Since 1974, the Indo-Canadian Friendship Society of British Columbia has been an active charitable society, assisting Indians living in Canada and India. The ICFS is a registered charitable society and NGO founded by Dr. Gurdev S. Gill, and is based in New Westminister, British Columbia, Canada.

For the past ten years, the society has led several Village Life Improvement Projects in Punjab, India. Together with with its Canadian based Board of Directors, hundreds of villager volunteers, and the assistance of the Canadian, Indian, and Punjabi governments, the ICFS has successfully spearheaded almost $1 million in infrastructure projects.

In 2006, various level of the Indian government collectively offered to match or exceed funds raised by the ICFS to initiate Village Life Improvement Projects in rural parts of the state of Punjab. The projects focus on providing rural Indian villages with:

Sanitary living conditions;

Access to clean drinking water;

Sewage disposal systems;

Increased public health awareness; and

rural infrastructure upgrades.

The sanitation, public health, and infrastructure upgrades are also a significant exercise in participatory democracy, as villagers and former villagers living abroad or "NRIs" (non-resident Indians) pull together their resources to make rural village life clean, safe, and healthy.

Punjab has a population of 20 million. Typical villages lack clean piped drinking water and there is no management of wastewater. Open drains with raw sewage are an invitation to flies and mosquitoes, and innumerable diseases. Computers in these villages are non-existent. Other civic amenities taken for granted in developed countries - such as parks and sidewalks - are non-existent.

The ICFS is vigilant about spending donations wisely. Dr. Gurdev Gill, a NRI and Canadian citizen, resides in India for six months a year to personally oversee the Village Life Improvement Projects.

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CHANDIGARH, INDIA: VILLAGE LIFE IMPROVEMENT FOUNDATION