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Archive for the ‘Charity Bike Rides’ Category

Taking up the challenge for HEAL

Friday, October 12th, 2012

HEAL would like to thank and congratulate some of its intrepid supporters who have
recently completed challenging events to raise well over £4,000 to help hundreds
of disadvantaged children in India.

Our charity relies heavily on the support of people who invite family, friends and
work colleagues to donate to HEAL by way of sponsorship for an event or challenge.

Most do this by creating a fund-raising page online at justgiving.com, where the
addition of gift aid can greatly increase the value of donations to charities like
HEAL.

HEAL is gearing up again for Cycle India 2014

Of course, fund-raising can come in all shapes and sizes, and HEAL has benefitted
through everything from bedroom clear-out sales to biking across India over the
past 20 years.

Car washes and cake sales are great ways for young people to get involved, while
planning is already going ahead for HEAL’s next major Cycle India event early in
2014.

People do the most amazing things to raise money for the causes they love and
among the more adventurous over the summer months have been challenges undertaken
for HEAL by the likes of Yashu Shah, who embarked on a tracking adventure in
Nepal, and another trio of travellers who have incredible tales to tell of their
journey across northern India.

Back home in the UK, Karen Rhandawa successsfuly completed the Ealing Half
Marathon, while our good friends at private jet charter firm Air Charter Service
have once again been pushing themselves to the limit by competing in the Great
River Race on the Thames.

No Plane, No Gain - the ACS Great River Race team

“HEAL is in its 20th year of helping underprivileged children in Andhra Pradesh by
providing them with shelter, healthcare and an education and we are marking this
anniversary with our biggest project to date for which we are urgently seeking
funding,” says HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad Koneru.

“HEAL already looks after hundreds of children in Guntur and elsewhere through our
poverty trap projects, but now work is already well under way on Paradise Village,
which will become home to another 1,000 severely disadvantaged children very
soon.

“So the efforts of our supporters who who help to raise money in whatever way they
can are more important to HEAL than ever.”

Yashu Shah, a patient at Dr Prasad’s clinic in Peterborough, said: “I have just
come back from my trip of a lifetime. I managed to climb up to 5,200 metres and
although it was very tough, the whole thing was a fantastic experience. Raising
money for HEAL along the way made it even more special.”

Tracking through Nepal

Karen Rhandawa admitted that the many donations to her justgiving page had kept
her going as she trained for her first half-marathon. “It was one of my most
challenging achievements. I was proud to run the Ealing Half marathon for HEAL
because they do such wonderful work in taking children out of poverty. And I made
it round in a good time of 2:13:27 too!”

And there is still time to sponsor medical student Amrit Dhadda, who this weekend
will run the Cardiff Half Marathon on behalf of HEAL. His justgiving page can be
found at www.justgiving/amrit-dhadda0

Thirteen of Air Charter Service’s fittest athletes, glorying in the name No Plane,
No Gain, took to the Thames to row a staggering 21 miles. Last year they managed
to raise £3,168 towards an IT classroom at the new HEAL Paradise Village. And they
are hoping to better that figure this year to pay for a library, with ACS
promising to match what their staff raise.

Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to the ACS Great River Race team of Christine
Echeverria, Nakita Ogugua, Nicklas Danko, Oli Stravrakakis, Brendan Toomey, Joe
Gallimore, Joel Fenn, Chris Mansell, Ben Dinsdale, James Clark, Ella Melhuish, Amy
Irwin and Thea Goalen.

Last, but not least, well done to Chatty, Jamie and Olivia, whose attempts to
travel across India in a second-hand auto rickshaw may not quite have gone to
plan, but still benefitted their chosen charity, HEAL.

An Auto Rickshaw Across India

You can read about some of their adventures on their unusual 12-day trip,
including entries such as Stowaways on a Train and Sleeping on the Streets of
Pushkar, in their blog at www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/AnAutoRickshawAcrossIndia/

Saddle up for HEAL

Monday, February 27th, 2012

A SERIES of cycling events across Great Britain, India and the United States are being
planned to raise funds to help lift children out of the poverty trap in India and place them
into education.

The UK-based charity HEAL (Health and Education for All) recently held its third Cycle India
challenge over five days in Kerala, south of Mumbai, and it was such a success that
organisers are already discussing plans to expand their fund-raising efforts.

Cycle India, launched in 2008, is currently held every two years, with riders from India and
USA joining forces with cyclists from the British Isles.

But moves are afoot to introduce a new bike ride for Indian participants on alternate years,
which will turn Cycle India into an annual event, while planning is already in the pipeline
for a Land’s End to John o’Groats cycle challenge.

Talks are also taking place with HEAL USA members to try to get an Amercian version off the
ground in the near future.

Funds are urgently needed for HEAL’s latest, and most ambitious project to date, the
Paradise Village in Thotapally, Andhra Pradesh, which will become home to 1,000 orphaned and
disadvantaged children over the next two years.

HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad visited the Paradise construction site with Cycle India 2012
particpants and was excited by the early progress on phase one of the building work.

“Planning for Cycle India 2014 is already well advanced, with a 450km coastal ride from Mumbai to Goa already agreed, and the cyclists will have the opportunity to visit with the children at the Paradise Village and the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur afterwards,” said Dr Prasad.

“We already have a number of people from the UK signed up for 2014, but I’m pleased to say
that Indian participants will have their own Cycle India every other year from now on, which
means that it will now become an annual event.”

HEAL India’s Anita Rao will be part of the organising group for next year’s inaugural
India-based challenge and hopes to attract a large number of young riders.

“UK cyclists will also be welcome to take part,” says Anita, “but I think it will be
largely for the younger generation in India.

“Most young people are naturally fit, though not always through regular exercise, and I
think it will be amazing to see how they perform in our cycling challenge. I’m looking
forward to being actively invloved with this new event.”

In the UK, volunteers are being sought to assist in developing a regional bike ride later
this year as a forerunner to the first full cycle from Land’s End to John o’Groats next
year.

Matthew Glover, head of UK fundraising for HEAL, has been the driving force behind Cycle
India, which has raised over £200,000 to date.

“Cycle India has become Heal’s single biggest fundraising event,” said Matthew. “As well as
raising a large amount of money, the events have spread a lot of happiness to the
participants, children at the HEAL projects and the people of India.

“Cycle India is an opportunity for people to get fit, take part in a life-changing
experience in a beautiful part of the world while doing something very worthwhile for
orphaned and underprivileged children in India.”

To find out more, or to register your interest in taking part in any of HEAL’s forthcoming
fundraising events, please go to the home page of our website at heal.co.uk.
Pictures courtesy of Kalypso Adventures

Bikes, champagne and sausage sandwiches!

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

FOR Emily Young and Steve Garrett, Cycle India 2012 wasn’t just a life-changing experience
… it was a whole new beginning.

After taking part in five days of cycling through the stunning scenery of Kerala, then
visiting several HEAL projects, including the Children’s Village in Guntur, Steve and Emily
said their farewells to the rest of the Cycle India group before heading north to Mumbai.

Emily & Steve riding through a Kerala village during Cycle India

There, in early February, the couple were married in traditional Indian style, the bride
wearing a beautiful red and the gold lehenga and the groom a smart fawn kurta for the happy
occasion.

Ahead of the ceremony, Emily was also decorated with a mehndi, a traditional form of henna
skin decoration, which took five hours to apply, and afterwards it was champagne and pizza,
followed by chocolate cake!

“The big day turned into an amazing ray of colour, everything was perfect,” beamed newly-wed
Emily, back at home in the Chilterns.

The newly-weds enjoy their chocolate cake after the wedding

“We had pictures taken on the local cricket pitch and I even managed to impress Steve (a big
cricket lover) by hitting a cricket ball in full wedding outfit and make-up in about 30
degrees of heat – watch out England!

“But what made the wedding for us were the street children who watched and threw rose petals
as confetti. The children being at the wedding made it complete for us; they had very little
but were so happy to join in and smile.

“The adults congratulated us in a happy marriage and the children danced and had fun … we
made so many friends and we count ourselves very lucky.”

And Emily, who works in IT financial software support, and bank worker Steve even returned
home with their own instant ‘family’.

The couple were so moved by their visit to the HEAL Children’s Village after the cycling
that they decided to sponsor two children – and had the joy and pleasure of meeting them for
the first time before they left for their wedding.

Emily & Steve with the children they now sponsor at the HEAL Village

Horse-lover Emily, 29, says she is happy to make a small personal sacrifice each month in
order to sponsor a child.

“I normally make it a rule to have a sausage sandwich every day,” she explained, “but I
worked out that all I have to do is give up four sausage sandwiches a week!

“Although I love my sausage sandwiches, it really is a very small sacrifice to make to help
provide a home, food and an education for a small child who basically has nothing.

“We hope it won’t be too long before we return to see the children at the HEAL Village
again.”

To see Emily and Steve’s wedding video go to http://vimeo.com/37927032

Delight at progress of HEAL Paradise

Monday, February 20th, 2012

HEAL founder, Dr Satya Prasad Koneru, has expressed his delight at the early progress being made with construction at the Paradise Village in Thotapally.
Dr Prasad and members of the Cycle India 2012 team were recently shown around the 20-acre site which will become home to 1,000 orphaned and destitute children in the near future.

The visitors saw building work going ahead on the first phase of construction and were introduced to the HEAL India committee responsible for seeing the project through.
“Everyone is very excited by what they have seen,” said Dr Prasad. “Hopefully it will not be too long now before children will be running around on this land.

Cyclists Lucy Petrie and Anita Rao with women workers

“All around we have beautiful, green, lush mountains and I couldn’t wish for a better place for my kids to grow up and study.
“I didn’t expect this kind of welcome and this sort of progress in such a short period and it is the icing on the cake for the cyclists who have paid their own way here and faced many uphill struggles during Cycle India 2012 to see where all their hard-earned money is going.

Cycle India team member Dave Blakeman meets workers at the Paradise site

“Hopefully, when we return for Cycle India 2014 this place will be full of children running around and the plan is for the cyclists to stay here and spend time with them after completing the course from Mumbai to Goa.
“Since my last visit here last year it really is beyond belief how much progress has been made and I am confident that the committee in charge of the Paradise project will complete the building on time and deliver our dream.”
Go to our home page to subscribe to our e-newsletter and receive regular updates from the Paradise Village and news about other HEAL projects.

Fun and games at Kanuru school

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

CONGRATULATIONS to the HEAL-funded ASNRAZPH school in Kanuru, Vijayawada, which was recently given the honour of hosting the ‘zonal games’ in their area.

The school, visited by the entire Cycle India party last month, was extremely proud to have been asked to stage the event involving 32 schools.
The games are held at a different school each year and Kanuru were pleased to report the 2012 event a complete success.

No fewer than 600 boys and 100 girls took part over five days of sporting competition, following an opening ceremony in which members of the UK cycling team were invited to cut a ribbon to open proceedings.

The HEAL children, in particular, stood out in their smart new t-shirts, donated by HEAL India’s Mrs Bhavani, who also recently provided the school with colourful poster boards to assist in science classes.

Kanuru enjoyed success in several of the sports, with the boys winning the badminton and finishing runners-up in ‘kho kho’, while the girls came out on top in volleyball.

The school gave the cyclists a rapturous welcome and staged a show for their guests, including singing, dancing and even a comedy sketch which was enjoyed both by the visitors and the watching younger children.

HEAL originally provided school uniforms to the children of Kanuru School before the introduction of a new government scheme which brought in free uniforms. However, HEAL was happy to supplement this by providing each child with a free pair of shoes as many of them were still walking to school barefoot.

The Anne Siva Nageswara Rao, Aruna, Zilla, Parishad High School, to give it its full name, already receives limited government funding, but HEAL was keen to help after being greatly impressed by the energy and hard work of the headmaster and his staff.

Since the summer of 2009, HEAL India has worked alongside the existing benefactor Mr Anne Siva Nageswara Rao, who started the school, to help improve facilities and educational standards.

HEAL is looking forward to continuing that assistance for the benefit of the hundreds of children at this school. And further education scholarships will ensure that school-leavers can go on to achieve their ambitions.

Full speed ahead for Cycle India 2014

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

HEAL cyclists, still buzzing from a memorable and emotional Cycle India 2012 are already making plans for 2014!

Many described the 10-day adventure in India as “life-changing” and are determined to repeat the experience in two years’ time.

HEAL founder Dr Koneru Prasad announced during the trip that a new coastal cycling route, from Mumbai to Goa, was being considered for the fourth Cycle India event.

After five days pedalling through the beautiful hills and backwaters of Kerala, the intrepid team of 23 cyclists from the UK, India and USA developed a strong bond and cameraderie, which has been reflected by a buzz on social network websites ever since.

Cycle India 2012, which is expected to raise more than £40k when all UK fund-raising is complete, was closely monitored in the Indian media along the way.

Since returning home, many of the cyclists have had more news of their exploits published on blogs and in the press, while much of the chat between the new-found friends on sites such as Facebook and Twitter has been all about the countdown to 2014.

“I am definitely keen to be part of Cycle India 2014,” says 38-year-old nurse, wife and mother-of-two Zoe Smith.

“What an amazing trip that was, honestly unlike any other trip I have ever had. The camaraderie was incredible, the people inspirational and the feeling of euphoria impossible to describe.

“My emotion after the big hill-climb on day three was incredible and made all the better by being able to share it with such wonderful people. It was amazing to step out of the ordinary to do something extraordinary.

“Looking back, I did nowhere near enough training but the team spirit, the feeling of doing something worthwhile and the inspiration of HEAL pulled me through.

“I now plan to sponsor a child in India and hope to see that child grow and flourish under the nurturing umbrella of HEAL. I’m already looking forward to visiting the Children’s Village in Guntur again.”

Grace Shephard, a 53-year-old PA, along with husband Adrian raised money for HEAL by holding Indian dinners at their home in Warminster, Wiltshire.

“Not until the cycle ride was over and we arrived in Andhra Pradesh did I feel the full impact of our challenge,” admitted Grace.

“We visited the site of Paradise Village, seeing the plans for the whole complex and witnessing the early stages of the school building rising from the ground with the unrelenting work from happy local workers.

“We also went to the Heal Village in Guntur where we were greeted by hundreds of beautiful children full of life and ambition, and made a brief visit to the slums where many of the HEAL children would still be breaking stone in the quarry if not for the charity.

“This experience was truly life-changing, full of every emotion. It made every push on the pedals and fund-raising event worth the time and effort a million times over. Bring on 2014 to see those children again!”

Husband Ady, a 54-year-old events manager, agreed, adding: “We were looking for a special holiday to mark our 20th wedding anniversary and we certainly found it!

“For me personally, the ride was transformative on many levels. It was a great team-building experience, with cameraderie and mutual affection between us from the word go. We Brits aren’t always as stuffy and cold as our reputation!

“What a wonderful adventure and what a feast for the senses – warmth, colours, countryside, vibrancy and great food!

“It was my first time in India. Receiving the garlanded welcomes from the children was humbling and it all came as a big jolt to my moral compass. I’ll just say that I’m not quite the same as I used to be since the ride.”

Ann Cripps, who prepared for Cycle India by biking in the Yorkshire Dales near her home, is another planning another fund-raising trip in two years’ time.

“What will remain with me a long time is the visit to the HEAL Village – turning the corner and seeing all the children waiting to greet us was overwhelming and then being shown around so spontaneously by different children and realising the warmth and closeness of their life together.

“It was a magical couple of days that I feel privileged to have shared. Needless to say I plan to return in 2014 and my sister is keen to come as well!”

Third Cycle India is hot stuff

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

TIRED, but elated by their achievements, a group of travel-weary cyclists arrived back in the UK late last night after raising thousands of pounds for disadvantaged children through their participation in the third biannual Cycle India event.

Led by Heal founder Dr Satya Prasad, 23 cyclists from England, Scotland, Wales, India and the USA pedalled 280kms in five days through the plains, hills and backwaters of Kerala, south of Mumbai, mostly in temperatures in the low 30s Centigrade.

During their 10-day trip the group also visited schools, a hospital and Heal projects, including the Children’s Village in Guntur and the ambitious new Paradise Village site in Andhra Pradesh.

Along the way they received welcome donations from local businesses, with most of the funds raised going towards new buildings at the Paradise project, which will become home to 1,000 orphaned, abandoned and needy children.

Heal’s head of fundraising in the UK, Matthew Glover, gave the event a big thumbs-up and said that organisers Kalypso Adventures had already been retained as partners for Cycle India 2014.

“Our first Cycle India in 2008 was a great success and we built upon that two years later, but 2012 was the best Cycle India yet and that was thanks in large part to Kalypso who did a great job,” he said.

It was also revealed by Dr Prasad during the trip that plans are afoot for a new biannual Cycle India event for Indian participants to run on alternative years, while plans are already in the pipeline for the UK to host its own Lands End to John O’Groats ride later this year.

The cyclists were warmly welcomed throughout the duration of the challenge from Kochi to Kumarakom and took every opportunity to interact with local children at towns, villages and schools along the way.

But nothing could prepare them for the tumultuous greeting they received at the Heal Children’s Village where hundreds waited in hot sun to celebrate their arrival before entertaining their guests with a spectacular stage show filled with song, dance and colour.

Some members of the group were even able to meet face-to-face with the youngsters they sponsor at the village, while others, such as Cycle India first-timers Emily Young and Stephen Garrett, were moved to sponsor children for the first time.

Upon leaving Guntur, Stephen and fiance Emily were heading straight to Mumbai for their own traditional Indian wedding.

A number of the cyclists have already put their names forward for Cycle India 2014, with a route provisionally planned to run down the western coastline from Mumbai to the popular tourist destination of Goa.

Please sign up to the Heal newsletter to receive more Cycle India reports and stories and the latest fundraising news, as well as regular updates of progress from the Paradise Village project.

Time to saddle up for Cycle India

Friday, December 16th, 2011

TRAINING in rain, hail and snow may not seem ideal for the challenge ahead, but for 20 or so intrepid cyclists preparations are in hotting up for Heal’s biggest fundraising event – Cycle India 2012.

In January, pedal-power will be the order of the day as our latest group of cyclists fly out from chilly London to the tropical Malabar coast in south-west India where they will team up with others from India and the United States for a five-day bike ride through the state of Kerala.

Some are veterans of previous Cycle India events in 2008 and 2010, while others will be taking part for the first time in a bid to raise much-needed money to fund Heal’s efforts in providing shelter, healthcare and education for destitute children.

“Cycle India has become Heal’s single biggest fundraising event, raising £180,000 from the two previous events and, crucially, spreading a lot of happiness to the participants, children at the Heal Village and the people of India,” says Matthew Glover, Heal’s head of fundraising.

“Cycle India is an opportunity for people to get fit, take part in a life-changing experience in a beautiful part of the world while doing something very worthwhile for orphaned and underprivileged children in India.”

All participants will be paying their own way to India, which means that every penny raised through donations, sponsorship and fundraising events will go directly to where it is needed most.

And with the major undertaking that is Paradise Village – a self-sustaining community offering homes and education to a thousand needy children – already in its first phase of building, there has never been a more urgent need for funds.

While in India, the travelling party will not only visit the children at the existing Heal village in Guntur – a life-changing experience for many of our former cyclists – but will be able to see for themselves the progress being made at the Paradise site at Thotapally.

Heal founder Dr Koneru Prasad also told members of the charity at its recent AGM that an extra fundraising event is being organised at Vijayawada during Cycle India which it is hoped could bring in donations of more than £30k.

In addition to Dr Prasad, the cycling group will include Amanda Smith, who has just spent six weeks in India preparing for her new role as vice-principal of the school at the Heal Paradise Village.

After shivering their way through training rides in wintery Britain, the cyclists will no doubt appreciate the change of environment for their challenge in India. Kerala is located along the coast of south-western India, a region popular amongst tourists for its tropical greenery.

Indeed, National Geographic’s Traveller magazine names Kerala as one of the “10 paradises of the world” and “50 must-see destinations of a lifetime”, so spectacular scenery is assured.

Cyclists will be eased into their five days in the saddle as they make their way through the lush surroundings between Kochi and Thattekad, covering 65kms on day one.

Next, Thattekad to Kulamavu, taking the riders from jungle terrain through to hill country during a rise in altitude to approximately 800m as they cover the next 74kms.

Day three promises more stunning scenery on an undulating course from Kulamavu to Periyar, with the possibility of spotting elephants, buffalo and wild boar grazing nearby, while another 107kms is clocked up.

Then Periyar to Vagamon, which should prove a highlight for the flagging cyclists as they travel 52kms through spectacular tea gardens interspersed with pristine forests up to a maximum height of 1185m.

And finally back down to the plains, downhill all the way from Vagamon to Marari as the last 80kms are completed.

And no doubt the aches, pains and blisters will all be forgotten when, after visiting the construction of our new Paradise Village, the group will move on to the Children’s Village at Guntur where they will be met by a sea of smiling faces and see first-hand the work done by Heal.

News from the recent Heal AGM

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

MEMBERS, directors and trustees of HEAL were delighted to hear at the charity’s Annual General
Meeting this week that Phase One of the Paradise Village project is going ahead with a view to
accepting its first intake of children by the middle of 2012.

The Village in Andhra Pradesh, designed to accommodate as many as one thousand disadvantaged
Indian children in a self-sustaining environment, could take as long as five years to complete,
but work is already moving forward following the ceremonial laying of a foundation-stone in mid-
November.

In his report to the AGM, HEAL chairman Carl Brodie said that the charity faced a year-on-year
battle for funding, but remained determined to press ahead with its most ambitious project to
date.

He said many thousands of poverty-striken children in India needed HEAL’s support and fund-raising
for the Paradise Village would be a key part of the charity’s work in the coming years.

“We need to raise substantial amounts of money to support the Paradise building programme, but
remain hopeful that part of it can be open by the middle of next year,” said Mr Brodie.

Addressing the meeting, HEAL founder Dr Koneru Prasad confirmed that the building of a temporary
bridge at the Thotapally site would allow for work on Phase One of the estimated £3million project
to press ahead.

Early construction, he said, would focus on an elementary school building, a vocational training
centre and accommodation for the children.

As well as fund-raising in the UK, it was hoped that a new sponsorship scheme in India could raise
a significant amount towards future running costs of the Village and the aim also was to increase
financial support from HEAL’s presence in the United States.

Dr Prasad said that “negative thoughts” regarding the charity’s ability to raise funding on such a
large scale should be dismissed. “It is eminently achievable. I am fairly confident that we will
reach our target,” he added.

“India has the largest number of malnourished and poverty-trap children of anywhere in the world -
even more than in Africa. A lot of people are in desperate need and have the need of our new
project.”

He was encouraged and grateful for the promise of backing from HEAL supporters such as the Chundury family from Birmingham to cover the cost of building an institute for the blind, Drs Arun and Rita Agarwal, who are contributing towards a classroom, and London-based company Air Charter Service who have raised money for a much-needed computer lab within the Village. The nearby Nagarjuna hospital is also offering funding for a health centre.

Dr Prasad will accompany a group of cyclists from the UK, United States and India to Kerala for a
five-day cycle challenge early in the new year, an event which is hoped will raise around £35k for HEAL.

No pain, no gain for fund-raisers

Monday, November 7th, 2011

SUPPORTERS of Heal continue to find innovative, interesting – and sometimes painful – new ways to raise money to help disadvantaged children in Andhra Pradesh.

Members of Heal’s Fund-raising Committee never fail to be surprised at the lengths people will go to make donations to our charity … the latest being strip-waxing!

Brave volunteers at a charity ‘pamper night’ stepped forward as guinea pigs for some eye-watering wax treatment at a fund-raiser in Aberdeen, organised by Help4Letting and Maximo Massage, an event which raised over a thousand pounds.

And the donations didn’t stop there, with a pub quiz and raffle bringing in a further £340 for Heal just a few weeks later.

“The pamper night was a tremendous success and we had an unbelievable turnout,” said organiser Lucy Petrie.

“The stalls were gorgeous, the treatments were fabulous and I must thank Steve Brand and Michael Clark for being such fantastic sports and agreeing to have their legs and armpits waxed to help raise even more money!

“And much fun was had by everyone at the Globe Inn in Aberdeen, where we managed to raise another £340 for Heal with our pub quiz. We had 11 teams in all – and even included an ‘India and Indians’ round in the quiz.

“Our raffle prizes were warmly received, including our star prize of a two-night stay at the five-star Howard Hotel in Edinburgh. The whole night really was a great success and a big thank-you to everyone who donated.”

And the good work doesn’t end there, with Help4Letting sending a team to take part in Cycle India 2012.

“Since setting up just short of 20 years ago Heal have shown tremendous results, taking orphaned and underprivileged children off the streets and ensuring better lives for them,” said Lucy.

“Every penny we raised will go to Heal, the charity that Help4Letting will be cycling through India with next January, starting from Kochi all the way to the Heal Children’s Village in Guntur, where we will see how all our hard-earned donations are being put to such good use.”