The WZO Trust team, over the last 25 years, has been involved in welfare activities in the villages of South Gujarat, accompanied by Arin Master, Capt. Percy Master and Percy Kaikobad from Lions Club of Byculla (LCB). They visited a few villages in mid-2015 to have a firsthand experience of the work done by the WZO Trust, and jointly undertook a project that has changed the lives of eleven families in village Zavda, situated in the Dangs District, a backward area in South Gujarat, two and a half hours’ drive from Navsari.

Village Zavda’s residents live in an inhospitable terrain, mostly in huts, bereft of proper infrastructure. A major drawback is the unavailability of water, with only a couple of wells being the only source of water for residents. All eleven families, residing in a cluster, had to trudge long distances to draw water from the village well, with the hardship borne mainly by women. In 2014, WZO Trust started replacing the ramshackle huts with solid, brick and mortar cottages.

Though this change helped enhance the residents’ quality of life, the lack of adequate water was still an agonizing challenge… up until the altruistic Lions Club of Byculla stepped in with a generous proposal to fund a project that would provide water at the doorsteps of these 11 families. The WZO Trust undertook identifying the sub-terrain water table, and had a bore well drilled – and keeping in mind the erratic power supply, had a submersible pump installed that is operated via solar energy, and constructed a tower into which water is pumped into a 3,000 liters tank and piped to the cottages of the 11 families!

On September 17, 2016, members of the Lions Club of Byculla – President Vistasp and Bakhtawar Sachinwalla, Capt Percy and Arin Master, Cyrus and Kamal Disawala, Percy and Zenobia Kaikobad, Behram and Zarine  Rabadi, Percy and Arnie Buhariwala and Sorab Balsara – once again visited the village to formally inaugurate the water system that has greatly enhanced the quality of lives of these 11 families. Accompanying them were members of Team WZO Trust.

Trustees of The WZO Trust extend their sincere gratitude to members of Lions Club of Byculla for having funded the project, as also to Aspandiar Bharucha who conceived, planned and executed the project and Aspi Ambapardiwalla and Sarosh Gazder, dedicated team members for following up on the project. Aspandiar, Aspi and Sarosh made innumerable visits to Zavda to sort out frequent challenges that arose due to shortage of infrastructure and logistical challenges.
This project will result in 11 families and surrounding inhabitants of Zavda Village, benefitting in procuring their water requirements for consumption as well as domestic use and irrigating their fields, without having to depend on village water or electricity! This Project has brought smiles to the villagers and will be of particularly great help during summer months when there is an acute shortage of water.

Kudos to the WZO Trust Team and the LCB for jointly executing a difficult project that will result in positively transforming the lives of 11 families – thereby setting a brilliant precedent to what humane wonders can be born when institutions and individuals work in harmony and are dedicated to making a difference to those in need!

PT got in touch with the dynamic visionary of our community, as well as the Chairman of the WZO Trusts in India, Mr. Dinshaw Tamboly, with regard to these two back-to-back developments having taken place. He said, “The second marriage at our Senior Citizens Centre indicates that the residents feel secure residing in an atmosphere that is happy, vibrant and free of stress. To decide to get married at such an age is not a decision that is easy to take. We are not only proud but also delighted that this has been the second such marriage between our residents. As for the project executed by us for the Lions Club of Byculla, we have been involved since 1991 in the rehabilitation process of poor Zoroastrians residing in the villages of Gujarat. Over the years WZO Trusts have impacted the lives of nearly 480 such families in 186 villages in a meaningful and positive way. It has been a long but wonderful journey. The successes achieved have been on account of my colleague Trustees, members of our Local Committee at Navsari, volunteers and staff – all working in harmony with commitment and dedication, and of course for the confidence reposed in us by our donors, big and small, from all parts of the globe.”