Dear Friends,

As you know we have requested that you bring no gifts to our wedding, we are so honoured and touched that so many of you are coming so far and spending a substantial amount of money to attend. Your attendance alone is a great enough gift to us and we ask for you not to give you any other gift. 

However, if you feel like you would like to contribute something we have picked a charity who's work means a lot to us because of what it does for Mumbai's slum and street children. 

We are looking forward to a wonderful, peaceful and comfortable time enjoying the riches the glittering city of Mumbai has to offer during this special time, but the poverty that permeates this multi-faceted city is hard to ignore and nor should we try. 

One of the ways the city's extreme poverty issues can be improved is by education and empowering the children in low income families to change and take control of their lives - so their standard of living can be better than their parents and grandparents.  

The charity we have chosen is Akanksha a charity based in Mumbai which operates 21 centres for education across the city. Each Akansha center runs with 50 Students, 2 Teachers and a social worker. 

Find out more about Akanksha here http://www.akanksha.org/ 
and its teachers here http://www.akanksha.org/school-project/teachers-and-staff

The money that you donate will go towards annual school supplies, field trips, covers teacher and social worker salaries and uniform expenses. If we raise 25, 000 INR - [approximately £300] it will cover the annual costs for one pupil for the year. 

These children are the children of all the people who serve you on your holiday in Mumbai. Taxi drivers, shop-keepers, hotel workers, waiters, security guards, road-sweepers and street-hawkers. If you take the time to talk to them, you will find all of them fiercely proud of their children and as all parents across the world - they want them to achieve more and have better opportunities than they had in life. 

India and especially Mumbai is a city full of hundreds of young bright sparks with endless potential and drive, who deserve our attention. So please use this page to make a little difference to the lives of Mumbai's street kids. 

Thankyou, We Love You!
Dave and Roh