For a special treat the older girls were taken out recently to reward all their studying and help in the hostel while other children enjoyed a trip out to the seaside to watch dawn rise over the sea.

Our mission is to support our children in developing as all-round citizens. This is why extra-curricular clubs are run at the weekend so that they get some relief from their hectic school schedule and expand their interests.

Each child can participate in any two clubs. The clubs include art, craft, dance, cooking, eco club, sewing, computer, enterprise/ business and media.

Schooling continues to go well and 34 children, both boys and girls, have been enrolled in Emmanuel Methodist School and are transported together in our Batemans bus.

Most of those who finished 10^th grade are continuing school into 11^th grade, while those who have completed 12^th grade are now applying to go to college.

Meanwhile, two new students, aged 12 and 15, have been admitted into our girls home and are settling down well in their new environment.

 

We wish you all the very best of health and happiness as we move into 2022 and hopefully better times for all.

After a third wave of the Covid pandemic hit Chennai before Christmas, causing another lockdown of schools and colleges, the  good news is that all schools are due to reopen this month. In addition, everyone aged more than 15 years old is being vaccinated.

Batemans’ children are getting back to school! After studying online for the past 20 months – supported by our team in Chennai – early years’ children and students studying up to 11^th standard (the equivalent of GCSEs in the UK) are travelling to their schools again for face-to-face teaching.

Thanks to your support, we currently have 24 girls and 16 boys in our care. One boy who joined us in June is 12-year-old Mahesh, pictured above centre. After his single mother sought help from the Chennai Child Welfare Board for the care and education of her children, Mahesh was referred on to our Batemans-Satkaarya team, who report that he has settled in well.

If you would be interested in sponsoring Mahesh or any of our children, it costs £15 a month. Follow this link to find out more.

It’s been a great year for supporters making generous donations and finding innovative ways to raise money – from children putting on plays and running outdoor cake stalls to a midwife cycling the length of Great Britain!

Year 10 students at St Mary’s School, Ascot, have raised thousands of pounds this term, trustee Marion Mills set herself a walking target while Vinod Hallam and his wife Angela took to their gym bikes to pound out the miles for Batemans. And you can still sponsor supporter Sarah Barry who has definitely caught the marathon running bug.

Last weekend saw a successful fundraising quiz night in Cambridge, while in Chelmsford a group of supporters are preparing special Batemans Advent Treat boxes for delivery before the start of December.

If you are planning an activity and would like some advice on how best to maximise the opportunity – or have photos of an activity you’ve been involved in – please contact suzanne.kuyser@batemans.org.uk

Our project to build a new school in Chennai is gathering momentum again, with city planners back in operation after closing during lockdown.

Clarifications have finally been given on the complex building regulations and we are close to submitting our final building designs, in partnership with a local architect. It’s great to know we have sufficient funds in place to start the first phase of the building project once planning permission is granted.

Work on developing our business plan and curriculum is well underway and we are now looking for a project development officer to work in Chennai and spearhead the initial phase.

See our webinar, ‘Turning a dream into a reality’, to find out more.

A huge virtual hug and thanks from all of us at Batemans/Satkaarya.

In just three weeks, our Circle of Support Appeal and Challenge 2.6 activities have raised nearly £7,500, and the money is still coming in.

And there’s still time to join the 2.6 Challenge.

It’s a nationwide campaign, launched to help charities plug an expected £4bn income shortfall due to Covid-19.

Anything with 2.6 or 26 in it will do!

Just think of your own activity based around the numbers 2.6 or 26 – anything goes.

So far our supporters have done everything from run relays equalling a final distance of 26.2 miles (the length of a marathon), spun plates, stood on their head for 26 minutes, pushed through to achieve 26 sit-ups, and done 26 cartwheels. It’s your choice.

For those of you whose athletic days are behind you, or never began, please support others – family or friends – as they do their very own 2.6 effort.

This is a marvellous opportunity to be part of something really big. Get active, have fun, and raise money to help our vulnerable children in Chennai.

You can donate now via the 2.6 Challenge website. Simply select The Batemans Trust (all three words) as your nominated charity and it will take you to our JustGiving 2.6 Challenge page. If you would like to be kept up to date with all our children’s activities please give us permission to see your email address. No one else can.

Or please transfer your donation directly to our bank with the reference ‘2.6 Challenge’. Batemans Trust; Account number: 21628984; Sort code: 404130.  Alternatively, please send a cheque to Batemans Trust, 27, Stocks Lane, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX13 6SS.

Thanks for your support – and please share your pictures via our Facebook page or email the best ones to info@batemans.org.uk

 

Read all about the latest news from Batemans in our Spring 2018 newsletter. It includes details about the land we have bought near Chennai, heartwarming and heart-rending stories from the young people we are supporting, and updates from sponsors and trustees who have visited the project recently.