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Many of you may remember that in December 2000 I visited the Russ Foundation in India as a volunteer for 3 weeks in an orphanage near Madurai and on various projects in the surrounding villages. In December 2011 I will be returning to the Russ Foundation to volunteer again and Tom's coming too.  We are working when we get there, this is not a holiday - we want to raise £1,000 for Russ as a gesture towards the fantastic work they do. It’ll be different visiting 11 years on, and in some ways I’m more apprehensive now than when I was just 17 and setting off for my first Christmas away from home.  Most of my friends now have their own children so it’ll probably hit home even more this time! Without preaching, we all know that we live privileged lives in a free society. It's impossible for most of us to comprehend a life without basic facilities and rights.  Let's face it, most of us take for granted the luxuries we have and even consider them 'necessities' - think about a day without your mobile phone - unbearable for some..... what about days without basic sanitation and food then?  Fortunately, this is not something we have to deal with in our daily lives but we should be thankful that we are fortunate enough to have such luxuries and bear in mind that in 2011 there are still people all over the world with the same hopes and dreams as us but who are much less fortunate. One of the things that struck a chord with me when I visited Russ in 2000 was the desire of the children to learn.  We take our education system for granted, in fact we kick back against the schools and teachers which are given to us for free.  It was almost a chore for us to attend school sometimes wasn't it! Yet we now know that the basic right to an education enables people to work, to provide for themselves and their families. Read below about the Children's Home for more info but, as a bit of 'evidence' to support this cause, one of the young girls in the home when I visited in 2000 has now graduated university and is working at the home!  What I love about Russ Foundation is that they work with people to educate and provide training and guidance.  It's building the skill base for the community to grow and live sustainably. In the past 11 years I have continued to keep in touch with the team at the Russ Foundation and have seen them complete some amazing work, bringing vital changes in the community it serves. The primary objective of Russ Foundation is to improve the quality of life of the children, women and the community. The motto at Russ is "serving the deserving" and the mission is "To work with people to improve the living conditions and quality of life of individuals, families, and the community at large by providing access to varied services to needy people; irrespective of genders, castes and faiths." Russ Foundation Children's Home Russ Foundation children home was started in the year 1992  in a rented house with just three young girls of five and six years of age. As of today there are 35 children and young girls between the ages 3 and 25 years. Most of the children are with single parents and the rest are without both. Over the last few years children infected with HIV (CIA) and children affected with HIV (CAA) are integrated into the mainstream. As of date there are two little boys who also live in the home. All the children go to regular schools and they are well taken care of by a dedicated team of staff who all live under the same roof as a single family. The children are provided with all the facilities and given good care with the support from friends of Russ Foundation.  Several girls have graduated and some are married and settled in family life. Few girls are going to the University for their 3 years Bachelors Degree programme and 2 years Masters Degree Programme. Some of the graduated girls have also started to work in the projects of Russ Foundation. For more information about Russ, please visit their website <a href="http://www.russfoundation.in/">www.russfoundation.in</a> or come and ask me! Russ Foundation concentrates its developmental efforts at the grass-root level in sectors like Health, HIV/AIDS, Education, Socio-economic development, Life-skill Vocational Training and Ecology. Russ Foundation is focused to create sustainable and culturally relevant solutions by enabling communities to break the longstanding obstacles for their development.

Gem & Tom - India Fundraising - Return to Russ 2011

Gem & Tom - India Fundraising - Return to Russ 2011

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