Frishta News - Issue 6 - May 2006

Welcome supporters and Friends of Frishta to a very full Frishta Newsletter. We want to share with YOU how the street children's new homes are moving closer to coming into existence. Hope you enjoy the read...

Research Trip to India (4th-22nd April 2006)

Main achievements

• I met with our Architect Christopher Benninger and discussed the completion of the land survey and the building of boundary fencing.
• Engaged a Civil Engineer to complete the Land Survey and obtain estimates and oversee the construction of the boundary fencing, and also instructed a Property Consultant to resolve encroachment, 'change of use' issues and act for us in our absence.
• Met with Mohit Bakshi who is going to help with promoting Frishta to Indian businesses, colleges and individual potential supporters
• Obtained advice on House Parent duties from staff at Good Shepherd Homes.
• Met executives of HSBC India in Mumbai to discuss support for Frishta as part of HSBC's global street children project.
• Visited existing children homes and villages in Rajpura (Punjab), Bawana (Nr. Delhi), central Delhi and Pune (Maharashta). The visits confirmed that small family homes is the most appropriate and successful model.
• Researched local school admissions and fees in Chandigarh & Panchkula.
• Met with other charities: Asha Slum Project, CRY (Child Rights & You) and POD (Personal Overseas Development, www.thepodsite.co.uk) to obtain advice and assistance.

During the three week trip, I travelled many hundreds of miles and I was struck by the huge amount of building going on - India is certainly developing fast, but there are still many who are being left behind. I encountered child beggars in streets during the day and in railway stations late into the night. The condition of these uncared for children contrasted dramatically with the happy, healthy children in the homes I visited...

IMAGES:
Opposite: street children
Above: former street children in a shelter

• Children in Britain helping street children in India

• Viking Primary School, Yeading, London
  On March 16th I spoke at two assemblies at Viking Primary where I am a School Governor. The children with the help of teachers, made Angel shaped containers from Yoghurt drink bottles to collect donations. Efforts will continue throughout the Summer term, but so far £150 has been raised - well done and thank you! Photo of the Frishta Viking School display is opposite.
• Our Lady of the Wayside School, Solihull, Birmingham
  The following is an excellent report written by OLW schoolchildren Sian Kelly, Marie Kelly and Siobhan Ruhan, aged 10...

'Our Lady of the Wayside School supports a number of charities and campaigns each year. For Lent 2006 we continued our work for a school community in Rwanda, for a local charity in Birmingham and made a new commitment to help FRISHTA.

Mr. Studley's visit
On 17th March Mr. Studley visited our school and shared his plans with the children and staff in assembly, using photographs and drama. He explained how the charity aims to build up to six houses with room for street children to live in proper family homes. After assembly with the older children, Mr. Studley explained the project to the infants too, and then he came into our classroom to answer questions from the Year 5 children (aged 9-10) about his experiences in India, because we were studying India as part of our geography work last term.

Fundraising
In order to help Mr. Studley complete his project, Our Lady of the Wayside pupils held a fundraising day on 23rd March. It all began with assembly and prayers for the people we were working to help.
Then the children set up a variety of stalls that they had planned and organised themselves such as Soak Someone, Guess the name of the Teddy, football challenges and other entertainments together with stalls, selling cakes, sweets, toys and jewellery.

Wall of Hope
During the day, every child and member of staff painted a brick using primary colours and a pattern of their choice. A local stationer contributed towards the cost of the paint and hundreds of bricks were kindly donated by a local building firm. We collected money from friends and relations who sponsored us to decorate the bricks. These bricks will be used to form a Wall of Hope which is going to be built by one of the parents and situated in the school grounds. It will serve as a reminder of FRISHTA's building plans and the children whom we are hoping to help - see photo opposite.

Grand total
Through sponsorship and the other activities on the fundraising day we have collected the amazing amount of £2782.11! Our local Catholic secondary school also contributed and extra £500. We hope that this will be a real help to FRISHTA's project and we look forward to hearing some progress reports!

Thanks to Sue Townson, Head Teacher at Viking, OLW Head Teacher Bart O'Shea, RE Teacher Helena Madden and Governor Bernie Wollard. It has been a thrill to see the interest and involvement of the schoolchildren in the work of Frishta. They have identified very closely with the plight of children of their own age in India and the educational, social and global citizenship benefits should not be under estimated. What better example to us all is there, than children helping other (street) children?!

"All other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service that is rendered in the spirit of joy."
Mahatma Gandhi

Dressing Down and Sporting Support for Frishta

HFC Bank Dress down Day

Staff at HFC in Winkfield, Windsor took part in a charity dress down one Friday and raised a whopping £630, including the matching amount from HFC. Five new Friends of Frishta also signed up on the same day.

Running for Frishta!

Seven colleagues from HFC and HSBC Bank took part in the Hastings Half Marathon in aid of Frishta on 12th March. Ed Burn, Martin Cooper, Tom Morris, Simon Green, Andrew Wood, Stephen Turner and Marcus Cleverton all completed the gruelling race. Their efforts, including £ for £ matching by HSBC, is expected to raise more than £6,000 for Frishta - a fantastic effort. For more details, see the cutting below from the in-house newspaper, HFC Today.

Frishta Sporting Champions

Frishta supporter Mindy Dosanjh entered a Frishta Rounders team to the Sikh Vasakhi Mela in Coventry on 30th May. The team came 2nd, losing out by just a quarter point, but not to be outdone, quick-thinking Mindy put together a Frishta tug-of-war team and came FIRST! Mindy says, "We all had a fantastic day, we even went around with a bucket asking people to empty their pockets and raised £122.72". Well done and roll on next year! See photos of the gallant teams below.

2006 50 Friends Campaign Update

12 new Friends sign up

Following the launch of our campaign in the last Newsletter to attract 50 new Friends of Frishta (standing order donors) I can report we currently have 12 new Friends - a good start, but still a long way to go to reach the target.

If you are not already a Friend, see below what your contribution would buy:

• £5 per month pays for all the food for one child - we will have 72 children in the first phase of the village
• £20 per month (less than 70p a day) is the minimum child sponsorship amount and pays for child's food, clothing, shelter, education, outings and presents.

How Frishta has already helped to find one child a loving mother

Earlier this year I exchanged some emails with Terry Tomaszewski in America and learnt of this heart-warming story. In the August 2005 issue of Frishta News, I reported on my visit to the Asharan children's home in Delhi, including a photo (see below) and how I was captivated by the spirit of the children there and by one boy in particular. His name was Jai, who is about 5 years old, has a 3rd degree cleft palate and lip (corrected) and a club foot along with misaligned eyes.

Terry had been looking to adopt Jai since 2004, she told me... "I was sent a booklet of the waiting children in the adoption programmes. It seemed like there were hundreds of children! Halfway back was Jai's picture and a short story about him. Even though I looked at all of the other children, he kept calling me back. At first I thought I wasn't up to seeing to his needs. I am a single Mom of modest means and I looked at other children's files. Still Jai called.

I phoned and said, "Let's bring Jai home." There was a pause. Then I was told that Jai's agency in Hyderabad had been closed and it is very hard, if not impossible to move a child from one agency to another. In February 2005 I got the news that Jai had been successfully moved to Asharan, where you met him. I found Frishta while researching Asharan's location in Delhi on Yahoo.

Thinking your newsletter might be a newsletter published by Asharan, I clicked on it and voila, there you were talking about a little boy who sounded like he could be my son. And indeed it was him! My heart just swells to think that other children will get help and homes because of Jai's story."

The Future - New initiatives

Recycle your Mobile

Ever wondered what to do with your old Mobile phone? Well now you can recycle your mobile phone in an environmentally friendly way and also raise funds for Frishta at the same time! We have teamed up with Phonehelp to provide you with a free service to dispose of your unwanted phones. FREEPOST envelopes are available free for you to send your phone to the recyclers - just drop Frishta an email at info@frishta.org.uk if you want one.

Frishta Gala Dinner

We are pleased to announce that our next Frishta Dinner is to be held on Saturday, September 23rd. The setting is the luxurious and prize-winning, 5 Star, Radisson Edwardian International Plaza Hotel at Heathrow. The event team led by Ramita Mehta is planning a spectacular night with celebs and special guests, excellent food and prizes plus the launch of our Frishta Children's Village design. Individual tickets are £60 or £50 for groups - reserve your tickets now by email to: info@frishta.org.uk

How about You?

'Learn to do good. Look for what is right and fair. Speak strong words to those who make it hard for the oppressed. Stand up for the rights of those who have no parents.' Isaiah 1: 17

Like me, you probably like to look at the various 'Rich Lists' that get published to see who's got what and how they acquired it. But have you ever considered that we are all part of the top 5% of the world's rich? Easy access to bathroom facilities, clean, running water, more than enough food and clothes are luxuries that millions, especially street children, can only dream of. With your help we can help make their dreams of a loving family and a home become a reality. Why not become a Friend of Frishta - a friend to street children today?

How to become a Friend of Frishta

Nigel Studley

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