By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Christmas is a season of good will and of giving rather then receiving. With this clear objective of helping families who hail from very poor backgrounds, Ri-Khasi Channel (RKC)has come up with the concept of ‘Christmas Make Over,’ which telecasts the real help rendered to poor families on Christmas eve.
This year the family of Belbora Nongbri stepped into a grand new home completely furnished. “It seems like a modern fairy tale”, said one viewer who watched the programme. Belbora and her six children and mother used to live in a ramshackle hut which was made of bamboo. The wind and rain played havoc and it was almost a see through house.
At the initiative of the Channel, Belbora got the most beautiful gift of her life. When the family was escorted into the brand new house, they all wept inconsolably out of sheer gratitude.
Several other families have got a new fully furnished house since 2008 when the programme started. Some families are taken to the shops in Khyndailad which provide the children and grown ups with warm clothing. All this is done spontaneously by the shop owners who feel it is a small gesture of love.
“The audience now have an emotional attachment to this programme and they are eager to contribute towards this noble concept which has been initiated by us,” channel producer Badap K Lyngdoh said.
Several donors said they are happy to do something for those in need if there is a good organisation like RKC to undertake the project and identify genuinely needy families and what their needs are.
Lyngdoh said instead of stressing only on entertainment the Channel decided to do something different and meaningful for the poor during Christmas.
We are not only trying to do a Christmas programme with a difference but we also want to carry the real message of Christmas by doing something for the poor and the needy.
Replying to a query, he said that the channel is tying up with the local Dorbar Shnong for recommending the families who really deserve assistance.
After the receiving the name from the Dorbar Shnong the Ri-Khasi channel research team carry out a detailed research about the incomes of the families recommended by the Dorbar Shnong before deciding what sort of help to give the families.
“We select the families which requires our assistance most,” the Channel producer said.
In the first year, the Channel assisted two families from Lummawbah by renovating their houses, Lyngdoh said. In the second year, they assisted a family each from Mawlai Mawdatbaki and Lawsohtun.
“It was only in the third year, that we garnered enough funds for construction of a new house for very poor families. Since the families in the rural areas have their own land, we decided to shift our base to villages which are a bit far from the city,” Badap Lyngdoh said while also pointing out that majority of the families who have their own land in the city are mostly financially sound.
He said that in 2010, they constructed a new house for a family at Mawlynrei village.
Stating that this year was the biggest ever Christmas makeover for the channel, Lyngdoh said that this is also for the first time that the contributions came mostly from the general public.
“In the past three years, we were forced to approach politicians due to funds limitations. But this year, assistance has come from people who are donating generously which is really encouraging,” he said.
Lyngdoh said this year they have surveyed three villages-Mawkasiang, Mawpat and Mawlong. “After an extensive exercise, the select team of the channel decided to select the family of Balbora Nongjri who hails from Mawkasiang village,” Lyngdoh said.
Besides constructing the new house for the family of Balbora Nongjri, he said that Bethany Hospital has also given medical expenses of Rs 50,000 to the family,
Lyngdoh also informed that the Channel has also assisted nine other families which have been shortlisted from the three villages by giving them new clothes, rice and a good treat in a restaurant in town.
It is leant that in the past four years, the Channel has also been able to provide a job for one family member in a private firm.