Thanks to your support a new dimension to our activity in Chennai has been launched: Satkaarya’s wraparound care programme.

Wraparound care is provided for needy children whose home environment is chaotic, unstable and often even dangerous.

These children are impoverished and malnourished and also face the risk of being victims of all kinds of abuse, including substance abuse. Such children are identified by our social worker, Mr Peters, who has good experience in dealing with parents in difficult situations and convincing them to send their children to school.

How does it work?

The children attend local Little Lambs School in the day and are then dropped off at our wraparound care centre. The children spend four hours at the centre where they are washed and cleaned, fed nutritious snacks and meals and then given the necessary holistic educational support. The evening is organised in such a way so as to accommodate physical exercise, yoga, sports, recreational games, art activities, with some literacy and numeracy. The little boys and girls are also taught basic hygiene, proper eating habits and values while managing behaviour in a positive manner.

The outcome

Currently eight children are attending the wraparound programme. There is scope for more to join in. The success of the programme is that the children are eager to attend school regularly and want to come to the care centre every day. Another highlight of the programme is that the older girls at the Satkaarya home are able to participate in caring for these children. Thanks to the core team of staff who are very dedicated and have made this initiative possible, Batemans-Satkaarya will be able to expand the work to many more vulnerable children.

The picture above shows three of the children who are benefiting from the programme: Muthalagu and her brothers Surya and Pechumuthu.

Below are a few more pictures of children involved in the programme.

‘This year’s Batemans catering stall at the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire was as crazy and brilliant as ever,’ writes trustee Alex Jacob.

‘With 45 wonderful volunteers enthusiastically helping to chop, cook, stir, open tins, wash up and serve about 2,000 portions of food and helping raise more than £17,000. And there was an additional £200 raised by the lovely porridge ladies who used our stall in the morning before people were ready for curries!

‘Trustee Marion Mills masterminded the purchasing so skilfully that we only ended up with a few spare tins at the end (having started with a hall-full of them!). Marion had even managed to procure lots of donated coconut milk after befriending someone on the bus to Oxford!’ (Ed’s note: proof that it’s always worth chatting about Batemans’ charity work to new faces.)

Alex continues: ‘Rachel and Ruth managed to juggle all the volunteers into a timetable of shifts and with a team who had nearly all done it before, we were pretty efficient… but the favourite job for many is still towing the ‘Truck Wagon’ up to the stall laden with steaming tubs of curry! Thank you everyone who made it possible!’

Marion adds: ‘One of the most rewarding elements is the number of return customers – not just during the event itself, but also year after year.’

Want to help a bit more? Then why not enter our autumn raffle. It’s open to all, so do please encourage your friends to join in. You and they could win a lovely prize and all the money raised goes to helping the children in our care. Tickets are £5 per ticket or five tickets for £20.

To buy tickets, click here.

Below are the three raffle prizes:

1st prize: Table set – six placemats and six serviettes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2nd prize: Two embroidered and mirrored cushion covers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd prize: Two patchwork cushion covers 

Trustee Paul Crosby is back in the UK after his amazing fundraising ride on a Royal Enfield Bullet, made in Chennai, across half the world from India to the UK.

After starting from the Batemans Trust/Satkaarya hostel for girls in Chennai he worked his way overland back to his home in Kendal, UK. New to this type of motor biking, it proved to be quite an epic adventure.

You can donate to his JustGiving fundraising page here.

 

Project director Monica Augustine reflects on one girl’s remarkable journey with Batemans/Satkaarya.

Mariyammal, who is now 18 years old and pictured above, came to Batemans/Satkaarya at the age of 11. She belongs to the Irular Tribe, a marginalised community marked by economic and social disadvantage.

Mariyammal’s family was rescued from bonded labour by the International Justice Mission and efforts were made to rehabilitate the family.

It was at this time that Mariyammal’s mother expressed interest that her daughters be given an opportunity to find good education so that they could escape the clutches of poverty. This is why the girls were admitted into our home in 2016.

To Mariyammal, being in the city in a new home was a shock to her system, but she adapted herself very well to her new environment. She came with very little knowledge of English reading, writing or speaking. She started learning in the Batemans Open School (our preparation classes for children to bring them up to the level required to attend mainstream schools) and had a slow but steady start to her learning. She showed interest in learning the English language and was very enthusiastic about listening to stories. She enjoyed reading with Batemans volunteers from the UK and benefited a great deal from spending time with them.

Mariyammal’s vocabulary improved consistently and her communication skills became better with each passing year. Mariyammal successfully moved on to regular mainstream school and went on to complete her 10th grade, which was the first major academic milestone in her life.

Most girls in her village had discontinued studies and some had even married by the time they were 16, but Mariyammal took up science for further studies and successfully passed her 12th grade exams in May 2024.

Despite the odds stacked against her, Mariyammal has demonstrated exceptional determination and resilience, emerging as the first matriculate in her entire family.

Mariyammal is pictured (left) when she first came to Satkaarya as an 11 year old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With continued support and guidance from Batemans/Satkaarya, Mariyammal is moving on to university to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. This is highly commendable and a great success story – Batemans/Satkaarya has helped Mariyammal help herself for life.

Mariyammal is also extremely talented at sports, dance, arts and sculpting. She comes across as a confident young woman ready to take on the challenges of this world and to make a difference in the lives of many girls in her community!

A sponsor’s perspective

Mariyammal’s sponsor Anne Desir says: “I have had the pleasure of sponsoring Mariyammal since she joined the hostel seven years ago and of meeting her on several occasions during that time, the first time being soon after her arrival. She was a very shy 11-year-old, who had no previous experience of English. She loved looking at books, pointing to pictures to learn the English words.

“I also remember her smile and her eagerness to join in. During later visits, I noticed her growing confidence in all she did; her fluency in English improving hugely and her smile had not deserted her! I couldn’t help cheering and clapping when I heard that Mariyammal was starting a BA in English.”

Could you sponsor a child? 

The rewards are enormous! To do so, please visit: www.batemans.org.uk/donating/sponsor-a-child

 

 

A recent visit to the girls’ home in Chennai drew praise from sponsor Camilla Drew.

Writing to our project director Monica after her visit she wrote: “It was so lovely to meet you and the girls. You do such an amazing job with all the girls, we were so impressed with all you are offering them.”

Camilla’s daughter Jess is pictured (left) at the girls’ home during their visit.

 

Our biggest annual fundraiser is approaching fast… the Batemans food stall at Truck Festival in Oxfordshire.

Each year, led by Batemans founder Alex Jacobs, around 40 (yes 40!) volunteers help to ensure it is consistently successful.

Planning, shopping, chopping, more chopping, cooking, stirring, more chopping, serving… it’s a non- stop workout. But it really delivers.

If you are not able to hold or help at a fundraiser here’s a way you can help, and without having to don an apron or shed tears from chopping onions!  Simply donate some money to help fund the cost of creating a wonderful food outlet. Your donation could help pay for dozens of onions, peppers, leeks, aubergines and potatoes for this fantastic fundraiser.

Last year Batemans raised more than £10,000 at Truck. With your help we can hopefully raise even more in 2024.

You can make a donation via our website www.batemans.org.uk/donating. 

Have you been following the extraordinary adventures of trustee Paul Crosby, who is travelling from India to the UK on an Enfield Bullet motorbike and spreading the word about Batemans/Satkaarya at the same time?

You can follow his journey, see the people he meets and enjoy some great pictures by visiting bullet4batemans on Instagram or follow Paul on Facebook.

And you can donate to Paul’s JustGiving page here.

In other fundraising news, May’s bi-annual plant and cake sale in Essex, co-organised by trustee Suzanne Kuyser, raised an incredible £1,800 for a number of charities, including Batemans.

We have plenty more fundraising events coming up later this year, including afternoon tea in Chelmsford (6 October), the Batemans Spice Lunch in Oxfordshire (12 October), the annual Cambridge quiz night (19 October) and another fantastic Batemans/Satkaarya raffle! Look out for more details in our next e-newsletter.