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Archive for the ‘Heal UK’ Category

Author’s talk will benefit HEAL children

Monday, May 13th, 2013

AUTHOR Rosie Thomas will discuss her latest book The Kashmir Shawl and how her love of travel and adventure has inspired much of her writing, in a talk to be held to be held as part of the Oundle Festival of Literature, at St Peter’s Church, Oundle on June 21 (7.30pm). Profits from this event will go to HEAL.

Once she was established as a writer and her children had grown up, Rosie discovered a love of travelling and mountaineering. She has climbed in the Alps and the Himalayas, competed in the Peking to Paris car rally, spent time on a tiny Bulgarian research station in Antarctica and travelled the ‘silk road’ through Asia.

Author Rosie Thomas

While researching her latest book Rosie travelled the same routes as the ancient pashmina trade, crossing the Himalayas from Ladakh to the Vale of Srinagar in Kashmir.

The Kashmir Shawl, winner of the RNA Epic Romantic Novel Award 2012, is described as an epic tale of bravery, courage, and great love, spanning three generations.

Rosie is one of only a few authors to have twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists’ Association, in 1985 with Sunrise, and in 2007 with Iris and Ruby. Other well-known bestsellers by the same author include Sun at Midnight and Constance.

HEAL are delighted that their charity was chosen to benefit from this event, with all proceeds going direct to their projects for providing education and shelter to severely underprivileged children in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Tickets for the talk, priced at £7 and £5, are available from Oundle Box Office (tel 01832 274734) and online at www.oundlefestival.org.uk. Any queries, contact Helen Shair at oundlelitfestival@hotmail.co.uk or telephone 01832 274134.

Here is a brief synopsis of The Kashmir Shawl:
Newlywed Nerys Watkins leaves rural Wales for the first time to accompany her husband on a missionary posting to India. Deep in the exquisite heart of 1940s Kashmir lies the lakeside city of Srinagar, where the British live on carved wooden houseboats and dance, flirt and gossip as if there is no war. But the battles draw closer, and life in Srinagar becomes less frivolous when the men are sent away to fight. Nerys is caught up in a dangerous friendship, and by the time she is reunited with her husband, the innocent Welsh bride has become a different woman.
Years later, when Mair Ellis clears out her father’s house, she finds an exquisite antique shawl, a lock of child’s hair wrapped within its folds. Tracing her grandparents’ roots back to Kashmir, Mair embarks on a quest that will change her life forever.

‘A spellbinding tale. Beautifully written, honest and compassionate…a delight from start to finish. Thomas’ portrayal of a young wife struggling to cope with life in wartime Kashmir, her husband’s indifference to her and her attraction to a charismatic mountaineer is beautifully written, touching and believable.’
Daily Express

‘A superbly researched and vivid evocation of wartime Kashmir and Ladakh – and fascinating, too, on how the pashmina shawl makes its way from the Himalayas to our high streets.’
Daily Mail

The Kashmir Shawl is published by Harper Collins and available in paperback, price £7.99.

Going the extra mile for HEAL

Tuesday, March 5th, 2013

ONE fundraiser is determined to go the extra mile for HEAL when he takes part in a long-distance event this June.

“This race promises to be an epic adventure,” says police officer Paul Harris. “It goes beyond marathon running and into the realms of ultra-endurance racing.

Paul Harris sets off on a training run

“It is called ‘The Wall’, running 69 miles along Hadrian’s wall, spanning from Carlisle Castle to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. It’s a big, elite event and I’m so pleased to be running for HEAL.”

Paul has never even run a marathon, so how does he think he will cope with a race almost three times as long?

“Well, the time limit is 24 hours, but I’m personally aiming to complete it in 16,” he says.

The Wall ultra-run alongside Hadrian's Wall

“Having never run a marathon, this means some serious training and a massive amount of time and dedication. I run four to five times a week and have already clocked over 250 miles in two months.

“I want to earn as much as possible for HEAL as I feel it is a very worthy cause.

“I have obtained a text donation number, text WALL98 and then the amount to 70070, and anyone wishing to support me can visit my HEAL fundraising page at www.justgiving.com/Paul-Harris26.”

The Wall, which was held for the first time last year with 800 people participants, takes place over a mixed-terrain route that incorporates both on and off-road sections and some stunning countryside.

To learn more about the event Paul will be taking part in watch this short video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8U6wDbhpRY

Have a great night out in support of HEAL

Monday, January 7th, 2013

THE stunning VIP Lounge in Edgware, Middlesex, will be the venue for a Charity Dinner & Dance to be held in aid of HEAL on Friday, February 15.

The VIP Lounge in High Street, Edgware

A night of good food, entertainment and dancing is promised by the event organisers, husband and wife Ash and Rakhi Dhanani, with all profits going to help HEAL’s work with disadvantaged children in Andhra Pradesh.

The VIP Lounge in Edgware High Street boasts impressive modern facilities and is a popular venue for banquets, weddings, conferences and formal dinners.

For the ticket price of £35, guests will be welcomed with drinks and canapés from 7pm-8pm, followed by entertainment from the ‘LoveTheBeat’ dancers, a buffet dinner and dancing.

“It should be a wonderful evening and anyone wishing to attend can get in touch with myself or Ash directly to buy tickets via email, facebook or telephone,” says Rakhi.

“We very much hope people will come along and support our fundraising dinner/dance, with 100 per cent of the profits being donated to HEAL, who are committed to providing shelter, support, education and healthcare for needy children in India.”

To purchase tickets please email ashkievents@gmail.com or telephone Ash and Rakhi on 07540 306714 or 07894 080030.

HEAL Paradise reaches out to community

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

HEAL founder/president Dr Satya Prasad Koneru paid a visit to the Paradise site to check on recent progress and attend a foundation stone-laying ceremony at the Institute for Visually Challenged, Vocational Training Centre and school dormitories.

“That was a good day for us,” reported site manager Mastan Ann. “We were pleased also to show that the primary school building has been raising up and up, while locations have been marked up for the dorms ready for piling work to start.

“In addition to that, HEAL has been conducting activities to develop a good local relationship, including a free health camp and the distribution of school equipment to local children.”

Dr Prasad was pleased to report back to this month’s HEAL AGM on the progress being made with the Paradise project and announced his intention to return early in the new year.

He said that despite delays caused by a shortage of raw materials and poor weather conditions, Paradise remained on course to take in its first batch of students in the summer of 2013.

During his stay, Dr Prasad joined members of HEAL India and other guests in planting more than 40 fruit-bearing plants in the Paradise grounds. Plans are also in hand for the plantation of a banana garden.

Dr Prasad was also delighted to present equipment, including free books, bags and geometry sets, to impoverished government schoolchildren as HEAL continues to forge strong links with the local community.

He also dropped in at a free HEAL paradise health camp, held in association with Ayush Hospitals, Sankara Eye Care and Partha Dental Hospital, and utilized by around 200 patients from surroundng villages.

HEAL children raise a glass to village choir

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

CHILDREN at the HEAL Village in Guntur are able to enjoy refreshing drinks from a newly-
installed water cooler, thanks to the generosity of a small village choir in Hampshire.

When the United Voices Choir, from Sandleheath, near Fordingbridge, raised £350 from their
first public performance in May, they contacted HEAL to ask how the money could best be
used for the benefit of the children at the Village.

Children at the HEAL Village in Guntur line up for a drink from their new water cooler

“We had already decided to give the proceeds to HEAL as one of our members had taken part
in Cycle India and it seemed such a good cause,” said choir spokeswoman Valerie Allpress.
“We wanted to know if there was some specific purpose which this money could be used for.”

HEAL sponsorship secretary Steve Sargent got to work and asked Children’s Village co-
ordinator Mrs Marudwathi how the money could best be spent for the comfort of the
children. She consulted with staff and a new water cooler was agreed upon.

The United Voices Choir perform at their fund-raising concert for HEAL

“The machine which was installed by a previous donor many years ago had been defunct for a
long time, so refreshingly cold drinks were not available,” said Steve. “Between April and
July the midday temperatures often reach 40 to 45 degrees so this item will be a real
benefit to the children and make their lives more comfortable.

“The smiling faces of the children lining up for a glass of cold water say it all. You
cannot imagine what a luxury this is for them. The chance of a drink of clean water,
cooled by the machine which the choir has kindly donated is a dream come true.”

Having started out with just a handful of singers and a pianist, the United Voices Choir
has grown over the past year and now has members of all ages, including mothers with young
children, grandparents and one great-grandmother.

After deciding to give a public performance on the eve of the Queen’s Jubilee, the choir
were joined by a local group of handbell ringers, while friends served cream teas and
cakes afterwards.

“To our amazement the church was packed and we raised £350 and, what’s more, everyone was
very complimentary,” said Valerie. “As it was just before the Jubilee, we finished our
concert with Rule Britannia with lots of flag waving.

A message of thanks from the children at HEAL Village to the United Voices Choir

“When we started the choir, we did not anticipate what a happy group it was going to be.
We have all made new friends and enjoy each other’s company.

“The choir have seen the photos of the children lining up at the water cooler and we are
all delighted that our singing has brought about an improvement in their lives.”

Donate a tree for HEAL Paradise Village

Monday, October 15th, 2012

WORK is well under way on the first phase of construction of HEAL’s eco-friendly
children’s village, named ‘Paradise’, which will provide a home for 1,000 orphaned
and underprivileged children from Andhra Pradesh and other parts of India.

The village, which is located in a beautiful rural setting at Thotophalli in the
Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh, will be a safe haven where children can be
nurtured in a self-sustaining and mutually beneficial community.

Using recyclable materials and ‘green’ technologies, Paradise will be made up not
only of a school and accommodation, but a health centre, a care home for the
elderly, an institute for the blind and facilities for sports and art.

But the village is not just about bricks and mortar. Those fortunate enough to
have visited the site nestled between the stunning expanse of Lake Brahmalingam, a
haven for wildlife, and canals providing irrigation for the local farming
communities, quickly realise where Paradise found its name.

Entirely self-contained and secluded from the busy highway that connects the
village to the city of Vijayawada, the site provides a perfect setting for the
harmonious growth and development of the children who will come to call it home.

An array of sustainable techniques and systems like solar and wind power,
Hydroponic vegetables gardens and solar cooking are incorporated within the site’s
design proposals, including the recycling of waste materials to create energy.

The village will have extensive green cover and planting of fruit bearing and
shady trees has already been started, increasing the scope for self-sustainability.

During a recent visit to the site, HEAL volunteers Becky Curbishley and Charlotte
Boardman were delighted to be asked to assist with the planting operation.

Volunteers Becky and Charlotte plant coconut trees during their visit to HEAL Paradise Village

“We were among the first volunteers to visit the developing Heal Paradise site –
and what a paradise it is, a perfect location in which to expand the Heal family,”
said UK medical student Charlotte.

“We felt extremely privileged to be asked to plant some of the first trees on the
site. Of course, we will now have to return in the future to see our flourishing
coconut trees!”

HEAL will build fruit and vegetable gardens on the Paradise grounds. This produce
will be used to sustain not only the village, but any surplus can be taken to a
daily market and sold to the locals as both fair and organic.

Keen to encourage local wildlife and offer shade from the hot sun, HEAL will also
be planting hundreds of trees around the site and this gives an opportunity for
donors to come forward and help cover the cost of this operation.

Anyone wishing to donate £100 towards the cost of planting and maintaining a tree
will have a plaque with their name on it placed alongside the tree.

The vision for Paradise Village is that it will be fully self-sustaining,
embracing green technology wherever possible. Therefore, HEAL is also looking for
donors to help purchase 40 solar street lights at a cost of £350, or $600, each.
Every street light will have a plaque mounted on it thanking the donor.

If you are interested in further information, please click on the ‘Donate Online’
button at the top of the website www.healparadise.org and one of the trustees of
HEAL UK will contact you to discuss your donation to the HEAL Paradise Village.

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/

Child poverty motivates Cardiff student’s run for HEAL

Saturday, October 6th, 2012

A CARDIFF medical student says that every step he runs in next weekend’s Cardiff Half Marathon he will be thinking of the children who stand to benefit from him taking part.

Amrit Dhadda, a 20-year-old student at Cardiff University, completed last year’s half marathon in Wales’s capital city in around two hours and is looking to shave 20 minutes off his time from 12 months ago.

But his real motivation, he says, is raising funds for HEAL (Health and Education for All), after being inspired by the charity’s work in placing severely disadvantaged children in India into education for the past 20 years.

Amrit Dhadda, competing in last year's Cardiff Half Marathon

“HEAL’s mission is to give orphaned or underprivileged children shelter, healthcare and an all-important education, in an effort to break the vicious ‘poverty trap’ cycle,” says Amrit.

“More than a third of the world’s malnourished children live in India – and the UN has estimated every year more than two million children die before reaching the age of five – mostly from preventable childhood diseases.

“Living in the UK, it’s so easy to take for granted the opportunities that we are given, and to go through life encountering the problems which are thrown in our path which seem so huge whilst we’re going through them – when in reality many are so minor compared to the millions of underprivileged children living in places like India.

“All the money raised goes directly to projects in India as all staff involved in the administration of HEAL are volunteers.

“Running this Half Marathon is going to be tough – but it’s going to be incomparable to what millions of children in places like India are going through.

“I will be wearing a HEAL t-shirt during the run so I hope people will notice me and perhaps make a small donation – even if it’s not much it will do a lot to these children who have nothing.

“I am so honoured to run for such a worthwhile cause. When I came across HEAL I knew instantly that this was the charity I wanted to support and run for – the great work that the charity does is so inspiring and every step I run I will think of the children that will be better off.

“Doing the degree I do I understand how invaluable good healthcare is and how small interventions can make such a difference, as well as the fact that my heritage is from India, makes this charity personal for me.”

Donations to HEAL can be made through Amrit’s fund-raising page at www.justgiving.com/amrit-dhadda0.

India Night marks HEAL’s 20th anniversary

Tuesday, August 7th, 2012

HEAL will celebrate two decades of transforming young lives through education when it holds its annual India Night get-together at The Cressett in Peterborough on October 6.

Dr Satya Prasad Koneru founded the charity Health and Education for All (HEAL) in 1992 with a mission to offer hope to needy children in his native India by equipping them with the tools to become masters of their own destiny.

Determined to break the seemingly constant cycle of poverty in his former home state of Andhra Pradesh, Dr Prasad has used HEAL to provide shelter, health care and an all-important education to hundreds of orphaned, abandoned and destitute children, knowing that this was the only way to make a lasting change in their lives.

And judging by recent success stories coming out of the Children’s Village in Guntur, HEAL’s supporters and sponsors are already seeing the fruits of their labour.

Children who came to HEAL from all manner of deprived backgrounds years ago are emerging as fully-rounded young adults, ready to stand on their own two feet, often seeking further education and looking to put something back into their communities.

HEAL now has around 1,000 children in its ever-growing family and is marking the charity’s 20th anniversary by embarking on its most ambitious scheme yet, the creation of HEAL Paradise Village.

Work has already begun on the £3m project, which will not only become a focal point for the local community in Thotaphalli, near Vijayawada, but home to 1,000 more severely under-privileged children, saving them from a life of poverty, ill health and deprivation.

All the monies raised from the HEAL India Night will go directly to the Paradise Village project and those attending will hear details of the progress already being made in Thotaphalli.

Tickets for the event are £20 (£15 for under-16s) and Dr Prasad is hoping to raise even more than the £6,700 that was made by last year’s Autumn Ball.

“The Autumn Ball was a change to the HEAL India Nights of previous years and it was good to see some new faces among our many regular attendees,” said Dr Prasad.

“This year’s event will be slightly less formal, but equally important in raising money which will make such a difference to hundreds of children’s lives.

“Fund-raising is obviously one of our main objectives, especially with work already well under way on Paradise Village, but we thoroughly enjoy getting together as part of the fellowship of HEAL.”

As well as authentic Indian food and musical entertainment, guests will hear the experiences of volunteers, including a child sponsor, who recently spent time visiting the Children’s Village in Guntur.

For ticket enquiries please call Helen Rome on 07863 178679.

HEAL students facing a rosier future

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

LONG-TERM sponsors of children at the HEAL Village in Guntur are seeing some remarkable results from their generosity and dedication to providing needy children with an education.

Children from some of the poorest backgrounds imaginable continue to demonstrate through HEAL that poverty is no barrier to achieving success if they are only given the chance to show what they can do.

HEAL is dedicated to providing schooling to as many severely underprivileged children as possible in order to give them the tools in life to build a stronger future not only for themselves, but for their families and their communities.

Many HEAL sponsors have supported their allocated youngsters right through from primary school age and are now reaping the rewards as they see them entering adulthood with every hope of a bright and prosperous future.

Many of these children came to the HEAL Village having lost one or both parents at a very early age, others were abandoned by mothers trapped in poverty and unable to cope, and all were facing the bleakest of futures.

But those same children now have a far rosier outlook after being given shelter, healthcare and an all-important education, and many are now ready to go on to further education where they will continue to be supported by the HEAL family.

The latest round of exam results out of Bala Kuteer School are a tribute not only to the hard-working children, but to the dedicated team of adminstrators of the HEAL Village, including teachers and house mothers.

Senior administrator at the Village, Mrs Marudwathi, was proud to announce that all HEAL children passed the 10th public board examinations with good grades – and could not wait to inform HEAL founder Dr Satya Prasad Koneru back in the UK.

“Immediately after the 10th results were announced I shared the exciting and happy news of these good results with Dr Satya Prasad and other members of the HEAL family,” she said.

“This year the Government abolished the system of giving marks to avoid unnecessary tensions and unhealthy competition. Instead it has given grade points and I am delighted to say that all HEAL Children passed the examination with good grade points.

“A special mention should go to Koteswara Naik, a Residential child, and Ramya, a Poverty Trap child, who each got 9.8 grade points, on a par with an English medium paid school. We feel very proud of them.”

Mrs Marudwathi was also keen to highlight the exam successes of children from very poor local rural families, supported through HEAL’s Poverty Trap scheme.

“HEAL is supporting 200 more children studying in our Nandana Rural School under the Poverty Trap scheme,” she said. “All these children are from the surrounding stone quarries, jinning mills, spinning mills etc and some of them used to work in the fields at a very young age. I am very happy to share the news of their wonderful success in the 10th public board examination also.”

Nandana is a Rural Free School where 450 children are given free education, books, clothes and a midday meal.

Many of them would never have had the opportunity to receive an education without the financial support of HEAL and the charity is urgently seeking more sponsors to support this and other poverty trap projects.

To see how you can help, please contact HEAL UK via the home page of our website at heal.co.uk