Frishta News - Issue 12 - Spring 2008
Welcome to our Spring 2008 edition of Frishta News.
It's a big occasion as this is the last Newsletter before
the Studleys depart for India on 19th March.
The Frishta family has now grown to 643.
A very special welcome to our 65 new readers!
Nigel Studley writes:
D-Day finally arrives!
At last the big day has arrived and we are packing our bags for India. It is something that has seemed so far away for so long that now that it is upon us, it's a little hard to believe. It's worth recapping what the big steps have been since the first seed of an idea was planted that has become the Frishta vision for a children's village:
- Feb 1999 1st trip to India – thought of helping to keep a small school open
- Mar 2000 Travelled more widely and saw the greater needs of street kids
- Sep 2002 Purchased 8.5 acres of land in Punjab, North India
- 2003 Set up Frishta School &Orphanage charity (Oct) with friends
- Sep 2004 www.frishta.org.uk developed &launched by Raj Mistry
- 2005 Birmingham Dinner raised £25k; became Frishta Children's Home
- 2006 Settled on a 'children's village' concept, including school &clinic
- 2007 Changed to Frishta Children's Village; total funds raised £228K
- 2008 Begin construction, staff recruitment and decide on children
- 2009 Official opening of first home.
Other milestones I would pick out are: in December 2004 we received our first big donation of £1,500 from the Gymkhana Golf society and since then we have received large gifts from generous donors and our first major grant of £15,000 from the Waterloo Foundation. Our first Friend of Frishta, Julia Flegg, signed up in September 2004, today we have over 70 regular donors. The first needy children we started helping were Shardha and her orphan family (the inspiration for my poem 'Two Worlds?'); today Frishta sponsors support seven other children.
Although so much has been achieved with your help, we have barely started and the really hard (and rewarding) work is still ahead of us.
Your continued prayers and support are needed more than ever! And remember because of your faithful and continued support you share in all that is being and will be achieved.
Reflections on Leaving for India
"I know what we are doing is but a drop in the ocean, but because we do it, the ocean is smaller by one drop."
Mother Teresa
Many people have asked me about how I feel about leaving the UK for India: "Am I excited? What will you miss? How long will you go for? How will you adjust?". I think one of the most challenging things will not be dealing with builders or 'officialdom', but the conditions and the oppression in which so many children live every day.
There was a scene I witnessed in Punjab last year that is burned deep into my consciousness. I have not spoken about it in talks I have given as the emotions are too strong to handle, but writing about it is an easier way to keep them under control...
I was walking into the shopping centre of Sector 17, Chandigarh, crossing some bare earth in a hurry to get into the covered area shaded from the noonday sun, when I became aware of something moving along the ground to my right. I turned to see a young disabled person, a girl I think, shuffling along the ground. My immediate impression was of a large black spider and I'm ashamed to say that I recoiled at the sight of her severely deformed legs and arms and I kept walking quickly on my way and in the opposite direction in a state of shock.
I hadn't gone more than 50 yds, when I came to my senses and realised what I was doing. My feelings were not just revulsion, but horror at her pitiful and dependent state that reduced her to begging to survive. I felt her pain, her rejection: What does she feel? What is it like to watch people walk by be ignored hour after hour? How does she keep going each day? I longed to reach out to this child, but not being able to speak her language all I could think of was to buy her some food which I quickly took back to her. I had seen blind and disabled children begging before, but none affected me like this poor girl. In the afternoon when I met some friends I was still upset as I retold my encounter and asked how could Society allow this. Their perspective was quite different - this was 'normal' for India.
A few days later when I visited the local Sisters of Charity (Mother Teresa) Home that specialises in helping disabled children, I asked the Sister in charge if she could help this child. She said there was no need as the child was able to beg and therefore survive: they had to concentrate on even needier children.
Her response may seem harsh, but it taught me that Frishta cannot help every child and as we prepare to travel to India it is something that I will need to come to terms with, but those whom we can help, we will help to the best of our ability. My motivation to learn Punjabi &Hindi is not primarily to converse with builders or shopkeepers, but to be able to return to Sector 17 to sit and talk with that girl and children like her.
"It is not the threat of death, illness, hardship, or poverty that crushes the human spirit; it is the fear of being alone and unloved in the universe."
Anthony Welsh
Tough Guy with a Big Heart
In the last Frishta news I challenged readers to contact us with any novel fundraising ideas that Frishta could benefit from. Well Greg Hayes, a colleague from HSBC, rose to the challenge as he explains below...
'On 27 January I took part in what is billed as the 'original survival ordeal', a test of mental and physical endurance known as Tough Guy, held near Wolverhampton.
Having watched friends complete the course in January 2007, it only took until about June before the rose-tinted glasses of memory persuaded me that it wasn't so bad and I should take part in the next event. Training consisted of continuing to play rugby, hitting the treadmill and, erm, thinking about it a great deal too!
The day soon came round and we were blessed with some fine weather, not too cold and thankfully not too windy. But this didn't detract from what lay ahead - a 'country run' followed by a muddy, filthy, wet assault course. Running the course there was great camaraderie between the competitors, with everyone helping each other wherever possible and marshals and spectators alike providing encouragement all the way through.
I finished in a time of 2 hours 27 minutes and must say that I enjoyed the experience immensely, even crawling through the 'Vietcong tunnels', which at 6'4" and 17 stones could have proved slightly claustrophobic!
I am delighted to have raised nearly £2,500 for Frishta and have been glad to raise awareness of the efforts of Nigel, his family and colleagues and wish him all the best when he moves out to India later in 2008.'
A world fit for children
In 2002, the United Nations General Assembly adopted "A world fit for children" resolution to reaffirm the UN's obligation to take action to promote and protect the rights of each child. It called upon all members of society to help to build a world fit for children by following the principles and objectives below:
Put children first. In all actions related to children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration. - Eradicate poverty: invest in children. We reaffirm our vow to break the cycle of poverty. Investments in children and the realization of their rights are among the most effective ways to eradicate poverty.
- Leave no child behind. Each girl and boy is born free and equal in dignity and rights; therefore, all forms of discrimination affecting children must end.
- Care for every child. Children must get the best possible start in life. Their survival, protection, growth and development in good health and with proper nutrition are the essential foundation of human development.
- Educate every child. All girls and boys must have access to and complete primary education that is free, compulsory and of good quality as a cornerstone of an inclusive basic education.
- Protect children from harm and exploitation. Children must be protected against any acts of violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination.
- Protect children from war. Children must be protected from the horrors of armed conflict.
- Combat HIV/AIDS. Children and their families must be protected from the devastating impact of (HIV/AIDS).
- Listen to children and ensure their participation. Children and adolescents are resourceful citizens capable of helping to build a better future for all. We must respect their right to express themselves and to participate in all matters affecting them, in accordance with their age and maturity.
- Protect the earth for children. We must safeguard our natural environment, with its diversity of life, its beauty and its resources, all of which enhance the quality of life, for present and future generations.
In line with these principles and objectives, a Plan of Action was adopted to build a world in which all girls and boys can enjoy childhood - a time of play and learning, in which they are loved, respected and cherished, their rights are promoted and protected, without discrimination of any kind, in which their safety and well-being are paramount and in which they can develop in health, peace and dignity
If you want the full details click on the link below… http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/docs_new/documents/A-RES-S27-2E.pdf
Who do I speak to when Nigel's gone?
Although I will of course still be contactable via email (nigel@frishta.org.uk) after departing for India, here's a reminder of who the main contact points are in Frishta in the UK. All can be contacted through the info@frishta.org.uk email address and the query will be routed to them:
Chairman: Dr William Atkinson
Secretary: Martin Harris
Treasurer: Jim Weiss
Fundraising Coordinator: Susan Liow
Sponsored Runs: Joe Hammond
Accountant: Sandra Yankson
Frishta's contact address & Tel. no. for fundraising and general issues has also changed to:
5 Saltfield Crescent, Luton, LU4 9NU / 01582 514120.
...and if you haven't yet seen it, here's another plug for my leaving present donation web page. All money raised will go towards play equipment: slide, swings and climbing frame for children in the Frishta village. Thank you www.bmycharity.com/byebyenigel
Child sponsorship for less than 70p a day,
but the life you give... priceless
Frishta hits the media
Just recently Frishta received good publicity in print and on TV:
• The Wharf Newspaper: front page pre-Christmas article & editorial links
• BBC TV: Trash to Cash programme, to be shown in May (day-time TV).
2008 British 10K London run
We still have a few of our guaranteed places left for the 2008 British 10K London run on Sunday, 6th July. So how about entering our Frishta team? (Contact Joe Hammond on Tel. 0208 560 5040 or joehammond@blueyonder.co.uk) or sponsoring one the plucky runners...
Erika Kottiath www.bmycharity.com/erikakottiath
Harjit Singh Gill www.bmycharity.com/harjitsinghgill
And to close...
"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."
Matthew 18:10
A little while back I read something that reminded me of the vision of Frishta which is portrayed in our logo designed by Frishta Trustee Martin Harris. 'One day a friend of Michelangelo saw him working on a piece of marble he had found on a rubbish dump near Rome. When the friend asked the famous sculptor what he was doing he replied, "There's an Angel inside and I'm going to bring him out." How wonderful! From rubbish to a masterpiece. From a reject to something of great value.' That is exactly the vision of Frishta. We believe that no child is beyond hope and that although outside they appear rough, dirty, or disabled, on the inside is a beautiful Angel waiting to be revealed.
How to become a Friend of Frishta
Nigel Studley
Help us spread the word about Frishta's vision of Giving street children a home, an education, a hope and a future. If you have found this newsletter interesting, please forward it to a friend.
If you have any comments, questions or offers of help, please contact us – details opposite – or email us at the address info@frishta.org.uk
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Registered Charity No. 1100368
Mark 10:14-16