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.