HELP US TRANSFORM THE LIVES OF DISADVANTAGED WOMEN FROM THE SLUMS OF NORTH CHENNAI.... SAVE Trust, a superb NGO run by our friend, social worker S. Baskar, has two main activities - operating a network of After School Tuition Centres that cater for about 500 underprivileged children and a computer training centre (CCLE) that runs classes for about 20 unemployed women at a time, in computer & life skills, to help them get jobs after they complete their training.

Since 2018 of the 200 or so students who have graduated from the CCLE, 85% have gone on to get good jobs or study at college. A new plot of land was purchased back in October 2023, with help from a UK trust fund, and planning permission is underway for a new build, single story 1500 square foot computer training centre. Once completed, the new centre will allow for an increase in the number of women trained, thereby transforming the lives of more disadvantaged families.

We're really excited by this SAVE Trust project, an NGO that we have remained closely involved with for the last 9 years. Our collaboration dates back to 2016 when we spent part of our sabbatical volunteering in Chennai. S. Baskar, who runs this superb NGO, established in 2003, has committed his life to helping disadvantaged women and children from Dalit families living in the slums of North Chennai.

The estimated build cost is going to be around £40,000 and half of this amount has already been raised locally in Chennai. Our goal is now to fundraise the remaining 50% so that building can commence in the first quarter of 2026.

We are very grateful to Mondo Foundation who have agreed to help us by channelling any funds we raise through to SAVE Trust in Chennai, India, enabling us to benefit from gift aid, which is a significant help.

A generous UK donor has agreed to significantly boost our funds by 50% if we reach our £20k target, thereby allowing the centre to be kitted out with the latest computer hardware & software!

You can read more about SAVE Trust here: https://www.savetrust.org.in/index.html

You can read about the new training centre building project & estimated costs here: https://www.savetrust.org.in/trainingcenter.html