Charity Update - April 2012

We returned from Kerala in mid March with a huge project in our minds and one that would ensure the future of a school that provides good education to youngsters from Lower Kindergarten up to 12 years, many having free places as their parents cannot afford the modest (in UK terms) fees.

The Bethel School has always existed in leased premises and usually for 3 to 5 years after which the owners have wanted their property back to make more money out of. Well, searches revealed a wonderful piece of land quite close to the school and the plan is to try and raise enough money to buy the land - or a part of it - and build a permanent base for the school, ensuring its long term future.

The whole piece of land would cost about £120,000 but it would be much less to build a school. However, we think that buying half the land would be sufficient to provide for the building and some play area. So, now we are going out with the begging bowl to family, friends and to grant giving trusts. Can you help or please give us some advise....PLEASE??

As far as other, on-going projects are concerned, here is an update :

• 4 more families are now being supported with monthly allowances but 3 families now are able to support themselves as one or more of the family have gained employment
• 59 year old Jan Forrester from Cromford in Derbyshire, gave up most of January to volunteer teach at the Bethel School and was a great hit and not only did the children and staff learn a great deal, so did Jan.
• The school fees of more children have been paid
• The supply of baby clothing has been a great hit - if you have access to unwanted baby-grows etc, please either let us have them or better still, we can give you an address to mail them to
• More medical support has been provided and one of our paralysed clients is improving so much since special equipment and creams were sent from the Czech Republic

Previously, the following projects were undertaken and most are still on-going :

• the installation of a concrete base and a water tanks at a Tribal Community to provide fresh drinking water on alternate days .....thanks to some very generous donor friends of mine, most, but not all of the money has been raised
• 500 children were given a new school uniform to start the new school year on 1 June
• the huge loan taken out by the parents of a 4 year old severely ill leukaemia patient has been repaid - so relieving the parents of massive interest payments each month - and a sponsor has been found to pay the family a monthly allowance for medical costs. The family are now one of the 31 mentioned below. Unfortunately, the lovely child died in October 2009.
• 1 young man gave up 5 months of his time to help at a local school and also to assist with some of the projects. He returned to the UK in October 2009 enriched by his experiences that possibly enabled him to find employment soon after his return
• 1 young woman on her gap year after university spending a month helping at a school.
• 31 families now supported financially each month for food, clothing and education of their children......but there are lots more families in real need and £12 UK a month is a great lifeline to the families. Later this month, a further 3 families will be taken on for a monthly allowance to help with the education of their children
• 10 primary school children's education paid for monthly for the 2nd year
• An after school tuition centre has been created and is being funded to provide educational opportunities for children from a Tribal Community 6 days a week but set up in their own community. A 2nd tuition centre is now operating on similar lines serving another poor community's children
• over 40 goats provided for families providing fresh milk .. and now we have several kids!!

 Runner No 346 won £100 by winning this event in Epsom, Surrey in June 2010 and donated it to the work we are doing in India. What an amazingly kind gesture. From the proceeds of the event, 2 more families will be supported with monthly allowances

• 6 families provided with a load of quarry rock that is then broken into road stone and sold on - creating self sufficient businesses
• Educational study trips paid for for 3 local primary schools
• Playground equipment provided by 2 friends for a local primary & nursery school

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• Medical grants given to a 22 year old young man who was paralysed falling from a building on which he was working part time to provide income for his family; and also to another paralysed man of 30 with a wife and child. A further grant was given to a 15 year old boy suffering from Leukaemia and who needs regular and expensive treatment and a further grant for an operation has been given to a young man with polio who, now 6 months later is walking  again