Helping Children on India's Scrap Heaps......

presented by Anita Cole  7th September 2022 

Recorded by Rick Purnell

This year, the El Shaddai Charitable Trust celebrated 25 years of dedicated service creating a network of institutions in Goa, India to improve the lot of homeless and destitute children.

The co-founder Anita Cole visited Teignmouth Probus Club with an enlightening presentation of the aims and achievements of the charity from its foundation to the extensive network of rescue centres, schools & technical training academies. 

On a visit to India Anita by chance met co-founder Matthew Kurian and both wanted to ‘do something’ for the host of very young homeless orphans trying to survive in the squalor of the rubbish tips desperately trying to survive by recycling scrap sorted from the tip rubbish.

Being ‘untouchables’ in the Indian caste system there was no state care at that time. Anita set upon the mission of raising funds to pay for a refuge in Goa to take children off the tips to care for, feed, clothe and educate so that on adulthood were sufficiently skilled to earn a living and be self-supporting.

The ‘helped’ children voluntarily contribute a small part of their earnings to support the charity. There have been many benefactors of consequence along the way and Anita particularly mentioned the late Thomas Cook Travel Agents who most generously provided Anita with free flights around the world to aid her fundraising efforts and making more of her collections going to the charity rather than on travel expenses.

The organisation is very efficient as a £1 a day will support a child for a home, sustenance and education from rescue ‘off the streets and hell-hole refuse dumps’ to getting employment on becoming of age.

So little goes so far. The appeal for support was well received by the members including many useful items to purchase made by those supported in Goa.

More information  visit https://childrescue.net/our-story/

The vote of thanks for this heartfelt work was given by member Steve Battersby.

Our next speaker is by Andy Monk with a talk “Aspects of Powderham”  

The Photo shows Anita & John Cole of the El Shaddai Trust