Today, I was so lucky to attend a fundraiser for a local school in Bangalore, called St Mary's. A couple of dear friends, Clare and Jackie, decided on a wonderful way to raise money by putting on a full English breakfast for 22 ladies. The total funds raised was over 22000 rupees and all in a lovely morning spent with a great group of expat ladies. Lots of laughs and silly goings on, all for a good cause.
Sometimes, I wish I had more spare time to help with charities and volunteer work but currently I will have to do with putting my hand in my pocket to help the many charities.
A little about St Mary's school in Marathahalli. The school was started 10 years ago by Rev Varkey and is a sure of shelter and education for the many many children who live on the streets in the area. Marathahalli is about 30 minutes from where we live and has a large number of homeless families. The main aim is to provide a safe haven for these children and to break the cycle of 'not learning'. Keeping children in school in India is a real issue and giving children and, in particular, teenage girls the opportunity to learn is huge. Usually, the young girls are required to stay at 'home' and look after the younger children, so St Mary's provides a kindergarten for the young ones, so the older girls can continue learning. The current challenge they are facing (now that they are 10 years on) is to support the higher education of their older students.
The OWC (Overseas Womens Club) here in Bangalore, which I am a member of, is a great source of support and education for expat women, but is also a great support to a large number of charities. St Mary's is one charity that benefits from funds, books and other supplies from OWC fundraising.
I often feel that my little donations at these events don't mean much but this charity is fantastic and the smiles on these children's faces are priceless. A great group of ladies doing a fabulous job.
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| The girls hard at work |
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| The spread was fantastic |
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