Tara runs 8 in 8
8 marathons. 8 days.
The Campaign
We did it! Thanks to your generosity we have smashed the fundraising target of £5000!
The kindergarten is enrolling its first intake, and £5000 of the money raised means they will be able to accept 45 children, knowing that all the costs of their lessons, hot meals, books and uniforms are covered for a whole year.
It gets better! The combined total of both my page and Leo's now stands at over £8000, and with the added gift aid, the Yoga Mission is going to receive well over £10,000! This is a huge sum of money, and especially in India, will go a very long way and make a huge difference so many, many lives. The extra money is going where there is the most need: to sponsor residential children, taking them off the streets, offering them a home and a nurturing and positive learning environment, as well as regular meals, clothing, toys and books. Donations are still coming in, but after the kindergarten is paid for, it looks as though we have raised enough to sponsor 8 boys for the next year. That is eight lives that will be transformed, not to mention all the lives that these children will touch as they grow up to make a valuable contribution to their local community.
The first children to benefit from your generosity are currently enrolling at Chandramauli. Some of their stories will appear here soon, so keep checking back to see how your donation will touch their lives.
How I came to know about the Chandramauli Trust
Lucy Guest and I went to the same school, although not at the same time. I first heard about her work through the alumnae magazine which I edited at the time.
Lucy's story first featured in 2010, and there have been two updates since. You can read the articles here:
The total is still rising
There is still time to donate. Every penny helps. Just one pound will pay for five hours of teaching.
That's longer than it takes to run a marathon.
www.justgiving.com/tararuns8in8
What is the Yoga Mission?
The Yoga Mission runs three projects educating children and adults in Varanasi, a city situated in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is one of four Indian states which the UN has declared to be poorer than the 40 poorest African countries added together.
The Yoga Mission does not simply provide children with literacy skills: it offers a stable, nurturing environment for children who, for many reasons, are in need. An alarming report by UNESCO recently concluded that 90% of Indian children are illiterate, even those who attend state-run schools. Girls are the most likely to miss out on an education, and the Yoga Mission aims to reverse this trend by employing a largely female staff in order to offer a safe and non-threatening learning environment to female pupils. This has the added benefit of providing jobs for local women (many of them former pupils themselves) so that they can support themselves, while being able to pay for their own further education.
The Yoga Mission is based in a purpose-built school in the city. Here they offer their holistic education to children 'after school', offering classes in subjects necessary for a modern education: English, computer science, mathematics, as well as traditional subjects such as the ancient language of Sanskrit. This combination of modern education deeply rooted in the Vedic tradition teaches the children moral and spiritual values, and gives them every opportunity to pull themselves and their families out of the poverty trap, whilst keeping them in touch with their culture and roots.
The second project is a residential school for children who live too far away to walk to school every day, or who do not have a stable family home. Currently there are 29 residents, all boys. They do not yet have beds, but sleep on the floor of the dining hall. There are fifty more boys on a waiting list. There are plans to build two hostels near to the school in the near future: one for boys and one for girls.
The third project is the one that I have chosen to support. Lucy has plans to open a kindergarten on the school site, providing tuition, nutritious meals and safe transport to and from school (to ensure safety and attendance) for 45 pre-school children.
The earlier that children have the opportunity to learn, the better habits they will form and the more they will benefit from both the Indian state education, and the opportunities offered by the Yoga Mission. We have the opportunity here to make a difference to the futures of hundreds of children.
It is not a case of 'them and us'. We all live in the same world. Let's change it.
DONATE NOW AT: www.justgiving.com/tararuns8in8