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Volunteers’ joy at meeting their sponsored child

Friday, June 15th, 2012

HEAL relies upon individual sponsors to help give severely disadvantaged children the shelter, education and healthcare they need for a proper start in life.

Such sponsorship is a wonderful way to bring hope and lasting change to a child living in poverty.

Some supporters are content to make regular donations, happy in the knowledge that HEAL’s dedicated team of volunteers will see to it that their money is put to the best possible use in helping needy children.

Others stay in regular contact with the children they support and take the opportunity to develop a lasting relationship, often from primary school age through to further education and beyond.

And a few sponsors even spend time volunteering at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, getting to see first-hand the difference their money makes.

The children love nothing more than the excitement of having visitors to their school and many volunteers at the Village have been moved to tears by the joyous welcome they have received.

Some are long-time sponsors who have the added joy of finally getting to meet the child they support in person.

One of these is JAZ BUSHELL, who, after sponsoring a child at the HEAL Children’s Village for 15 years, finally had the unforgettable experience of meeting Jyoti face-to-face when she spent a week volunteering at Guntur.

On her return home to London, Jaz posted her feelings on the HEAL facebook page, where she wrote: “I had a wonderful, emotional and very memorable six-day stay at HEAL.

“It was great to finally meet Jyoti after 15 years of sponsoring her, and all the other children at HEAL.

“The village is run so well by Marudwathi and all the house mothers. I am so pleased that I have been supporting such a great charity.”

ANDREW QUERNMORE also visited the Village earlier this year and wrote an online blog about his experiences in Andhra Pradesh.

“I’ve been sponsoring Amala, one of the hundreds of orphaned and abandoned children that HEAL has brought into its family, and it was great to be able to check on her progress and spend a little time with her and the other children,” said Andrew.

“The village provides a stable family environment for destitute children whose early life has been marked by the most unimaginable suffering. In this poor cotton and chilli-growing area there is no support net when parents are killed or die in tragic circumstances; and any surviving family is likely to be too poor to feed another mouth.

“That’s where HEAL comes in; each child becomes part of a new family unit at the beautifully landscaped village. The children are nurtured by individual house mothers. HEAL knows that these children can have a better life and ensures that their health and emotional needs are met and that they get a fantastic education.

“It is an incredibly happy place and the children take such delight in learning that many of them are now top of their classes. They are really proud of each other’s achievements and so supportive of one another.

“In addition to the family units where the children live there is a school, a rural poverty outreach service, a health centre, and many other facilities all set in beautiful gardens.

“I chose to support HEAL because it is a small and efficient charity; there are no paid workers, big advertising budgets, chuggers or fancy offices in the West – everything here is done by volunteers – so practically all of the money goes directly to meet the children’s needs.

“I’ve been visiting India for 20 years for work and holidays and it is great to be able to give something back, especially when HEAL is so keen that people visit and see exactly how the money is spent.

“It is marvellous to have that personal relationship with your sponsor children and to follow their progress as they are transformed from despair into thriving, well-balanced, young people with a bright future.

“Amala is now 16 and her future is looking good. She is hoping to go to university to study engineering in a couple of years time and is working hard to ensure that there will be stability in her adult life and also for her younger brother, Sai, who also is part of the HEAL family. HEAL ensures that all of its children are supported into adulthood.

“The original HEAL Village has proven such a success that a much larger version, Paradise Village, is now being constructed a few miles away.

“Visiting HEAL makes you realise that really valuable changes can be made in young people’s lives with just a bit of financial support from us and the dedication of its fantastic team.

“The children at the village are some of the finest young people you could ever hope to meet; positive, enthusiastic, caring and determined to make a success of their lives, and they show incredible gratitude for the support they receive.”

HEAL volunteer AMANDA SMITH, who took part in Cycle India 2012 to help raise funds for the charity, went on a fact-finding mission to India last year and was humbled by her visits to some of the HEAL projects.

As always, the children were excited to have visitors and made an incredible fuss of schoolteacher Amanda, something she found hard to come to terms with.

“In many ways I found it very difficult to be treated in such awe. After all, who am I? I am merely a person like anyone else here,” wrote Amanda in a moving account after receiving the warmest of welcomes by the HEAL children.

“The only difference is that I had the great fortune to be born into a life free from poverty. I deserve no plaudits, I’m not worthy of being put on the pedestal these children put me on. If anyone deserves this, it is the teachers who work here every day, it is the children who smile and laugh in the face of adversity.

“But to these children, they do not see that, they just see in people like me, that someone ‘out there’ in the big wide world cares enough about them to want to make their lives better.

“All we are when we visit schools like this is a symbol of that giving and a symbol of hope. In material things the children here have so very little but in heart and spirit they are rich beyond measure and I am honoured to have spent this day with them.”

To find out more about child sponsorship or supporting other HEAL projects please visit our home page at heal.co.uk.

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Posted in bala kuteer school, Charity Sponsors, Child Sponsorship India, children poverty india, Cycle India 2010, Cycle India 2012, Heal Children's Village, Heal Paradise Village, Heal UK, News from the Village, Sponsor-A-Child India, Volunteers | No Comments »

Dallas doctor donates vocational centre to Paradise Village

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

AN Indian-born Dallas doctor is appealing for more like-minded professionals in America to join his crusade to give impoverished children in his homeland a start in life.

A college reunion four years ago brought him back in contact with former classmate Dr Satya Prasad Koneru, founder of the UK charity HEAL (Health and Education for All), and since then Dr Chunduri hasn’t looked back.

Dr Krishnababu Chunduri, left, with HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad Koneru

He took part in a gruelling event, Cycle India 2010, to raise funds for HEAL’s projects and was so moved after meeting some of the children in the charity’s care that he knew he had to do more to help.

“When I was young my father died and my two brothers took care of eight of us. I always felt so much in their debt,” said Dr Chunduri.

“And when I first became involved with HEAL I saw this as a way of ‘paying my dues’, but after seeing the kids at the Children’s Village in Guntur I knew that I was going to be involved forever.

“I also remember during Cycle India 2010 seeing these people from the UK, some of who were barely able to cycle for one reason or another, but they carried on regardless and I thought ‘Why are these guys putting themselves through this?’.

“This, too, inspired me and left me feeling that my involvement with HEAL would be on-going, not just for the one time as I had imagined. I salute them for doing this for other human beings.”

Dr Krishnababu Chunduri, left, with fellow US cyclists at Cycle India 2010 and HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad Koneru, right,

A family bereavement prevented Dr Chunduri from participating in Cycle India 2012, but he was determined to be involved and flew to India to make a personal donation to HEAL’s ambitious new project, Paradise Village, which will soon become home to 1,000 orphaned and underprivileged children.

“I met up with the cyclists after their ride and I told Prasad that I would like to donate $100,000 towards a vocational centre for the Paradise Village and a further $20,000 to build a guest house cottage there, too.

“I saw this as my destiny – it was something I felt I had to do – and I hope I can do more in the future.”

An artist's impression of the school block at the HEAL Paradise Village, under construction in Thotapalli

Now Dr Chunduri is hoping to reach out to other like-minded people in America to support HEAL’s good work.

“The sad situation in India is that there are super-rich people, but others are so poor you cry when you see them. The rich people don’t care about the poor people,” he said.

“There are only a few of us in HEAL USA right now and we need to recruit more people. There are a huge number of people like myself who left India to come and work in the States.

“Many of them are already donating to other charities, or projects such as temples and colleges back home in India, but HEAL needs help to give these unfortunate children a future by putting them into education.

“The beauty of the charity is that they have no paid staff and no administrative offices, so the money raised and donated goes directly to where it is needed most and I have seen the difference it makes with my own eyes.

“We are already looking at the possibility of holding a Cycle India event in America to raise awareness of HEAL and will be actively seeking more sponsors to support the Paradise Village project.”

After serving his internship in India, Dr Chunduri took up residency at the VA Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York and currently runs his own practise in Fort Worth.

Explaining his reasons for supporting a vocational centre, Dr Chunduri said that there was a need to encourage training in trades where skills were often learned on the job.

“There is an abundance of high-end technical people, but there is a need for mid-level technical people,” he said. “Some people work as machinists with no training and only hands-on experience. They need proper training and this vocational centre will encourage that.”

He added, “I talked to several kids separately at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur and asked them what they want to be. Only one said ‘engineer’. Almost all of them said, ‘I want to help people like me here at the HEAL Village’.

Krishnababu Chunduri, a 61-year-old neurologist from Fort Worth, Texas, was born and brought up in southern India and took his medical training in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, during the 1970s.

“It gave me a lot of encouragement that many of the kids are going to help with HEAL in the future. It is definitely going to make a difference that these children are going to go on to help people, which means that HEAL’s good work will be continued in the future.”

Dr Chunduri’s elder brother Dhanumjay is a GP based in Birmingham, England, and his family is sponsoring the creation of the Phanendra Chunduri Institute for the Blind at the Paradise Village in memory of his late son.

“Our own mother had zero education,” said Dr Chunduri. “It was frustrating for her when she wanted to read or write letters and had to depend on other people. But she still encouraged us and was our inspiration to get a good education.

“My brothers went on to do well in life. My father died when I was small, but my mother was so instrumental in educating us. That is why the vocational centre will be named after her.”

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Posted in Charity Donations, Child Sponsorship India, children poverty india, Cycle India 2010, Cycle India 2012, Further Education, Heal Children's Village, Heal Paradise Village, Heal USA, paradise vocational centre, phanendra chunduri institute for the blind | No Comments »

Bala Kuteer library’s welcome gift

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

THE new Bala Kuteer School library used by pupils at the Heal Children’s Village added another title to its shelves during the recent Cycle India visit to Guntur.

Welsh author Cathy Farr, who sponsored her friend Jem King, one the UK cyclists on the fundraising visit to India, asked him to personally deliver signed copies of her children’s fantasy novel Moon Chase during the trip.

Librarian Lalitha, right, and 15-year-old student Anusha with the signed copies of Moon Chase

Jem was delighted to hand over the books to librarian Lalitha and 15-year-old student Anusha Vajja, the child Jem sponsors at the Heal Village, on Cathy’s behalf. Lalitha said that she was particularly pleased to receive the gift as the library was in need of more story books to fire the children’s imaginations.

“I know Cathy is keen to promote reading whenever and wherever she can, so I was happy to take some new reading material along with me,” said Jem.

“They have a magnificent new library at the Village and it was a pleasure to be shown around by Lalitha. They have a good selection of books for younger children in particular, but I understand they are still in need of more story books so I will be looking to see if I can help with that.”

Cathy, who, like Jem, hails from the Vale of Glamorgan, is currently finishing off her second novel loosely based on her Irish wolfhound, Finn.

“Moon Chase is a fantasy adventure about the Fellhounds of Thesk, aimed at teenage readers, although I enjoyed it too,” added Jem.

“I’m looking forward to Cathy’s second book in the series and I’m sure we will be certain to send a few copies off to the Heal Children’s Village once it’s published to help keep their library up to date.”

The new library on opening day

The library, given the name Deepthi (bright flame), was donated to the Chetana Charitable Trust in memory of Mrs Pramila K Tummala, who worked as a librarian for more than 20 years at the Kansas State University in Manhattan, USA.
The new building was officially opened by Prof Krishna Kumar Tummala on New year’s Day, two years to the day after his wife’s passing.

Mrs Tummala had been unable to fulfill her dream of returning to India to work with Dr Manga Devi at Chetana following her retirement, so her husband and children decided it would be fitting to donate the library in her name.

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Posted in bala kuteer school, Charity Donations, Cycle India 2012, Heal Children's Village, News from the Village | No Comments »

Stark reality of India’s ‘poverty trap’

Monday, March 5th, 2012

WELSH journalist Jem King, a member of the 2010 and 2012 Cycle India teams, has written an
account of the highs and lows of his most recent visit to India with HEAL.

In an article published in the Wales on Sunday, Jem recalls his delight at meeting up again
with Anusha, the girl he sponsors at the HEAL Children’s Village in Guntur, but also the
plight of poverty-striken families he came across at a nearby township.

“I would dearly love to have spent much more time with Anusha and found out more about her
plans for further education, but we felt it was important to highlight the conditions some
of our ‘poverty trap’ children live in.

“A group of us – myself, Vijith Puthi, Pete Tantram and Matthew Glover – were dismayed by
the lack of basic facilities available to these people who were living well below the
poverty line, but still remained outwardly cheerful and friendly.

“Almost all the children were well dressed, one or two wearing their HEAL school uniforms,
but we discovered that hundreds of them were not even able to attend school at all.

“The timing of our visit coincided with an event which further highlighted the difficulties
faced by these people. Only 24 hours before our arrival, a stray flame had set one of the
homes built from dried palm leaves and bamboo alight.

Matthew with an elderly lady whose home was destroyed by fire

“The family which lived there, including an elderly lady and small children, was forced to
sleep out in the open after their house and very few possessions, mostly brightly-coloured
clothes, had been destroyed.

“We did our best to help before returning to the Children’s Village and I don’t mind
admitting that a few tears were shed before we felt able to rejoin our Cycle India team-
mates.”

Jem made a short film of the township visit which can be found at www.walesonline/news/need-to-
read, where you can also read his article.

If you would like to find out more about how you can sponsor a poverty trap child from as
little as £9.50 a month, go to our home page and simply click on the Sponsor a Child button.
And please sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates and news of all HEAL’s
projects in India.
Photgraphs by Peter Tantram

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Posted in Child Sponsorship India, Cycle India 2010, Cycle India 2012, Heal Children's Village, Poverty Trap, Sponsor-A-Child India | No Comments »

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

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Posted in Charity Bike Rides, Charity Events, Cycle India 2012, Cycle India 2014, Fundraising, Heal india, Heal Paradise Village, Heal UK, Heal USA | No Comments »

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

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Posted in Charity Bike Rides, Child Sponsorship India, Cycle India 2012, Heal Children's Village, Sponsor-A-Child India | No Comments »

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.

Posted in Charity Bike Rides, Cycle India 2012, Heal Paradise Village | No Comments »

Hospital makes a healthy donation to HEAL

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

NAGARJUNA Hospital in Vijayawada, organisers of the first Cycle India event in 2008, have underlined their support for HEAL by donating 350,000 rupees (approx £4,500) towards the construction of a Health Centre at the Paradise Village project.

During Cycle India 2012 the riders paid a visit to the hospital and were shown some of the wards and facilities ahead of a press conference where a cheque was presented to the HEAL delegation by Nagarjuna’s managing director and chairman, Dr K Jagan Mohan Rao.

Dr K Jagan Mohan Rao and staff at the Nagarjuna Hospital

“We promise that we will render our support to HEAL Paradise, which is a prestigious project,” said Dr Rao.

“We are proud to be associated with you and recall the fond memories of our participation in the first ever Cycle India trip in January 2008, when 50 volunteers, including 10 doctors from Nagarjuna Hospital participated in the event.”

The hospital, which includes HEAL founder Dr Koneru Prasad among its directors, has offered to support and maintain the Paradise Health Centre, part of the first phase of buildings currently under construction at nearby Thotapally.

Explaining the importance of improved healthcare in the region, Dr Rao added: “Our hospital has emerged as the first hospital in the region to start the quality journey towards improving client satisfaction, quality care and safety.

“In recent years we have modernised; buildings have been built, transformed or remodeled. Constantly evolving medical technology is accommodated by growing facilities. Yet the heart of the hospital remains the same – the dedicated staff, the doctors, nurses, technicals, pharmacists, clerical staff and housekeepers.

“Hundreds of employees arrive every day and night to offer their individual skills and the best of themselves to the mission of healing and comforting the sick.”

Supporting HEAL, he said, allowed the hospital to reach out to the region’s poorer individuals and families, many of whom cannot even afford basic healthcare.

“All the clubs, the guest houses, the swimming pools, the airports which are seen and used by tourists, all these are only available to 10 per cent of the population; 90 per cent are still below the poverty line,” he said.

“The Nagarjuna Hospital is therefore happy that our donation will be diverted to the building of the Health Centre at HEAL Paradise as per the wishes of our staff and management.”

The cheque was accepted on behalf of HEAL by Dr Prasad, Matthew Glover, head of fundraising in the UK, and HEAL India’s Ram Yadav and Dhana Prakash.

Posted in Charity Donations, Cycle India 2012, Heal Paradise Village | No Comments »

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.

Posted in Charity Bike Rides, Child Sponsorship India, Children's Stories, Childrens Achievements, Cycle India 2012, Heal india, Heal UK, Kanuru School, Sponsor-A-Child India | No Comments »

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!”

Posted in Charity Bike Rides, Charity Events, Child Sponsorship India, Cycle India 2012, Cycle India 2014, Fundraising, Heal Children's Village, Heal Paradise Village, Sponsor-A-Child India, Volunteers | No Comments »

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