4th Asian Voice Charity Awards 2019

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CHIEF GUEST

Rt Hon Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London t Hon Sadiq Khan was born in Tooting, South London, just two years after his parents had migrated from Pakistan to London. He attended a local comprehensive school before going on to read law at the University of North London, which launched his legal career. He began as a trainee solicitor at Christian Fisher, where he specialised in human rights law as he became a partner in 1997.

Throughout this time he served as a Councillor in the Borough of Wandsworth, until his election as MP for Tooting in 2005. His first ministerial appointment was as Minister of State for Communities in 2008, going on to become Minister of State for Transport a year later. In the Shadow Cabinet he served as Shadow Justice Secretary and Shadow Lord Chancellor. In 2016 he was elected as Mayor of London, the largest vote for an individual politician in British history.

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Asian Voice Charity Awards

Small is big he UK is in the top ten most generous countries in the world according to a Charities Aid Foundation index. This includes donating money, volunteering, giving goods, protesting and petitioning. Research by Third Sector, the UK’s leading publication for information on the voluntary and not-for-profit sector revealed that reserves held by the best-known charities rose by almost £300m to more than £3.9bn last year. Seen against this backdrop, it is disheartening that a number of smaller charities continue to struggle to get recognition and much needed funding.

The Asian Voice Charity Awards was instituted in 2016 in association with charity analysts Charity Clarity with the sole purpose of giving smaller charities a platform to to showcase their activities and raise their profile. I believe that small charities are equally and vitally important for social well-being and cohesion. Whether it is domestic abuse, homelessness, education or mental-health, the impact they make in communities is priceless.

One of the ills that now plagues our community is knife crime, and this requires the collective effort of individuals, families, educational institutions and community organisations to put an end to the menace. I am delighted that Mayor Sadiq Khan was able to attend this year's awards ceremony and briefly address this burning issue.

The Asian Voice Charity Awards recognise excellence and innovation in charities, both in Great Britain and overseas. Each charity and individual winner gets a substantial package of support from us that could be worth up to £20,000, and potentially much more. I am aware of several charities that have benefitted from these awards through donors and through increased recognition.

Each year a wide range of charities from various walks of life vie for recognition and they are chosen on merit alone. In order to bring different perspectives and competing views on individual candidates and charities, the judging panel consists of eminent persons with diverse range of skills and experiences.

The Asian Voice Charity Awards are part of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar's ongoing commitment to serve the community and I cannot think of a better gesture than supporting small charities achieve their noble objectives. This would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. I extend to them my sincere gratitude. My colleagues at Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have put in several months of dedication to make this event a successful one and I cannot thank them enough.

Small charities are in dire need of your generosity. I do hope that this event will persuade you to support them in whatever way possible.

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CB Patel Chairman ABPL Group Ltd. Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS

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Compere Maila Reeves

aila heads up the UK & Ireland investment team for Business Sweden. She is also a barrister and experienced investor in disruptive technology businesses and has been named one of the top 100 Tech people in the UK. She is an Advisory Board Member to the humanitarian aid charity, GOAL Global.

Passionate about technology and women in business, Maila is an Executive Board Member for the Commonwealth Businesswomen's Council and runs their tech task force. Until 2018 she was also a Director of Forward Ladies (UK's largest women's business support organisation).

Maila is constantly on the lookout for new ideas, technology and relationships to drive significant and long lasting improvement and business growth.

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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

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SUBHASH THAKRAR Subhash Thakrar is Chairman of Charity Clarity. He was a former partner at Blackstone Franks LLP and CBW and is now a consultant to CBW, London city chartered accountants.

Subhash sits on the Boards of various companies in executive and non-executive positions. These include London Chamber of Commerce (Past Chairman), India Value Investments Ltd (INVIL), Triangle Real Estate India Fund Managers Ltd, Attlee Centre, Let Britain Fly, Signature Africa Ventures Ltd and several other U.K. and International companies.

He has been extensively involved in joint ventures and investment funds in India and more recently Africa. He has held numerous public appointments including Chairman of Asian Business Association, Chairman of London Chamber of Commerce, OFWAT water regulator, Bank of England small business panel, Commonwealth Education Fund and World Hindu Economic Forum. Subhash has also supported and worked with numerous charities including Pratham, Attlee Foundation, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, 3 R's Trust, Jaspar Centre, etc. He is the founder chairman of Charity Clarity, an independent rating agency for charities.

Subhash has spoken at various public engagements and led as well as been invited to trade missions by Prime Minister Cameron, Prime Minister Blair, and Mayor Johnson. He invests in consortiums of residential real estate developments in London.

Subhash is available to consider non-executive directorship on boards of companies who may be involved in business activities in the UK, India, and Africa.

JONATHAN TOWNSEND Jonathan joined Prince’s Trust International as interim Chief Executive in January 2017 and was permanently appointed to the role in May 2017.

Before this, he spent four years working as Director of the North of England for The Prince’s Trust where the Trust works with over 11,000 young people a year.

Previously Jonathan worked in the drinks industry for 26 years, during which time he worked for companies including Bass, Scottish and Newcastle and Heineken in Senior Management positions for the last 14 of these years. The work was mainly in the UK, but for three years it involved the licensing of brands from across the World for sale in the UK. This involved working with partners from many different countries including India, China, Russia, Singapore and many in Europe.

ABHISHEK SACHDEV Abhishek founded Vedanta Hedging Limited in 2011 to provide transparency for corporates that used derivatives for hedging. Having graduated with the highest First Class Honours in Economics from his batch at Durham University, Abhishek spent some time working at Her Majesty’s Treasury, before then being head-hunted by Lloyds TSB as a future executive leader. Since then, Abhishek has acted as an expert witness in several High Court cases involving derivatives and is regularly instructed by the leading QC’s and solicitors in the UK. Notably, Abhishek was the only derivatives expert that the British Government called to provide expert evidence to the Parliamentary Banking Commission on Banking Standards in September 2012.

This was to a panel comprising members of the Government Treasury Select Committee of MPs and Lords. He has also provided advice to (then) FSA, HM Treasury, and the Government Insolvency Service. Abhishek has regularly commented on the derivatives topic on national television (including the BBC, Sky News, Channel 4), radio (Radio 4, Radio 5 Live) and newspapers (The Telegraph, The Times) and a wide variety of financial websites including Bloomberg and Reuters.

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PANEL DISCUSSION

Moderator

Rupert Morris is a former journalist (staffer on The Daily Telegraph and The Times; assistant editor of The Week 1995-2004) and author of several books, notably Tories (Mainstream 1991) and The Right Way to Write (Piatkus 1998). For the past 20 years he has been running Clarity Writing Experts, writing speeches, editing reports and conducting workshops for clients in the public and private sectors.

Since 2002, he has been conducting humanist ceremonies – weddings, funerals and baby namings.

He qualified as a mediator in 2009. He is currently studying for an MA in Pastoral Care, with a view to chaplaincy work in prisons. Since May 2018, he has been Chairman of the National Liberal Club. He is married, with two stepchildren and four grandchildren. He and his wife Kitty divide their time between their flat in London and home in France, with frequent trips to family in the US.

THE MEMBERS Lord Rumi Verjee CBE is a British businessman, philanthropist and Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. Born in Uganda, Rumi moved to the UK as a child before studying at Downing College, Cambridge. Aged 27, Verjee approached Tom Monaghan at a conference in the US, and persuaded him to sell the franchising rights to Domino's Pizza in the UK. Verjee launched the chain in Britain and it now employs over 20,000 people in the UK. Verjee sold his stake in the firm in 1989, and went on to oversee the development of the Brompton Hospital site.

From 1993 until 1997, Verjee, alongside the singer Elton John, co-owned Watford F.C. In 1995, he bought Thomas Goode, which holds two royal warrants and has over 160 years’ experience in iconic glassworks. In 2009, Verjee was awarded a CBE for his charitable work. In addition, the British Olympic Association appointed Verjee to its advisory board ahead of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Verjee established a UK Charity, The Rumi Foundation, in 2006. The Foundation supports humanitarian work through education, innovation and knowledge building. Its work is principally focussed in the UK but has also supported projects in India, East Africa and South America.

Caroline Diehl MBE is the founder of The Media Trust, where she was Chief Executive until 2017. She is also the Founder and Executive Chairman of The Community Channel Ltd, a charitable Community Benefit Society that owns the UK broadcast television channel, Together TV. In 2017 Caroline launched the Social Founder Network – a new global network for founders of charities and social enterprises.

Caroline is an Entrepreneur in Residence at INSEAD, an Associate of Newham College, Cambridge, and was a founder trustee of the Small Charities Coalition. In 2004, she was awarded an MBE for services to the media industry.

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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

Dr Carrie Grant is a BAFTA award-winning broadcaster, vocal coach and advocate.

Her TV and music career has spanned over 35 years. She was awarded a MOBO award in ’98 and a BASCA in 2008 for her lifetime services to the music industry. She has both the biggest selling vocal coaching book and online course in the world. She is currently a reporter for BBC ‘s The One Show and co-hosts Radio London’s Saturday Breakfast Show alongside her husband, David Grant MBE. Carrie is President of the Unite Union for Community Practitioners and Health Visitors (CPHVA) as well as being the Patient Lead for the College of Medicine and an ambassador for Crohn’s & Colitis UK, The National Autistic Society and The Diana Award. She is mum to four beautiful children, three are birth children/one was adopted and all have special needs.

Andy Cook is the CEO of the Centre for Social Justice is responsible for making sure that the CSJ remains one of Westminster’s leading policy think tanks. Andy leads the CSJ team, sets the strategy and oversees its implementation. Prior to joining the CSJ Andy co-founded the leading education charity, TwentyTwenty, growing it to be an organisation of regional prominence as well as national influence and developing strategy for its national roll-out. In addition, under Andy’s leadership, TwentyTwenty picked up multiple high-profile charity awards.

Andy is a judge for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, a board member of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, and an advisor to several philanthropists and industry impact awards.

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ction A o D n Ca

Start-Up of the Year

l globa n is a manitarians io t c A o f hu CanD unity o ple in comm pports peo as. e that su vastated ar der e un d s r k r a o w w y it r a l lifeh The c f that critica the lie at the be rk is done al o w oc l saving of crisis, by ther. It s toge ine front l by working men and o d ns to w ers an lifesav lling sessio hildren to nse to c es cou egies elling, s provid ection strat es from sh lv tion ha ot self-pr rom themse e. CanDoAc mpaigns tf lenc 7 ca e protec and vio lion through hey provid h g in b T il . m e l e bom 1 p n ac over ÂŁ 0 peo hildre raised over 31500 er 4,000 c ov g helpin support to l a medic . h t n mo

Forgotten Women Forgotten Women is a charity run by women for women who have suffered injustice, hards hip and neglect due to war, natur al disasters or poverty. Th e charity aims to create opportu nities that can help women get ou t of the poverty trap. In 2017, thr ough their Women's Shelter Projec t, the charity delivered winter aid to 500 Rohingya women with children, gave food items to over 400 refugee families at Reyhanli, aid ed 100 female and five male farmers with tools and seeds at Somalia.

ational CIO ParaCheer Intern nal is a charitable ParaCheer Internatio omotes and organisation that pr integrated teams develops cheer for isabled of disabled and non-d urage and athletes. They enco hletes through support disabled at , cheerleading activities like running , sses, creating rules workshops, and cla ing ad rle ee ch idelines for and best practice gu ing for coaches, promot ts en ining ev led ab event organisers, tra dis of tion ration and participa the benefits of integ finding disability in le op pe g disabled people and assistin gold and silver coaches. They won friendly teams and 2018. orld Championship medals at the ICU W

Donat e4Ref ugees

Donat e4Re in pro fugees is e vidin nga neede g the much ged d aid to vulner able c the hildren wome , n Europ and men s e’s ref tuck in in ap ugee camp charity palling con other ditions s inspirin works . The cl g volunt eer gr individuals osely with o a Franc ups on nd sm ea a -t the ga nd beyond he-ground ll in Gre ps in h , toge ece, ther w uman despe ith ita ra Donat te need. In rian aid for filling peopl e 2 e in refuge 4Refugees 018, helpe es in s d clos ix cou clothe e to nt s, food , shelt ries by prov 24,000 er, wa id rmth a ing nd mo re.

Healing Venezuela Healing Venezuela is an entirely volunteer-run organisation engaged in sending medical supplies, implementing stress management programmes and supporting training of doctors and nurses to relieve the sickness of the patients in the hospitals of Venezuela. Healing Venezuela partners with private and public medical organisations, other private sector bodies and charities to collect medical supplies and run joint fundraising events to achieve the objectives of donating medical supplies to Venezuelan hospitals.

They had sent over 7 tons of vital medical supplies, funded for water treatment plants, medical equipment and medical research on HIV resistance in patience, helped conduct HIV and cancer tests for more than 150 low-income patients.

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Social Impact Awards

Africa Educational Trust

Africa Education Trust wa s found in 1958 to support the education of the poorest and most excluded group s in conflict-affected areas of Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya. Th eir programmes support go ve rnm ent and community efforts to re-establish formal education at both prima ry and secondary school levels. They partn er with local and Ugandan universities to support the training of teachers and managers to help rebuild the school system, provide cla sses for basic literacy and numeracy an d vocational training for displaced people, ou t of school youth and adults living with disabiliti es. Africa Educational Trust won the Impact aw ard recognised by civil society organisations in 42 countries for reaching more than five million people in 2010.

Educate for Life

Educate for Life works to ensure the integrated provision of education, healthcare and community development services in Bakhel, Rajasthan in India. The Charity runs a primary school called Hunar Ghar that acts as a hub for community-related development providing support for commun ity members from pregnancy to adulthood focu ssing on maternal and child healthcare education and mentoring.

The school has more than 400 enrolments each year and has also partnered with Global Hospital Research Centre in Mount Abu to provide a twice a mon th mobile clinic service to villagers.

Water for Kids arity registered in the Water for Kids is a ch the eserve and protect UK which aims to pr s itie un ren and comm good health of child the untries through in the low-income co r, proper sanitation te provision of safe wa , blic health measures and other related pu They e. at qu on is absent or inade e where current provisi ar ere projects anda and Zambia wh work primarily in Ug onmental Health vir En and Zambian n da an Ug by d ge er for Kids has mana re sustainability. Wat su en o wh ) Os (EH s Officer ter, sanitation e providing safe wa nc rie pe ex s’ ar ye over 22 nsformed the lives The Charity has tra . ion at uc ed ne gie untries. and hy mmunities, in nine co co 2 18 in 00 0,0 39 of over

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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

Nepal Child Rescue

0 child slaves Almost 100,00 hazardous are working in epal and situations in N y el are extrem physical, vulnerable to sexual emotional and cue es R abuse. Child ground e th Nepal works on n from slavery, to free childre ies, ren from factor removing child uction tr ns co tels and ho s, nt ra au st re e. The are held captiv ey th re he w s site with d are provided children rescue are d an counselling . So medical care, es ili m fa r d with thei ite un re ly fe sa scued e Nepal has re cu es R ld hi C r fa ,000 ildren and 50 nearly 800 ch being om fr d prevente e er w n re ild ch ation ugh their educ trafficked thro programmes.

The Vipingo Village Fund The Vipingo Village Fund is a family run charity aiming to advance the education of children and adults in the village of Vipingo and surrounding communities in Kenya by providing educational facilities. Vipingo Village Fund supports the Future Hope Montessori School in Vipingo, Kenya for 140 HIV-affected children by providing two meals a day, and three meals for those that have been tested positive. Vipingo village fund provides education, uniforms, medical care and has created a haven for these severely deprived children. They facilitate an adventure playground, computers, sports facilities and a library in addition to the typical classrooms, dining hall, kitchen and shower block.

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Most Inspiring Young Person a Anika Wali is a Charity Anika Walia preneur, Model, Entre ropist. She and Philanth udent who is a dental st me an oral plans to beco facial and maxillo a Miss surgeon and who i-finalist 2019 m se d n la g n E e from of her incom work. invests 25% into charity s ct je ro p g e Curie modellin nds for Mari fu d e is ra s a OHAA) Anika h s of Hope (W g in W d n a Charity ty called up her chari acts and has set . Her charity ty ri a h C d o o Anika F less nk for home as a food ba and nd families individuals a meless od to the ho ngaged distributes fo ntinuously e co is e h S . people d donation ork like bloo l and in charity w g free denta tin u ib tr is d dental camps, anising free rg o , its k ry e station ildren. camps for ch

Grant Me nnie Grant Me nnie has been working in the fie ld of raising a warenes s for the home less in th e UK through h is United4H campaign o initially la meless. He u n ched the Un commun ited4Homeless ity that now on Facebook and op Twitter active gro erates as one of the most ups for h omeless discussio no soon to re n social media.

He le fitness ch ase new sports a is n arity in th e coming d for those months experien cing hom or difficult eles y substanc with mental healt sness e misuse h or issues.

Leah Chow dhry Le

ah C h Britis owdhry h As ian is the f the E nglis woman irst h Ch fund to sw a s i traffi to comb nnel to ra m at ch cking i s e the W ild i oma n India. S at th n h of ew e Awa year rds in London A the Year on s, sh awar s e 2 i seve an B 018. has v d ra u O and l organis olunteere ver the p siness ha a ast 1 d an 7 Leah s raised tions to d make fundrai ÂŁ175 also sed f ,000 Party runs a diff or s a occa & Play th childca ingle-ha erence nded re bu sions at or ganis ly. sines , pro child vi s e c highe are provi de consu s events Pop up, d fo lt s child t quality ers helpi ing to se r specia n l v ren f c g e hildc rom teach are, them off ral d i h s e t a olds r the dva articl hem life es on skills ntaged b worksho ps a a vario us to nd publi ckground for shes pics to relat ed to blogs an d child care .

Doal Kurran

was Kurran ld o r a re 15-ye prematu born a d a victim to n baby a crotising ne e r e v C) se litis (NE o c o r te en as n. He w infectio as , sed diagno eaf aged two d ly d l n profou mild cerebra . s a lay h e d o l als nta e m p lo and he e nd dev fied the palsy a is, Kurran de rbal UK's th Ve Despite an Auditory nguage g e b d , s n a la odd speech thriving in t s li ia c spe as nd is mme a e today. He h of progra m o c n e and h n audie in a to school h speec experts e g given a families and , langua s 100 MP f speech and s about o on the field use of Comm Kurran's o s. red at the H d experience n rly featu a la u fe g li e r his is edia g story inspirin l and trade m ber 2018 a to n c in regio ns, and in O ne appeal o li ti e a if ds public d in a BBC L and fun s e r s r e ta n s e r e a h w raise a . to help ry Verbal UK o it d for Au

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Audience Choice Awards

K Adventure Aid U

charitable Adventure Aid is a ates an organisation that cre money adventure to raise s in for children's charitie It . ad the UK and abro ities ar ch assists children's ate or rp co in marketing and ke ma sponsorships. They in Nepal, trips to the projects to matra or Mauritius India, Tanzania, Su of lfa ucation and we re support children's ed d ise n. Funds are ra disadvantaged wome raising the minimum through supporters, are to the project they donation to join a trip supporting.

Child Res cue

Nepal

Almost 100 ,000 child slaves are working in hazardous situations in Nepal and are extrem ely vulnerable to physica l, emotional and sexua l abuse.

Child Resc ue Nepal w orks on the ground to free childre slavery, re n from m oving child factories ren from sites where , restaurants, hotels and constr they are h uction eld captive rescued are . The child provided w ren ith medica and are sa l care, cou fely reunite nselling d with their Child Resc fa ue Nepal h milies. So fa ave rescue r children an d nearly 8 d5 00 being traffic 0,000 children were prevented ked throug from h their edu cation prog rammes.

Go Dharmic cial teer movement for so Go Dharmic is a volun for s rie ra to develop lib welfare which works the ren, feed underprivileged child assistance during ide ov pr homeless and armic is inspired by times of need. Go Dh ncept of Dharma; the the philosophical co ople with the mission is to equip pe ce tical means to redu knowledge and prac s to aim ity ar ing beings. The ch the the suffering of all liv nd ou children ar ich help one million develop libraries wh d tables for seating an s he iding benc ov pr By .

26 20 by world tivates students oms, Go Dharmic mo ro ss cla d he bis fur re and ucation due to lack d not to skip the ed an ol ho sc the nd te to at ucture. of necessary infrastr

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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

Balloon Circus Balloon Circus is a charity that brings uplifting entertainment to disadvantaged children encouraging creative play in a nurturing yet stimulating environment.

Their workshops provide children with opportunities to learn new skills through balloons and interactive circus sessions. They have been working directly with underprivileged children at grassroots to sharpen their physical, mental, and social skills. The charity teaches around 12,000 children from 155 orphanages in 11 countries. In 2018 Balloon Circus conducted a tour to South Africa and was able to teach over 900 children. They also visited SOS villages throughout Nepal and taught over 1,000 children.

twork City Sikhs Ne nonCity Sikhs is a profit organisation and a registered charity which f as describes itsel 'A voice for es ikhs'. It promot progressive S nd a n, ucatio networking, ed ongst Sikh m a g volunteerin a and provides professionals the ith w t en gagem platform for en Sikhs mmunity. City British Sikh co 00 members have over 7,0 e UK from all throughout th one of The charity is communities. ritain nisations in B the Sikh orga tive to create posi with a mission spire society and in change within can be. the best they people to be

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Kamla Foun dation Kamla Fou ndation w marginalise orks with d com India, helpin munities in g develop their capacity to meet basic needs and create solu tions for poverty and injustic e.

Kamla Fou ndation trie s to provide res o u rces for d e v e lo pment inclu welfare, tra ding health inin , 30,000 villa g and equipment. To date, over gers have benefitted wells proje from the bo ct funded b re y Kamla Fo Kamla Fou undation. ndation su p ports 20 fa their Seed milies throu Mon gh with Medlife ey Support Fund and partners Foundation to support operations fo of poor chil dren in Ahm r the cleft Children’s edabad. Th Home Proje eir ct p range of sp orts equipm rovides an extensive ent and toy They also s to kids. fund and s upport thre centres do e training ing garmen t making in Tamil Nadu .

Vithu Trust Fund Vithu Trust Fund is a charity organisation dedicated to improving and safeguarding the lives of children in Sri Lanka who go through the day without a single nourishing meal and who are the victims of the war. They work towards sustainable economic development and empowerment of the people through the provision of education, training and enterprise schemes for youth, water and sanitation solutions, and CBO's Capacity Development in the rural areas of Sri Lanka.

NishkamSWAT NishkamSWAT is a 100% voluntary charitable organisation based in the UK. The charity’s primary function is to unite and transform financially disadvantaged communities by focusing on projects which make a difference to people’s lives h improve their prospects. Through their yout club project, the charity offers regular workshops on substance awareness, informal talks on the Sikh and other faiths, group discussions and debates on current , issues such as gang culture, drug addiction and alcohol abuse. NishkamSWAT also serves food for the homeless and less fortunate in 19 locations, 26 times a week.

The SARVAM Trust -The SARVAM Trust facilita tes and supports the work of Sri Aurobindo Society to bring develop ment in the lives of the underprivileg ed in the rural areas. The charity pro vides holistic education, aware ness, and knowledge on the import ance of maintaining good health, cle an liness and hygiene, and the hazards of unsanitary habits and polluted environment. Th rough the charity's Villag e Development Programs, they have been able to en sure 100% enrolment of the chi ldren from their adopted hamlets in India to attend pre-scho ol up to middle school.

Water for Kids arity registered Water for Kids is a ch s to preserve in the UK which aim health of and protect the good unities in the children and comm s through the low-income countrie ter, proper provision of safe wa r related public sanitation and othe ere current provision health measures, wh arily in Uganda ate. They work prim is absent or inadequ d by Ugandan projects are manage and Zambia where ers (EHOs) who mental Health Offic and Zambian Environ over 22 years’ . Water for Kids has ensure sustainability and hygiene safe water, sanitation experience providing the lives of over ity has transformed education. The Char tries. unities, in nine coun 390,000 in 182 comm

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s arrier B g n i Break

Charity of the Year

s the rs help to ie r r a don ing B Break gees in Lon owledge, u f kn re e the acquir nce, and ed to e confid nce they ne filling ul ie exper table and f rity s a secure ent. The ch m y ses emplo ith busines ce w rs rien partne work expe ps for rksho rovide who p ls-based wo nce and il rie and sk l work expe cure longs t n e e a placem s to gain vit y need to s rs e e ie h refuge the skills t eaking Barr 12 months r p B o last pport devel ployment. in the s e e oke su m g p e s u f e e m b r r te ses nd 43 rted 4 ducation a 0+ busines o p p u e 2 s . s, and h their mmes throug programme ent progra g pm trainin d in develo e g enga

Child R escue N epal Almost 100,0 are wor 00 child slave s king in haz situatio ns in Ne ardous pal and are extr emely vulnera ble to p hys emotion a l and se ical, abuse. xual Nepal w Child Rescue orks on to free the gro chil und removin dren from sla very, g childr en from restaura fac nts, hote sites wh ls and c tories, onstruc ere the y are h The chil eld cap tion dren re tive scued a with me re prov . dic ided are safe al care, coun se ly reunit ed with lling and families . So far their Ch have re scued n ild Rescue Ne pal early 8 and 50 00 c ,00 prevente 0 children we hildren re d through from being tra ff their ed ucation icked program mes.

CLEFT MCLEFT is a char ity focused on providing permanent and sustainable ways to improve the lives of peop le born with cleft lip and palate. CLEFT sp onsors for researches and overseas projects providin g long-term treatment and ca re for people born with clefts.

The charity has funded projects like the purchase of esse ntial equipment for the hospital in Bangladesh, distribution of D VDs demonstrating su rgical techniques, rese arch into Magnetic Resona nce Imaging (MRI), TBX22 Mou se model project and a pi lot project to develop methods for 3-D MRI scanning of the palate.

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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

canner Centre Paul Strickland S ner Centre Paul Strickland Scan dical is an independent me to ng rki charity wo improve the lives of people affected by vere cancer and other se ity conditions. The char ass -cl rld wo er liv aims to de and prompt diagnostic imaging t needs. They conduc response to patients st be the ide d prov medical research an I, using high-quality MR re ca nt tie possible pa ds ners. 98% of the fun CT and PET-CT scan the d an , nts tie pa for the are utilised directly , ,000 scans last year 18 ed rm charity perfo r fo pe ho s lie mi their fa giving patients, and the future.

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l ppea A y n Pen

set l was ide a e p rov y Ap Penn 2009 to p ross in ac up relief y t East r e v po iddle M e h t Asia, ica. The fr is by and A ensures th s, y ion Charit ater solut , w g ings offerin mass feed g ising rovidin organ are and p id. Penny al a han c g orp and medic 0 crisis-hit ey in t r o th r3 supp ncy food in ove year 2018, e e l g p r o e e p h eme t s e. In viding al aid Appe s worldwid lion on pro in these il ie s countr nt ÂŁ15.8 m is-hit area e is p r s c d ha ts in emen requir . ns regio

Midland Docto rs Midland Docto rs was formed in 2005 in response to a devastating ea rthquake that struck Nor thern Pakistan.

The charity's work includes the op eration of a hospital faci lity in the Kas hmir region of Pakistan an d raising publ ic awareness on health issu es affecting pe developing co ople in untries. The ch 250,000 patie arity has trea nts at all free ted of charge thro till 2019, has gi ugh the hospita ven assistance l during the 20 Kashmir and fu 10 flood relief nded for the co in nstruction of N and the House ur Goth Villag of Light Schoo e l.

VITAL VITAL for children is a non-profit organisation working to eradicate the injustice of child poverty in Kolkata, India. Their mission is to provid ea meaningful childho od to disadvantaged ch ildren by improving the qual ity of life through education , health care, protective se rvices and love. Since 2016, VI TAL for children has touche d the lives of 4500 children ac ross six projects, providing access to drinking water to m ore than 1000 people, incre ased the overall school atte ndance by 6% and a total of 10 000 children helped in 2016.

Outstanding PR Team Oscar Foundation non-profit organisation OSCAR Foundation is a covering, developing that works towards dis ent, preventing and nurturing young tal m dropping out of children and youths fro m to become school and educating the ch e arity does this responsible citizens. Th ip, teamwork and by encouraging leadersh uths from education support to yo s lly backward communitie economically and socia s ha tball. Oscar Foundation through the game of foo g leaders.

61 children and 138 youn supported a total of 39

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS

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Most Inspiring Individual Harjinder Kaur is a research, Dr Harjinder Kaur aluation Monitoring and Ev expert er nd (M&E), and ge working in e nc rie having expe NGO and the Government, e works with private sector. Sh the PwC at present in ent pm lo ve international de er and nd ge d on M&E an practice leading and ous presentations has given numer policy ic, em ad ac ively for published extens nder. She audiences on ge and practitioner ity and record of commun has an extensive been a gement and has professional enga veral d an Advisor to se Board Director an mestic s such as the Do NGOs and charitie tion Project and UN Violence Interven s also gender work, she' Women. For her n including the Asia won many awards British e th d an d ar ent Aw Women Achievem Citizen Awards.

Amber

Rick R odgers Rick R odg the ch ers founded arit Interna y ParaCheer tio creatin nal after g the ParaC h within eer division cheerle spite ading.

In wheelc of being a work-r hair us elated er afte ra ac former cheerle cident during Rodge ading his da rs particip wanted to c ys, Rick on a introdu ting in the sp tinue ced Pa ort. He ra integra tes dis Cheer which abled disable and no d nin chee athletes wo rk rleadin g team ing together becom s. Rick e has champ a two times world ion an d a na cheerle tion a commit der. He is on al champion te th Cheer e of the Inte e athlete's rnation Union and th Cheer e Euro al Un pea a stunt ion. He has man in perform n the Rio Superh ed as u P Paraly man ad and aralympics mpic to c rch in 2 arried the 012.

Bauer Amber Ba uer is the founder o arrange fo f Donate4 r essentia Refug ls such as refugees food, cloth ees charity that he of Europe lps ing, and s . Working individuals h closely w ,a ith other g elter to aid facilitate h nd like-minded pe rassroots ople, Don ygiene, e groups, ate4refug du refugees ees also tr living on th cation and legal a ie id to supp advoca e streets ort the ne s to of Europe campaign te for human rights g .

A le m cted b e , e r a r, is n experie and a a passion working a nced fund ate longside g dedicated voluntee ra is er, a r who has rassroots Entrepren groups in spent a lo vocal eur of the refugee c t of her ti Year 2017 with Chari amps. Sh and has s ty Week. e was a fi me ecured O nalist for fficial Part ner Chari ty status

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ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

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Anita Goyal Anita Goyal is currently the CEO and tru stee of The Hemraj G oyal Foundation. Sh e is also the Patro n of Binti Internatio nal and the Honorary Chair of Barnardo’s Fe male Genital Mutilation App eal. Anita Goy al is an award-winni ng philanthrop ist and community champion. She is the Co-founde r of Ultimate Y ou where she desi gns educationa l seminars for bu siness, leadersh ip, life and relatio nships with he r husband- Avnis h Goyal. Under the Family Founda tion, Anita has launched Peop le of the World as a platform for in vesting in the personal deve lopment and empowerment of all people fro m diverse backgr ounds. In 2018 , through Hemra j Goyal Founda tion, she had suppor ted over 26 different chariti es.

Chitra S ctor of The Chitra S is the Dire e has been Sh t.

SARVAM Trus orting and pp su instrumental in us schemes in implementing vario of Tamil Nadu. neglected villages at the critical After observing th ost attention in m ut area requiring the d to ucation, she initiate a rural village is ed ildren ition classes for ch start after-school tu Today vernment schools. attending local go her children opt for hig almost 90% of the lages. drop-outs in the vil education with zero ect for trepreneurship proj She started an en to take r SARVAM as well rural women unde 2018, eurship. In March up small entrepren erry, ner Wheel, Puduch Rotary Club and In rk in r her exceptional wo awarded Chitra fo t and outstanding rural developmen society. contribution to the

y Bhupendra Mistr the Founder of Bhupendra Mistry is a charity Kamla Foundation, of his mother founded in memory mmunities to help vulnerable co their capacity in India to develop s and create to meet basic need and injustice. solutions for poverty rks in partnership Kamla Foundation wo Trust dation and the FORD with the MetLife Foun nt as child developme across projects such pport and enterprise program, widows su rprises for vulnerable program, micro-ente supply, women women, rural water In ram, amongst others. empowerment prog The Of I s awarded the NR 2018, Bhupendra wa of es Tim nthropy from The Year Award for Phila India Group.

Manjit Gil l Manjit Gill is the CEO and Foun der of Bin ti Internation al, a charity tha t provides menstrual support fo r women aro und the globe. Sh e aims to create a w o rl d where all women ha ve menstr ual dignity She has d . esigned a m e education programm nstrual e that has been deliv ered acro ss in Hind sign langu i age and a lmost sev language en s across c ountries li India, Nep ke al, the UK , Gambia, Nairobi, U ganda, M alawi, and Swaziland . Manjit ha s been a regular sp eaker on th e world stages su ch as the B B C, ITV, Th Guardian, e and CNN. Manjit has received a wards suc h as Gand Samman hi 2017 Hou se of Lord Charity Tim s, es Award s- Highly commend ed Top 50 So Best New Charity, cial Impac tA Mumbai 2 017, Femin wardsa Women Achievers 's -Mumbai 2 017, Asian Achievers Aw the Year 2 ards – Woman of 016, Socia l& Humanita rian award Highly commend ed AWAA 2016.

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS

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Most Enterprising Adventure Aid Adventure Aid is a charitable organisation that creates an adventure to raise money for children's charities in the UK and abroad. It assists children's charities in marketing and corporate sponsorships.

They make trips to the projects in Nepal, India, Tanzania, Sumatra or Mauritius to support children's education and welfare of disadvantaged women. Funds are raised through supporters, raising the minimum donation to join a trip to the project they are supporting.

ilms Medical Aid F

Vithu Trust Fund Vithu Trust Fund is a charity organisation dedicated to improving and safeguarding the lives of children in Sri Lanka who go through days without a single nourishing meal and who are victims of the war.

They work towards sustainable economic development and empowerment of the people through the provision of education, training and enterprise schemes for youth, water and sanitation solutions, and CBO's Capacity Development in the rural areas of Sri Lanka.

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

Sri La n

ka Anima l SOS veterin Sri Lanka p rovide ary s rehab care & ilitatio n c anima are to ls. s in dire It rescues a tray need, nimals offers veterin quality rehab ary care & il it a t io spa n, c vaccin y/neutering onducts organ a and t ion ise progra s awarene programs a ss m n street mes. The c and adopt d ion harity anima ’s proje ls with sanctu ct a a south ry in Midiga free-roamin facilitates of Sri g m a , Ahang Lanka treate ama in . In d the wound 17,500 anim 2017, the c ha a s 15,000 , fractures a ls for diseas rity nd e a aroun nti-parasitic tumours, p s, d 1400 r o t anima reatments a vided ls a da nd fed y.

e media to s uses innovativ Medical Aid Film ng of alth and wellbei transform the he world. th ren around e women and child rts pe ex ther health They bring toge ng, gi ga to create en with filmmakers er w which empo accessible films with and communities health workers en om w t and skills abou vital knowledge ity ar ch the issues. In 2018, and child health o4Appeal di Ra ’s C slot in BB n io iss m ns tra a gage with BBC’s secured eir work and en th ht lig gh hi to ard from BAFTA, program an Academy aw of t en pi ci Re .

23 languages audience l of 294 films in ta to a e ad m ity tula care, girls' the char idwife training, fis m e lik s ea ar g alth in 2017. The coverin ng, and sexual he hi as w nd ha n, io in 145 countries educat ion views online ill m e 2 er ov ve and received th films ha s in 19 countries ip sh er rtn pa re and co from BAFTA. Academy award

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Anima l SOS

SOS KIT AID LTD SOS Kit Aid is a charity that collects second hand/new rugby kits and recycles it for the benefit of disadvantaged young people in the UK and overseas. The charity creates opportunities for children to participate in sporting activities by promoting social inclusion and protecting the environment. SOS Kit Aid won the Charity Partnership Award for Financial and Professional category at the 2013 Business Charity Awards. World Rugby supports the charity's Rugby Kit project. SOS Kit Aid has delivered to 27 countries so far and in 2015 provided the 475th overall kit to support the Ecuadorean Rugby Federation.

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Entertainers

Rekesh Chauhan

Roehampton Dance Society The Roehampton Dance Society has been a successful organisation for many years at its university. With new organisers each year the society is constantly refreshed and improved. We offer a variety of classes for all levels and although our main target audience is people with a dance background we welcome everyone with all their abilities. We are performing an intense, upbeat jazz number tonight with five of our students.

The Yellow Sapphires

Rekesh is a British Indian pianist and composer. Having studied western classical music on both the guitar and piano from an early age he went on to train in Indian classical music.

Rekesh is the NIAA Young Musician of the Year 2018 award winner awarded at the Southbank Centre.

His style defines the reverberation amongst the new generation of listeners of contemporary world music as his music mellifluously amalgamates both eastern and western flavours.

Rekesh's critically acclaimed debut album, 'Beyond Roots', released under Milapfest in 2015, won him spectacular praise from tabloid press to prime-time radio play. The album followed a sold-out nationwide tour culminating in an exclusive live session for BBC Radio London. Rekesh's latest release ‘Avartan’ in 2018 earned him a no.2 chart position on the iTunes World Music Charts.

The Yellow Sapphires are a new cover band, formed of three originally solo singers – Nicole from Macau, Matt from Hong Kong and Victoria from Indonesia. They are international students currently studying at the University of the Arts London.

Stone Feathers We’re a brother and sister duo, Stone Feathers, who have shared a lifetime love for music. We have been privileged in our lives, being born and raised in Dubai, with origins from Greece and South Africa.

Our musical influences span from rock legends, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, to the acoustic beach vibes of Jack Johnson and Bob Marley. Our paradise would be creating music all day close by the beach and nature, Hawaii perhaps. In the last year we have made London our home to pursue music and surround ourselves with the inspiring talent this city harbours.

Phot o credit:

Avi

son Simon Richard

Lisa Dance Company

The objective for Birmingham-based dance company set up by Artistic Director Sonia Sonia Chandaria Tillu in 2018 is to build a dance style and vocabulary that is based on one of the oldest classical Indian dance forms, Kathak, but speaks to contemporary audiences.

We celebrate the rhythmical and musical richness of Kathak, but also evolve it by challenging and extending the fabric of classical movements and choreographies.

Our approach to dance is to be unique yet collaborative, rooted in the Kathak form yet inventive.

Avi Tillu is a budding, Londonbased poet and public speaker, who draws inspiration from his varied experiences as a trader, a traveller and a triathlete. He has presented work in London, Dublin, Oxford and Amsterdam.

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS

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18-19 Jonathan Townsend.qxp_A4 Temp 09/05/2019 11:21 Page 18

Introducing The Prince’s Trust International At Prince’s Trust International we recognise that young people around the world face a multitude of challenges which prevent them from fulfilling their potential. One in five young people aged 15-24 are not in employment, education or training and less than 40 per cent of youth are satisfied that their education prepares them with the skills required for work. We believe that communities, governments and organisations everywhere benefit from working with and supporting young people. rince’s Trust International was founded by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales in 2015, to share the successful programmes and expertise of The Prince’s Trust, which over 43 years has helped more than 920,000 disadvantaged young people across the UK to transform their lives.

We work in partnership with organisations around the world to support young people aged 11-30

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to move into work, education or training. For us, collaboration is at the core of our practice, by working with local delivery partners we can find just the right, tailored solution to address the need.

Since 2015, we have supported over 10,000 young people across nine countries. Our programmes provide empowering opportunities, support personal development and bridge the gap between education and employment.

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

WHAT ARE SOME OF OUR RECENT SUCCESSES? This year marks an exciting time for Prince’s Trust International as we begin our work within our new 20192024 strategic cycle. We have the ambition to grow our work, our partnerships and our impact so we can support more young people around the world. We look to strengthen our programme delivery and our offer in countries we already work in such as India, Pakistan and Jordan. This is in addition to scoping opportunities for partnerships and delivery in new countries, which has begun in Malaysia, Ghana and Kenya and will be developing throughout the next four years.

We have already had some great success stories to kick-off our new strategic cycle. Two young people supported by our programmes were recipients of the inaugural Prince’s Trust Global Award, recognising the outstanding achievements of young

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people supported by Prince’s Trust International programmes. A young participant from Bhandup, India who completed our ‘Get Into’ programme with Magic Bus, and a young participant from Salt in Jordan who completed one of our pilot ‘Team’ programmes with Mercy Corps. In March this year, His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales announced His Highness the Aga Khan as Global Founding Patron of The Prince’s Trust work across The Prince’s Trust Group. This is an exciting partnership across Prince’s Trust Group at a time when Prince’s Trust International is developing a partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation to support young women in Bihar, India with their enterprise skills and developing community projects.

In India, we have developed a successful and impactful partnership with Macquarie and Magic Bus delivering our ‘Get Into’ employability programme with young people. ‘Get Into’ has provided young people with opportunities to develop employability skills, confidence and

WHY ARE THE CHARITY AWARDS IMPORTANT? As CEO of Prince’s Trust International, I am proud to join the panel of judges for this year’s Asian Voice Charity Awards powered by Charity Clarity. What makes these Awards special is knowing that we are not just awarding an accolade to mark a milestone in an organisation’s or individuals’ journey, but that the award will provide much needed support to continue or enhance a journey to deliver greater social impact.

The Charity Awards provides the opportunity to shine a light on some of the great and innovative work that is going on in the sector and bring these together in a forum where we can celebrate and learn from them. It was fantastic to see a vast array of entries submitted for the awards and it has been an honour to contribute to the panel and this initiative.

Jonathan Townsend is CEO of The Prince’s Trust International. He was also one of the Judges for the Charity Awards 2019. aspirations, enabling them to move into sustainable jobs. Our work with Magic Bus has included capacity strengthening of existing livelihoods programme to ensure its focus is on workplace-readiness and have introduced work-experience as a core part of this preparation. By the end of 2019, the programme will have supported approximately 880 young people across Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.

CALL FOR

NOMINATIONS Deadline for submitting nominations: 31st July, 2019

Categories 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Professional of the Year Woman of the Year Sports Personality of the Year Business Person of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award Uniformed and Civil Services Entrepreneur of the Year Corporate Award for Diversity & Inclusion Achievement in Media, Arts and Culture Achievement in Community Service

Email: aaa@abplgroup.com

Apply online

www.asianachieversawards.com

In Pakistan, we have been working with SEED Ventures to successfully deliver our ‘Enterprise Challenge’ programme in schools.

The programme supports young people by providing an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and explore their own business ideas with the support from local mentors.

Since 2016, Enterprise Challenge in Pakistan has run in over 30 cities, in 70 schools and with over 2000 participants.

19 AWARDS th ASIAN ACHIEVERS The people’s choice awards

®

Is there someone you know from the Asian community who deserves recognition for their unique contribution to the community or the nation?

Awards will be held at Grosvenor House, Park Lane

September 2019 Organised by

www.abplgroup.com

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019 - ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS

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20-21Sophia Akash Foundation.qxp_A4 Temp 09/05/2019 12:20 Page 20

Seamless pathways out of poverty for smallholder farmers and their communities FACILITATING SUSTAINABLE INCLUSION / FACILITATING SUSTAINABLE PATHS OUT OF POVERTY The Sophia akaSh FoundaTion, Cio (SaF) iS a uk baSed ChariTable FoundaTion ThaT helpS develop SuSTainable paThS ouT oF poverTy For poor and unServed CommuniTieS by inCubaTing, nurTuring and developing The inSTiTuTional eFForTS oF brighT, innovaTive and paSSionaTe SoCial enTrepreneurS. aS a reSulT, TheSe SoCial enTerpriSeS deliver aFFordable aCCeSS To imporTanT ServiCeS ThaT help improve The livelihoodS oF TheSe CommuniTieS (e.g.

FinanCial inCluSion, SuSTainable Farming, healThCare, eduCaTion, renewable energy) uSing proven buSineSS modelS ThaT are operaTionally eFFiCienT, SCalable, eConomiCally viable and very oFTen repliCable.

THE POTENTIAL OF AFRICA’S AGRICULTURE SECTOR The plight of small-holder farming communities across Africa is well documented. With average productivity at 36% or less; up to 40% of any harvest is wasted due to lack of storage facilities and access to market, and everincreasing climate change impact often decimating large swathes of crops, 78% of Africa’s rural population remains in constant poverty.

Through the planned collaboration with our social enterprise partner, Rhaaste, we will help 20

deploy sustainable farming methods that increases the efficiency and utilization of these farmers’ principal assets (i.e. land, water, seeds, etc.), introducing better farming practices that helps attain greater yields from harvests and reduces wastage. This

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

will facilitate increased incomes, food production, and foster greater economic development by providing skills training and jobs for the women and youthful members of their households and help their communities to slowly, and surely progress out of poverty.

ESTABLISHING TECHNOLOGY ENABLED HUBS FOR KENYAN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS Using proven models for sustainably delivering financial inclusion and sustainable farming, Rhaaste will establish a community- led hub and spoke model, supported by innovative technologies

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with which the small-holding farming community of Kwa Kyai in Kibwezi, Eastern Kenya will be helped to become more productive.

With solar-powered, kiosk-based spokes, digitally connected to similarly equipped hubs, Rhaaste will facilitate access to basic financial services, including access to credit, improved Agri-Inputs (e.g. seeds, fertilizers, etc.), greater financial and health literacy, better farming practices, storage facilities and organised access to markets for the 400+ small-holding farmer households of Kwa Kyai.

With scheduled logistics and transparent access to market prices, Rhaaste will strengthen the smallholders’ link to markets and ensure that farmers will be able to grade and store their harvests, sell their crops at fair market prices, thus increasing their incomes.

Upon reaching scale, Rhaaste’s model will similarly empower another 15,000 households within the same region and ultimately across many other village communities across rural Kenya using similar infrastructure and partnership-based delivery models.

HELP (US!) MEET THE NEED During the next two years, we aim to help Rhaaste establish the first Hub & Spoke facility which will ultimately serve 15,000 small-holding farmers of which at least half will be women. With an economic investment of £200,000 coupled with additional human and technological resource investment, our efforts will be measured and organised as efficiently and as prudently as possible.

Reaching these goals and expected outcomes will prove challenging. We are looking for like-minded changemakers and collaborators to join us!

To learn more about our Foundation’s work and the innovative Rhaaste effort, and/or if you wish to partner with us to help implement these innovative efforts, we welcome you to contact us at: info@sophiaakashfoundation.com.

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22-23 Rupert Morris.qxp_A4 Temp 09/05/2019 10:43 Page 22

An inclusive club with strong Indian connections

By Rupert Morris

Pictured last month at the Club (left to right) Rupert Morris, Janet Berridge, Lord Diljit Rana and Trevor Peel, Secretary of the NLC Commonwealth Forum

Unlike many London clubs that emphasise their exclusivity, the National Liberal Club claims to be “the most inclusive club in London” and with good reason. It was founded in 1882 by William Ewart Gladstone, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, specifically in order to recruit trades people and others who had previously been excluded from the upper echelons of clubland. Hence, the building of the second largest clubhouse anywhere in the world, designed by the great Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse, to accommodate more than four times as many members as the Reform Club, hitherto London’s great Liberal bastion. ver the next few decades, the NLC attracted the most diverse membership ever seen in a London club. Among its 19th century members was Dadhabhai Nairoji, a Zoroastrian Parsee academic and leading figure in Indian nationalism, admired by

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both Mahatma Gandhi and Mohammed Ali Jinnah – another member of the Club. Nairoji, the first Asian MP in Britain, is commemorated in a fine portrait, as is Charles Bradlaugh, the first atheist MP. Aside from political leaders like Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

George, the Club’s members in the early 20th century included literary luminaries like Bram Stoker, HG Wells and George Bernard Shaw.

During the Second World War, the Club received a direct hit from a bomb which demolished the main staircase and damaged a portrait of Winston Churchill. By 1950, the portrait had been restored and unveiled by Churchill himself, and a new spiral staircase built, the largest unsupported marble staircase in Europe, and one of the Club’s greatest treasures.

Hard times followed as club memberships generally declined in the post-war years, and in the 1970s the Club was brought to the verge of bankruptcy by a Canadian fraudster who had become its

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Secretary after being introduced by controversial Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe. In between the scandals, the NLC became the first London club to admit women members, and I am proud to have succeeded our first female chairman, Janet Berridge.

After a quiet period following the millennium, the last five years have seen a remarkable revival in the Club’s fortunes, with the membership growing from 1,300 to 1,700, and the new intake featuring a much higher proportion of women and ethnic minorities.

The NLC has always prided itself on its international outlook, and enjoys reciprocal relationships with more than 180 clubs round the world. For three years now, we have celebrated Chinese New Year, and in October this year we shall for the first time celebrate Diwali.

Earlier this year, a 25-strong delegation from the NLC Commonwealth Forum went to

India with NLC members Lord Diljit Rana and H.E. Kamalesh Sharma, attending the Republic Day flagraising ceremony in Delhi on 26 January before visiting science parks, temples, mosques and state residences in Chandighar and Shimla – where Lord Rana was able to show fellow-NLC members round the Cordia educational campus he has funded at Sanghol.

Charity and the NLC are natural partners. One of our members, Sir Stuart Etherington, is to retire this year after 25 years as Chairman of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, during which time its membership has grown from 400 to 14,000. On Monday, 20th May, he will give a talk entitled “Charities Uncovered”, in which he will reflect on his time at the helm.

The NLC is proud to be associated with this evening, and looks forward to entertaining the winners of this year’s awards. A reception will be arranged to suit

everyone involved. Anyone else who would like to visit the Club is welcome to contact me personally on rupert@claritywritingexperts.com.

Rupert Morris is a former journalist (staffer on The Daily Telegraph and The Times; assistant editor of The Week 1995-2004) and author of several books, notably Tories (Mainstream 1991) and The Right Way to Write (Piatkus 1998).

For the past 20 years he has been running Clarity Writing Experts, writing speeches, editing reports and conducting workshops for clients in the public and private sectors. Since 2002, he has been conducting humanist ceremonies – weddings, funerals and baby namings. He qualified as a mediator in 2009. He is currently studying for an MA in Pastoral Care, with a view to chaplaincy work in prisons. Since May 2018, he has been Chairman of the National Liberal Club.

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24-SALVE International Uganda.qxp_A4 Temp 09/05/2019 10:44 Page 24

We believe there should be no street called “home” NICOLA SANSOM STUDIED HISTORY AT UNIVERSITY AND THEN WENT ON TO WORK FOR OXFAM AND BECAME A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE SMALL CHARITIES COUNCIL. SHE IS A CLOSE SOCIAL FELLOW AND AN ENTREPRENEURIN-RESIDENCE AT LANCASTER UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT SCHOOL. SHE FOUNDED SALVE INTERNATIONAL ELEVEN YEARS AGO AND COULDN’T BE AT THE CHARITY AWARDS TONIGHT AS SHE IS IN UGANDA RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SALVE INTERNATIONAL ON THEIR WEBSITE AT : WWW.SALVEINTERNATIONAL.ORG. ALVE stands for ‘Support And Love Via Education’. We are a small education and social work charity supporting children living on the streets in Jinja, Uganda.

We do this through counselling, care, family reunification and educational sponsorship.

SALVE International was founded in February 2008 as a UK and Ugandan partnership. SALVE started because we found it impossible to ignore the number of children living on the streets – many of them coming to the streets to work due to the extreme poverty their families were in. It was our passionate belief that something more could be done.

We started with an idea but very little money to turn that into a reality.

Since 2008, we have slowly and organically grown, to be able to offer services to even more children on the streets and their families to build a brighter future.

There is a vibrant and active community of NGOs working in Uganda, but many of them (us included) face challenges in having the long-term sources of funds they

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need to be able to offer the high quality of service we would like to.

This is further exacerbated by the scale of the problems we are all trying to solve. For example, since more than half the population of Uganda is under the age of 18, lack of money to pay for the rising costs of school fees is one of the biggest challenges families face. Uganda also has one of the largest refugee populations in the world, with over 1.1m refugees as at the end of 2018.

SALVE is now eleven years old and has expanded to support even more children and their families. For example, we have opened a unique (only one in Uganda) Drug Rehabilitation Programme for children addicted to mafuta (aeroplane fuel) as a way of coping with life on the streets. In 2018 we supported 68 traumatised children who had been living on the streets to return home to their extended family, with an 87% long-term success rate.

We have started a partnership with pharmacy wholesaler JP Impex in Uganda, brokered through Charity Clarity, that we are very excited

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

about. The partnership will enable us to buy pharmaceutical supplies at wholesale prices i.e. 30-40% less than the normal retail price. For every pound and shilling saved through this partnership, SALVE will be able to support even more children to have their chance to leave the streets.

We believe there should be ‘No Street Called Home’ and want to keep building on what we have started to benefit even more children and their families in Uganda.

There are more than 600 children living on the streets of Jinja and a further 3,000 out-of-school children who depend on the streets to earn a living and survive. We would like to expand our services to help more of these children, particularly homeless girls, as they are often hidden from sight due to their vulnerability to abuse. We also want to do more to support the families of the children we support, so that they can sustain themselves and prevent their children from needing to turn to the streets in the first place.

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The core teaching of truth, love and compassion As I write this article for the Asian Voice Charity Awards powered by Charity Clarity, I am on a tough, bumpy journey to Khadagada village in Rajasthan, India. In two weeks, my family will be sponsoring and organising Hindu spiritual leader Morari Bapu’s Ram Katha , a religious seminar here (hence I will sadly not be able to attend the Awards themselves). hadagada is a tiny rural village and over the course of nine days, we are planning to feed over 200,000 people. For me, the giving of spiritual (often life-changing) fulfillment as well as actual food, is one of the highest seva (service) that we can do for others. This is what I have learnt from my Guru, Morari Bapu whom I have been following for nearly 25 years.

Morari Bapu’s core teaching to all of us is Satya, Prem and Karuna (Truth, Love and Compassion). Bapu believes that we are all one family and we have a responsibility to support all across the world; particularly when there is a natural disaster.

Recently, Cyclone Idai caused devastation to millions in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, increasing the risk of Malaria, Typhoid and Cholera. Morari Bapu asked my uncle, Rameshbhai Sachdev via his charity ‘God My Silent Partner’ to immediately raise funds. Over a few days, £55,000 was donated to these countries.

Among those he reached out to help his cause in the three African countries was Lord Dolar Popat (also my uncle!), the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Rwanda and Uganda. He has been a Judge at the Awards in an earlier edition.

It’s not the first time Bapu has rendered help at times of natural calamities and tragedies. His concern

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for humanity transcends religious identity. After the recent terrorist attacks on the mosques in New Zealand, which claimed 50 lives, Bapu donated more than £22,000 to the families of those who lost their lives.

To Bapu, citizens all over the world are his family and his entire living is to bring many different branches and sects of religion (even of other faiths), different parts of the globe with a variety of languages, and the different levels of society with a panorama of cultural variation, to a common ground of undivided understanding. His concern and compassion for mankind goes beyond words and walking the talk inspires many. For example, Bapu has held his Ram Kathas in the Vatican as well as in Jerusalem.

A few months ago, Morari Bapu stirred a religious controversy in India when he invited sex workers for a nineday long religious discourse and at the same time organised a fund-raising for them so as to help provide financial support and medical care for these women. This is an area that Meenal and Rameshbhai’s son Rishi Sachdev have devoted huge resources to via their Shiva Foundation.

As expected there was heated opposition on whether the initiative was morally right. In response, Bapu simply explained that his motive is to make spiritual recitation accessible to the neglected, exploited and marginalised segments of society. And

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

he himself led the way in visiting the red-light streets inviting sex workers for the event.

Thereafter, the idea of taking spiritual teachings to sex workers was taken up and today live screenings of the spiritual recitation are now beamed in the red-light streets of India.

For me, charity is also about giving our talents and time to those around us. For example, one of the driving forces for me standing (and being the first elected Indian Councillor in Hertsmere) as a Convervative Councillor more than five years ago, was to be able to give my time to those in my local community. It is harder to help those in say a neighbouring town than your friends and family, since you have no natural reason for doing so.

These Awards are about what drives each of us to give (be it time, skills or money) and highlighting the personal journeys and stories of so many inspiring individuals who seek to help others in all walks of life. May I take this opportunity to congratulate all the nominees and winners tonight.

Abhishek Sachdev is the CEO of Vedanta Hedging an independent firm of corporate treasury consultants, providing advice and practical support to businesses often on the mis-selling of financial products. He was a Judge for this years’ Awards.

EMPOWER DONORS. SUPPORT CHARITIES. FOR CHARITIES Assessment and rating Social impact analysis Trainings

FOR DONORS Identify the right charities to donate to Research before Giving Monitor results and assess impact

Follow us on twitter @charityclarity_ facebook @charityclarityuk Visit us at www.charityclarity.org.uk

ABOUT CHARITY CLARITY

Charity Clarity was founded with two simple aims: For charities, we want to highlight your good work and help you succeed. For donors, we want to make sure you have the right information to help you make a difference.

Request an assessment today!

+44 (0) 20 7993 6851 contact@charityclarity.org.uk

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Charities and small businesses can benefit from much more secure identity management dentity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission in the US, “occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, social security number or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes.”

The impact of such theft can of course be financial, but also emotional, physical and social.

Identity theft is often a faceless crime that can trigger a host of emotional reactions. If someone is using your name to commit crimes and law enforcement arrests you, that’s a highly stressful event.

Whether you rely on social media for your profession or use it to stay in touch with friends and family, hackers could damage your reputation or put your job on the line.

There are plenty of stories about how data has been stolen from even the most secured companies. 87m Facebook records were breached in March 2018, personal information of 57m Uber users and 600,000 drivers were exposed in late 2016, 77m of Sony’s PlayStation Network accounts were hacked in April 2011, personal information for 143 million Equifax consumers was hacked in July 2017. The list goes on.

Your use of social media significantly increases chances of identity theft, with those using sites like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are 46% more likely to have their identity stolen. 52% of small businesses don’t even invest anything in cyber theft security, and 31% don’t take any active precautions at all against cyber theft.

In the UK alone, 500 identity fraud cases are reported every day.

Existing solutions to this problem are prone to identity thefts themselves, can be costly and complicated, often with centralized

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storage prone to hacking and constrained by borders.

THE WORLD IS CHANGING, AND IT IS POSSIBLE TO PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST SUCH MALICIOUS ACTIVITY We’re a tech startup that is trying to change all of this. MyEarthID’s decentralised identity management solution uses cryptography and distributed ledger technologies to keep you super-secure. This means, in the most genuine sense, you control your data. You can choose when to give it to someone else and when to block that access. It is truly selfsovereign, as they say in our industry jargon.

MyEarthID is borderless, contains a digital ID wallet aggregating your vital records across different industries, is cost-effective and doesn’t need identity validation again and again.

How does it work? There is a short but effective verification process online through an app. Once this is done, you get a Trust Score.

This Trust Score can be used for changing and updating your vital records, validation of education certificates online, getting bank accounts and loans, AML processes, car rentals, health records, seamless social media logins, paying your council tax bill and more. The possibilities are endless.

HERE’S HOW CHARITIES CAN BENEFIT If you’re taking on new staff, imagine if you can cut 80% of the time it takes to verify them, get their National Insurance, address and other details?

If you are providing healthcare

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

services in the remotest of areas what if, instead of paper trails, you could have a fool-proof way of storing electronic records for all your beneficiaries, for example refugees or those at the bottom of the pyramid?

If you’re dealing with a new vendor, how do you know if they are who they say they are? MyEarthID can help.

If your staff travel a lot, what if you could securely store room and flight booking information in one place, rather than logging into different websites or saving it in your email?

If you run a community or selfhelp group for vulnerable people, what if you could validate identities at the click of a button, to ensure you are able to provide a safe space for all of them?

WHY WE’RE HERE AT THE CHARITY AWARDS TONIGHT We’re at the Awards because we believe in the causes tonight. We are delighted to offer each of the winners a special package of services from MyEarthID that will help them be more secure, less prone to malicious activity online and save them money. Because charities should be able to spend more time and resource on creating impact rather than on admin.

If you want to know more, our Founder Shiv Aggarwal is in the audience tonight, or you can visit https://myearth.id.

Shiv Aggarwal is a technology entrepreneur with a focus on improving human lives through the power of technology. He is the Founder of MyEarthID, Europe Lead and London President of the Government Blockchain Association, a global non-profit organisation with over 100 chapters across the world, helping governments understand and adopt blockchain technology.

He has more than 15 years of technology industry experience, having worked with like Bank of America, Cathay Pacific, The Hartford, Lloyds of London and Unilever.

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30 Bridge IndiaNew.qxp_A4 Temp 09/05/2019 11:00 Page 30

Europe’s first Indian diaspora think tank launches

In late 2018, a new think tank launched its first office in London. With a team spanning senior government officials, business and civil society leaders, it aimed to help Indian diaspora and Indiawatchers engage with India better. Bridge India is now around six months old.

ndia’s national identity has been built on unity in diversity, which is often missing from discussions about the ‘India Story’ abroad. Bridge India aims to fill this gap.

India represents an ancient civilisation, united by a shared history and sustained by a pluralist democracy.

The idea of India is one that is inclusive, secular, and with a Constitution that provides for the vast diversity of its composite culture. The idea of India is the idea of embracing the many.

India’s national identity has been built on unity in diversity, and it has long celebrated the commonality of major differences amongst its people. It offers many truths, each of which give shape and substance to the idea of India.

But the ‘India Story’ abroad is often presented through a narrow lens, be it focusing only on business and the economy, society or policy landscape.

Given its diversity, everything about India, and its polar opposite, is true in unison. Bridge India seeks to highlight and celebrate this nuance, to help Indiawatchers understand India better.

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“I WANT TO INFLUENCE MY CHILDREN TO HAVE A CONNECTION WITH INDIA, BUT CAN THAT BE IF I MYSELF DO NOT HAVE ONE?” – INDIAN DIASPORA PARENT, LEICESTER, UK (2017) India’s diaspora is one of the most successful globally. With prosperity and successful integration into their host communities, comes a longing for some younger diaspora in particular, to connect with their ancestral land. The connections they seek with a contemporary India are cultural, social, linguistic, religious and financial.

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But their idea of India is one coloured by the stylised view proffered

by Bollywood, raucous 24-hour Indian news channels and their parents’ idea of the India from their childhood.

These diaspora wish to connect back, or contribute to the India they see, but may not know how.

Bridge India seeks to facilitate interaction, debate and access for these diaspora to help them understand India better through accessible content, research and visits.

The organisation will champion a progressive outlook. We will seek to proactively present a vision and narrative for engagement with India that engages young diaspora, policy makers, and other India-watchers through events, research and new media.

We know we have an ambitious agenda ahead of us, but we intend to meet it though publishing insights, analyses and opinions in print and online; conduct research especially on topics that matter for Indian diaspora, and for public diplomacy in terms of economic, diplomatic and cultural relations with India, with a focus on topics not covered elsewhere, and which champion a progressive outlook; convene seminars, roundtables and conferences to promote the vision; produce bitesize clips of content for social media, to target young diaspora

ASIAN VOICE CHARITY AWARDS - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar 2019

and build a engaged and informed membership; engage academics and policy-makers on research and evidence-based analysis of the India-UK relationship; and embrace different opinions and debate within an overarching progressive agenda.

While our charity registration is pending with the Charity Commission, it’s due to finalise any day now. We’ve been supported by Charity Clarity’s team to launch in the UK, with support for fundraising, marketing, events and even helping us ensure accurate trustee meeting minutes.

Our team has considerable experience in the charity sector in England and Wales, and aims to bring that to Bridge India, in order to make it into a sustainable and well-governed organisation. Just as India’s national identity has been built on unity in diversity, Bridge India’s team reflects this.

We are at the start of a long journey, but one that we hope will be enriching as well as one that helps people of different communities understand and immerse themselves in an authentic India Story.

Written by the Bridge India team.

You can find out more about Bridge India at www.bridgeindia.org.uk. It is a membership organisation with its first office in London.

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