The Batemans Trust has announced exciting plans to buy land to develop our own primary school and boarding home in Chennai.

This major project forms the key part of Batemans’ strategic plan for the next five years, which revolves around ensuring the charity can continue to effectively meet the needs of Anglo-Indian and other deprived young people in Chennai.

By buying land to develop the charity’s first permanent home of our own, we will be in a much better position to control the ever increasing costs of some of our projects. The building would include a school for children aged between five and 11 and a boarding home for five to 16 year olds.

The charity has made some great strides forward in recent years, with an all-Indian management and teaching team running its key projects, which between them support more than 100 young people.

But there are significant financial challenges. The cost per child has almost trebled in five years, with spiralling rent and school costs. It’s great that we are running more projects but they are on different sites and this inevitably leads to higher costs.

Our ambition to buy land and then build our own modern and sustainable home – in a less expensive part of Chennai – will mean that, in the long term, our day-to-day running costs will be significantly reduced.

The Trust is undertaking a fundraising drive with the first milestone being to raise the £70,000 required to identify and buy a plot of land, ideally before prices increase too much more! This year’s Batemans Wish List gives you the chance to help kickstart the process.

To support this – and to help ensure Batemans’ ongoing projects continue to be effectively supported – the trustees are also advertising for a part-time fundraising expert, who will focus on applying for grants from public and private bodies. See more about this role here.