house with the family and other village kids

Cathrine went back to Khajuraho in 2011, this time with her boyfriend. They were not able to find Aryan* and his cyclerickshaw anywhere in Khajuraho so they got someone to take them to see the family at their house. The family was surprised, and very happy, to see her again. Aryan* was out of town looking for work as the tourist season in Khajuraho was coming to an end. Cathrine did not get to see Aryan* but had a great time with the family and also got to play with other village kids (the man who took them there could both english and hindi so they could communicate with the family). Before they left they also gave the family some financial support.

Picture from Cathrine's visit in 2011.

Drinking chai with the family in 2011

Aryan* has always had Cathrines phone number and has called her a couple of times over the years. The last time Cathrine spoke to Aryan* was in 2014. Late in 2016 Cathrine got several calls from India, but could not understand what the phonecalls were about. She just understood the words Aryan* and Khajuraho. Several phonecalls later, she realised that it was Aryan's children on the phone and that Aryan* himself was dead.

The beginning of Ganpati Norge

Cathrine decided to try to find out what had happened to Aryan* and how his family was doing. She found Vio Meena Soni from Friends in Khajuraho and they agreed to help her. In desember 2016, Vio and her husband Vijay visited the family for the first time. They also visited the family with the founder of Devidine Association and one of the organisations social worker.

Picture of the family taken in 2016

Aryan* died not long after his last phonecall to Cathrine. Hard work and not enough food over time made him vulnerable for disease. He got sick and the family could not afford to go to the doctor and get treatments. When Aryan* died it was up to the boys in the family to provide for them. None of the boys goes to school - some working looking after goats and some on contruction sites. The youngest girls are still in school. The eldest daughter had just started taking sewing classes when their father died but could not continue after that.

Cathrine, her family and friends decided to support this family over time, to help Aryan's* children towards a better future. The first thing they did was to give the eldest daughter a chance to go back to sewing school. They also gave her a sewing machine. Vio Meena Soni offered the boys to come to her english class and for one of them this has worked out. The family has moved to a new house since 2011 (their old home fell down), but it still needed some work. Cathrine and her family gave them money for a front door and building materials to cover an extention on the house (the kitchen area was outdoors and their house had one room). The family had an old bicyckle that needed repairs and they also got a new bicycle from Cathrine. Two bicycles is not much for a family of ten, but it is a lot better than none! The family members also needed new clothes, which they got from donations by Devidine Association and Vijays friends.

In front of the house - work in progress

The eldest daughter and her sewing machine

The family depends on the children to work to survive. They are a BLP-family (below poverty line) which means they receive food rations from the government. This is not sufficient to avoid under- and malnutrition. The support for the family includes food supply for the time being.

But why stop there? Cathrine, her family and close friends wanted to expand their work to help other families in the area. Thanks to Vio and Vijay from Friends in Khajuraho this is now an option! To facilitate this they decided to found Ganpati Norway. When the organisation was founded, the main focus of the family project had turned away from immidiate needs to planning for the future, including education for the children. The family project then becomes a pilot where the organisation and their partner can gain experience and get ideas. The projects continues to be fullt funded by Cathrine, her family and close friends.