Reflections from our chair, perspectives from a trustee’s visit to Chennai, children’s excitement at space exploration and latest fundraising news. Read all this in our latest newsletter.
Author: admin
Win one of these beautiful prizes!
Buy tickets now for the Batemans Raffle – and give yourself the chance to win one of these three beautiful prizes.
All prizes come from Kalpa Druma, the renowned heritage arts, crafts and fabric store in Chennai, and will look wonderful in any home.
Prize 1: A beautiful cotton double-sided double bedspread known as a dohar.
The origins of these incredibly comfortable bed covers are rooted in the thought of a warm hug; one that makes you feel grounded and at peace.
Prize 2: A traditional peacock print in rich gold and turquoise.
The national bird of India, the peacock is a symbol of strength, power and prosperity.
Prize 3: A limited edition print of Ganesh.
This print is a modern interpretation of the much-loved Hindu god, Ganesh.
Raffle tickets cost £5 each, or you can increase your chances of winning by taking advantage of our five tickets for £20 offer. Click here to buy tickets.
Entries close on 30 June 2023.
Film captures the joyful spirit of Batemans-Satkaarya
Watch our new Batemans-Satkaarya video, filmed during a recent trustee visit to Chennai.
Monica Augustine, our project director, reflects on how our hostels offer vulnerable children the support and comfort of a second home and family.
It is also a joyful snapshot of the work of our outreach project, which is offering good quality early years education to needy families. The film was edited by the team at Cambridge content marketing agency CPL One Group, which generously provides its expertise for free to support Batemans-Satkaarya.
We hope you will enjoy watching it and do share it with friends and family. If you would like to support the work of Batemans-Satkaarya by sponsoring a child, you can do so here.
Fundraising update
It was off to the races for supporters in Steventon, Oxfordshire, in April.
Trustees Alex and Marion organised a fun Race Night with betting on the horses raising a fantastic £1,300 for Batemans/Satkaarya.
A night at the races is a great fundraising idea and involves using films from past horse races. Attendees place their bets after picking a horse from the list of runners in the programme, whether it’s a particular horse’s name they like or just their favourite number. It’s all good fun and there’s normally one lucky winner from each race during the evening!
Meanwhile, there was another successful morning in Essex when the fourth charity plant and cake sale since Covid lockdown ended was held in the foregrounds of St John’s Church, Chelmsford. The sun shone, the cakes were rapidly snapped up, as were nearly 90 per cent of the plants, and donations to Batemans/Satkaarya raised a total of £675.
More plants and seedlings are coming along well and it is hoped to hold another sale in late August/early September.
Warmth, dedication and generosity of staff “outstanding”
Trustees Amanda Morris-Drake and Becky Sewell have just returned from a very successful visit to Chennai, the first by trustees from the UK since Covid-19.
Amanda, pictured above, reports: “I was very impressed by the care and support provided at both the girls and boys hostels. The warmth, dedication and generosity of the staff is outstanding. They are a wonderful team and it is clear to see that vulnerable children thrive under their care.
“I was impressed by the self esteem the girls had and their wish to do well and lead independent lives. It was clear that ‘Girl Power’ is promoted and very well received. It has been an absolute pleasure to meet everyone who works for the Satkaarya Trust (our sister charity in Chennai) and the happy smiling faces of the children are a testament to the wonderful work done.”
Outreach going from strength to strength
Trustees Amanda and Becky visited the Outreach Programme (based on the land awaiting the construction of our new school). Our new social worker, Logesh, has settled into his job well and has made good contacts with local families who now send their children to the Outreach Programme.
The programme, which initially started with five children, now has up to 25 attending on a regular basis. The children obviously loved the rhymes and craft activities delivered by the staff and are being offered learning experiences which will be highly beneficial to their development.
Watch our dancing queens!
Visitors to the hostels are often struck by the energy of the children. Nowhere is this more apparent than in their enthusiasm for a dance routine.
During their recent visit, trustees Amanda and Becky were regularly entertained by the girls showcasing their dance moves.
Read our latest newsletter
Our 2022-23 newsletter is live here.
Book your tickets now for Steventon Spice Lunch!
The 2022 Batemans Spice Lunch with be taking place on Saturday 10 September at 12.30pm at Steventon Village Hall in Oxfordshire.
Hosted by Nick and Mary Thompson, this fundraiser is a great opportunity to hear the latest news from Chennai from Alex Jacob, founder of the Batemans Trust, and enjoy a fabulous homemade curry along with fellow supporters .
Tickets cost £15. To book and pay, please follow this link or download and complete this form.
The full address is: Steventon Village Hall, The Green, Steventon, Oxfordshire OX13 6RR.
August 2022 news update
We have four excellent pieces of news from Chennai.
The licence to run our boys hostel has been renewed for a further three years while, despite all the disruption of the past two years, 100 per cent of the girls and boys who sat their end-of-year standard exams were successful. Those who finished 12th standard are applying to go to higher education.
On the staff front we have appointed a new assistant warden and a social worker, who is currently researching educational needs as part of our planning for outreach work in Sendrambakkam while we wait for the school to be built.
The picture above shows some of our children getting ready for their first day of term earlier this summer.