Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As most of you know, I have been travelling to India 2-3 times a year for the last 8 years, and I have built a huge bond with hundreds of the street children that are helped by the charity El Shaddai.

Over the years I have raised money for many different causes, including paying for a classroom to be built in the new school project, equipment from the different needs lists etc. Now I try to put any money that I get towards something fun for the children, as I think it's important that they get as much out of their childhood as possible!!

You may have heard many stories recently in the media about these awful rapes and murders happening in India, and as they have only just started to be reported in the press, they may seem like rare occurances, but the truth is they are happening all the time in the underprivelidged  areas,  the reports just aren't getting out!!  

So many of India's street children are living in the areas where these types of crimes are taking place, leaving them vulnerable to what can happen.  And unfortunately the protection of family is not always there for them!  On my last trip to India in January I was told about 3 new children being looked after by the charity, they had been brougt in as the mother had caught a man raping her 3 year old!  After the mother had reported this crime to the police she mysteriously disapeared leaving all 3 children alone. It is believed that the mother was murdered, but nothing has been confirmed as yet.  As shocking as this may seem, it's happening all of the time!!

The children that we bring to El Shaddai have the protection and love that a child needs and can feel safe in our homes!  Unfortunately many of the children that the charity has in their care, may have already been put through similar ordeals before being taken in, so this is why it is important that they now feel safe and cared for. And this is why I like to raise money for fun things, to enable them to enjoy their childhood as children should!

I would like to raise enough money to take around 30 of the children on a special holiday.  You may remember I did a similar thig a few years ago and took 30 of them to Bangalore on the train for a holiday.  They had an amazing time!!  And if I could have a pound for every smile on their faces during the trip, I would be a very rich lady.

One of the things that stood out to me was when we took them to a shopping mall and they went on an esculator for the first time, Their faces were a picture!!  It's hard to imagine in this day and age that children have never seen these before, but it just reminds us of how different their lives are.

I am hoping to raise enough money to actually fly them somewhere, so that they can see what I do, and also have an experience and opportunity that they may never have again.  If I don't raise enough money then I will put the difference towards it.  But I'm hoping that I come close, so please help me if you can.  I know I never run marathons, or climb mountains to raise the money, but when I am in India I do work very hard to get all the children smiling every day that I'm there!

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