Huggetts and Holders Sponsor a Teacher in India

For the last 10 years Debbie and Dave’s Mum, Sandra has been volunteering her time for a UK based charity that supports children’s education in Kovalam, a small fishing village an hour south of Chennai.

The charity, Venkat Trust, was set up in 2004 by Sylvia Holder (Ellie and Katie's Great Aunt), who has been awarded a British Empire Medal for charitable work, and our family decided it would be a fitting celebration for Sandra’s 75th Birthday to visit and volunteer. Our families flew from London and Melbourne and met in Chennai in December 2023 and with a huge sense of trepidation, we headed to Kovalam.

What we experienced over the following 8 days was nothing short of life changing - the welcome, the smiles and the genuine warmth we felt was overwhelming. The insight that we received into what Sylvia and her incredible team on the ground in Kovalam are achieving was inspirational and we were all so grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to see for ourselves the impact that the charity is having to improve life and prospects for children and their families.

400+ children are sponsored through the Trust and a high school has been built, in partnership with the Tamil Nadu government, that educates 850 children for free. Previously no government high school existed and very few could afford to send their kids to school many miles away, so from 12 years old children assisted their parents fishing or in the home.

The teaching and management team are progressive and have high ambitions; a new Science wing is in the pipeline, the language lab is continually being updated, the Gwenyth Powell rooftop garden is constantly tended and improved, and an exciting program is even being set up with SpaceKids India. The future of this place is one to watch and we will all be involved for many years to come.

While our families personally sponsor children in Kovalam, we are keen to spread the word and encourage others to do the same. We have also committed to raise funds to support a new teacher for the next 3 years at the High School.

To this end, we are hoping to raise GBP 7500 (A$15,000) by holding various fund raising activities.

We hope you can support the children of Kovalam and please read more about the charity here. www.venkattrust.org.uk

If you are interested in sponsoring a child, this only costs £14 per month, so if this is something you would like to do, please contact the charity directly on the link above, and they will match you with a child.

Thanks

Sandra, Merv, Debbie, Ellie, Katie, Dave, Julia, Emily and Oliver