A message from Becky Sewell, chair of Batemans trustees

Permission for Indian charities to receive contributions from foreign donors is given by the Indian government and needs to be renewed every five years.

Until now this has not been a problem for our sister charity, the Satkaarya Trust. However, I wanted to let you know that we are currently having to work our way through some issues which are preventing Batemans from transferring funds directly to Satkaarya.

This situation is not unique; several thousand charities, including much larger international ones such as Oxfam and Save the Children, have also been blocked as a result of the Indian government’s Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

We are thankful that Satkaarya currently holds sufficient funds to continue its valuable work running the girls’ home and, in fact, is attracting more support from local Indian organisations and donors. If any of you have any contacts in India who may be interested in directly supporting Satkaarya please do let us know and we can share Satkaarya’s details with them.

To those of you who are sponsors, please rest assured that your valued contributions will continue to support the education of your sponsored child.

We are confident we can maintain funding for our outreach programmes through other charities with whom Batemans and Satkaarya have collaborated with for many years.

The FCRA decision is open to appeal and Batemans’ trustees will support the Satkaarya management team and continue to seek ways to protect and maintain all our educational and pastoral projects in Chennai. The needs of vulnerable children and young people remain our key focus.

We will, of course, keep you informed of any developments. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me at rebecca.sewell@batemans.org.uk

Book now for our London drinks reception on Thursday 8 May 2025

We are looking forward to welcoming lots of our supporters to a special drinks reception on Thursday 8 May at the historic Tallow Chandlers Hall in London.

It will be a chance for hear from Batemans trustee and award-winning conservation architect Paul Crosby, who travelled 18,000 miles by motorbike from our hostel in south India to his home in Cumbria. Paul has already delivered three sold-out talks in his home town of Kendal. Now he’s heading south!

Book your tickets here. And find out more here.

Another event that’s approaching fast is our annual plant and cake sale in the wonderfully restored gardens of St John’s Church in Chelmsford, Essex on the morning of Saturday 3 May. We hope to see some of our loyal Essex supporters there.

An “extraordinary and uplifting” visit

Batemans has benefited for many years from the generous support of the Tallow Chandlers Livery Company.

So our team in Chennai was delighted to receive a visit from Jonathan Spence DL, a senior member of the company and also a distinguished Freemason.

The girls entertained Jonathan and his colleagues with special dance and song and a presentation of their life at Satkaarya. Afterwards Jonathan described his experience as “extraordinary and uplifting” and observed that the Trust “makes a meaningful, transforming difference to the girls for whom they care”.

Gayathri recovering well

We are delighted that one of our students, Gayathri, is back to normal active life, after undergoing a series of medical interventions for a life-threatening congenital condition.

In total, Gayathri has undergone four major surgeries since joining Satkaarya, but now she is recovering looking forward to starting school soon.

We are very grateful to all the kind people who generously contributed to Gayathri’s cause.

Pongal celebrations marked in style!

The year 2025 began on a festive note with the celebration of Pongal, the equivalent of harvest festival in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The girls dressed up in traditional attire, drew colourful rangoli patterns on the hostel floor and performed at a grand dance show organised by one of the leading dance academies in Chennai.

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