Preparing for Christmas 2012

December News 

Divali is now over and we are pleased to say that we didn’t have any mishaps or burnt fingers.

The Children have started preparations for Christmas

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     The first priority was to get the children to make their Christmas cards. With 170 plus children to supervise this was no mean task! We then took new photos of the children to be printed and go in the cards. The children who are sponsored send to their ‘ aunties and uncles’ and the un-sponsored children’s cards are sent to all those good people who support Brighter Future by sending donations and by spreading the word about Brighter Future. If you have not received a card this year we apologise most sincerely. We admit that our database is not up to date. In these techno times most people communicate with us by email and consequently we may not have your most recent postal address. A few supporters have even changed name over the years.!

Prem Nivas Children get a Commission

We were greatly honoured to be given a commission by one of our stalwart supporters and sponsors in Nottingham. Mick ‘s wife, Diana, had the bright idea that they would like Brighter Future Children to make them some Christmas cards to send to their friends .

I emailed Mick some designs that the children had made the previous year and he chose one of them. The order was for 30 cards

a,

Mick offered to pay the postage, have the photo  printed in the UK and provide the envelopes. He has offered us £1 a card.

The cards were made at Prem Nivas, where I live with the HIV+ children. At first several children were involved but to save time we got a little production line going, with each child painting one colour.

The special gold stars ordered from England did not arrive on time so Mike will provide them too!

Jemima, Our New Volunteer

We were pleased to welcome Jemima to Brighter Future at the beginning of November. Jemima is taking a mini gap after her A level studies and decided to get some experiences before deciding which career path to follow next year.

Unfortunately her travels did not go smoothly and she had to spend hours waiting at the airport but Jemima coped very well and arrived safely in Visakhapatnam.

     Jemima has been to see the leprosy projects, the HIV homes and hospice and lived with the children at DMC House. She has been helping Victor in the office, collating the Rainbow children’s progress reports and making a start on that data-base!

"It's been a brilliant experience and really taught me about how these people live.They live such simple lives, and work extremely hard. Perhaps the most shocking lesson I learned was how much these people are discriminated against because of their condition, and their way of life before they were offered help from Brighter Future. I have learnt how young children and the elderly had no option but to beg on the streets, making less than a pound a day."

Another Brilliant Idea

Emily has donated £50 to Brighter Future as a Christmas present to her parents, Sonia and Richard Denny. 

Emily  has asked us to photograph Sonia’s sponsored child, Sanyasi, with what we buy for him and the organization.

Emily will present the photo to Sonia and Richard on Christmas day as her gift to them. Emily says that her parents will appreciate giving to BFIT as they were really impressed with their visit to Brighter Future last month.

Hari Made a Christmas Tree out of Twigs

Janaki fixed the electrical connections

Our Christmas Crib

The children made the peg figures and angels , the  older children arranged the background of stars, lights and angels

The youngest children made glittery discs to hang on the tree

All the children made peg doll figures

Hari, Janaki and Ramesh strung up the lights and angels

November 2012 Newsletter

Sanyasi meets his English sponsors

Sonia and Richard from Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds, combined a holiday on the miniature steam trains of India with a visit to see their sponsored child in Vizianagaram. They flew directly to Visakhapatnam from Delhi

They had chosen a hotel in Visag they were met at the airport by Victor’s son Richie and Sanyasi, the boy they have sponsored since 2007. and taken to their hotel.

The next morning Sonia and Richard came to meet Victor, and the children and staff of the Rainbow Boy’s Home and DMC House.  

They had brought small gifts for the children and Richard, being a keen cricketer himself, also bought new cricket bats for the boys.

A cricket match between children from Prem Nivas and the Rainbow home was the main event of the day. Augmented by some of the staff. Richard captained the ‘England’ team and Richie, the Indian. Kingfisher’s v Superkings’ !

The Shanti Nivas kitchen and dining room opening function

Sonia and Richard met the Hospice Patients

Sonia and Richard met Sanyasi’s HIV widowed mother who breaks stones for 10 hours a day in a quarry to educate her two elder sons

Divali is coming

 Sparklers not banned in India! 

The festival of lights, called Divali, (or Deepavali in some areas)  is on the 13th November this year. People light little oil lamps in windows or by doors, or these days candles and electric lights to show the goddess of wealth, Laxmi, the way into a house. It will then be blessed with prosperity. and the occupants will have freedom from problems. Saffron rice is eaten and people have new clothes. These may be the only new clothes that a poorer person has in the year. Christians and other religions also enjoy the trappings of Divali with fireworks lights and bonfires.
Thanks to C for funding the evening!

New dances learned

The Christmas Party;

All the children from our 5 homes come together a few days before Christmas for a special Party. This year we have 170 children to buy presents for, to make new clothes for, and to feed  with a very special meal. We can’t do all the cooking ourselves so we hire outside caterers to help us. We hire chairs and tables for the guests and older children. Mary, the Director’s wife, will choose the material for the new dresses, Punjabi suits, shirts and trousers and we pay for them to be made up by our senior tailoring ladies. Mary, shops for presents for each child and staff and senior girls from the Rainbow homes wrap them and label them. The children make cards for their sponsors and donors and decorate their homes with tinsel, tissue paper and lights.

New Christmas hymns are learnt and dances put together for the evening concert. Groups of children organize skits and sketches, and a nativity play rounds off the evening.
This year we are probably holding the party at Shanti Nivas,as it is now the only venue big enough to cope with the numbers. We will have to bus the children from the other homes, and that means bus fares, train fares, petrol and an extra  driver.
We have had two donations so far to help with this cost of the Christmas party but are hoping that more of our supporters can help us
with the expenses!

Bundles Of Love. It is also the time of year when we give the residents of our adopted leprosy colony, Bapuji, individual presents. These are usually clothes, as they can’t afford to get new clothes themselves.

All the other 4 colonies we provide medical and social care to, expect cash towards their Christmas/New Year celebrations too!




How did we do in October?
Children sponsored       0
St Marks   extra             £90
Kathryn and Mark          £225
Chislehurst Churches    £2000
Guy D Neeley         £50
Bourne Baptist Church extra £50
Mrs T and Mrs F                

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Birthdays in November and December.
Rainbow and DMC House
Ch Jyothi 27.11.95, Bhasker R 15.11.96, Manohar A 27.11.04, Santosh D 27.11.2009, Rajasekar 13.11.09, SK Rani
8.12.02,  Nandini 13.12.02, B Rani 18.12.04,Venkatalaxmi  20.12.98 ,
Prem Nivas
Chinna Rao  8.11.00 Chinnam Naidu 9.12.02 Nagamani 10.12.03, Ashok 31.12.97

October Newsletter 2012

Jack Chappell, now aged 91, was the first on the list of people to thank

Victor's visit      

Victor, the Director of Brighter Future In India, wishes to thank all the supporters of Brighter Future for their hospitality, given so generously to him, during his visit to England. He has really enjoyed meeting the sponsors of the children in our homes and can now put a face to those aunties and uncles whom he has met up and down the country. I have Victor with me as I am writing this newsletter, so what better opportunity than to get him to write a few words...

My Thanks Giving visit to UK

I am heartily thankful to all the supporters of Brighter Future for their love and support they have shown me during my visit to them. It is a lifetime experience for me that I could come over UK and meet and explain about the children and leprosy and HIV work we do in India for almost 10 years.I am glad that I could meet some of the supporters and thank them for their continuous support.
I believe my visit to England has given a permanent relationships with all the supporters of Brighter Future. I will treasure all the wonderful love and compassion and good times and experiences that I had during my stay in England. Thank you so much.
Once again I would like to thank all Brighter Future supporters from bottom of my heart for your warm welcome and love that you have shown me during my visit which I will never forget in my life. Thank you so much.
Namaste

The London 10K and more events for you

Some of the 2012 10k  team

After the success of the London 10K, in which we mustered 40 runners,we have decided to get tickets for some other events, like the London Half Marathon, affectionately known as 'Run to the Beat'  organised by Nike.Our northern contingent might like to try the Great North Run which is another half marathon, or the Manchester Run.Having done the London 10k several times I am sure some of our regulars would like the challenge of a few more miles. The Great North Run starts in Newcastle.

Tickets for these events are now on sale and get snapped up, so be quick! Let us know if you would like to enter and we will buy the tickets if you guarantee to raise a goodly sum for Brighter Future.

Meanwhile, for those who live near Peterborough, there is a group of our sponsors who do regular short runs throughout the winter, as a prelude to longer events. Remember Glynn Paskin who did the marathon for us? Unfortunately there are no spare London Marathon tickets until 2022 but you could start training now I suppose!

We would also like to hear from members of sports and running clubs who would like to raise funds for Brighter Future Children, If you have any connections do explore them and let us know.

You are not restricted to running! There are swimming events. Katy did two swims for us on lake Windermere. What about cycling and mountain walking challenges? Solo or in a group, of friends or colleagues. The Pennine Way and other walks across the length and breadth of Britain could be part of a family holiday. Have you got a local mountain to climb? Ask friends to sponsor you or turn the whole event into a holiday.There is nothing like having fun, challenging yourself, getting fit and doing it all for our 160 children from leprosy, railway platform and HIV/AIDS backgrounds.

If you would like to do the London 10K, perhaps to better your time, we have tickets for the event which is on Sunday 14th July 2013.

Trying to rationalize our banking

Having recently been involved with the preparation of the accounts for the Charity Commission and the Inland Revenue it became obvious that as our total income last year exceeded 50,000 pounds we no longer get the freedom from Bank charges that we once had . We have to pay 69p for every cheque paid into the Brighter Future account. 

While most of our sponsorship income is paid by standing orders and direct debits we are, like many charities, sent cheques for special occasions and special events. If it would be possible to send those Birthday and Christmas extras, and the so very kind responses to appeals, by the internet, as cash over the counter, or some bank to bank method, we would be able to avoid the dreaded bank charges.  We have to pay 21.00 pounds to send money to India but this only happens every few months. Lloyds TSB have said that if we pay 26.00 pounds a month we would be exempt from bank charges but it is not worth a little charity like BFIT paying what amounts to 312.00 a year.

We are going to open account at another high street bank to transfer the funds to, so that we don't exceed the 50,000.00.Sponsors will not need to do anything.

Manya is in India again..

... for her usual five or six months visit. She lives with the HIV orphan children at Prem Nivas but also visits other projects, especially the Rainbow children and those concerned with HIV patients. 

It is amazing how much the children change in the six months that she is away from them. The children eagerly await news of their sponsors, thinking that she must know them all. This year Victor will be able to show photos to those whose sponsors he has met.

Manya is looking forward to seeing Thompson House and the Pickford Memorial Hospice at the Shanti Nivas site. Having designed the buildings and been a keen overseer until last March, she hopes to add a few homely touches to the buildings and grounds, with the help of the children. 

Soon it will be time for Divali, an important festival for children and adults alike. Coloured lights, fireworks, bonfires and special foods accompany this festival.

Christmas is prefaced with all kinds of activities and preparations: card making, the party and entertainment, New dances and hymns to be learned. It is a lovely time for the children and hard work for the staff.

Sue Davies

Sue after the 2011 run

Brighter Future in the UK, and in India, are very sad to report the death on 28th of September, of one of the most ardent supporters of our charity, Sue Davies.
Sue not only raised the profile among the members of the Cardiff Inner Wheel but also encouraged her friends to support Brighter Future.
Last year, at the age of 73, Sue ran the London 10K for us and raised well over 1500 .00 pounds. She ran the race again this July for Cancer Research accompanied by her son, Graham, who ran for Brighter Future.

I met Sue when we shared a room on a cycling tour of the Loire valley in France. Sue was a few years younger than me but when faced with hills we were always to be found at the back of the group, grinding gears or walking up the hills.sue spoke fluent French so we tail-enders were often to be found loitering, with Sue chatting to the locals.

Sue had four adopted children and five grandchildren. She trained as a teacher of the deaf  and recently helped blind holidaymakers, guiding them and helping them to 'see' through her descriptions of the places they visited.

Sue has sponsored many children around the world and visited many of them in their home countries.Sue was due to arrive at Prem Nivas last October when it was discovered that she was far from well and was diagnosed with stomach cancer. when i told Sue that one of our Prem Nivas was upset, because although she had a sponsor, she never heard from him, Sue became her surrogate auntie and wrote letters to her.

Sue was an inspiration to all who know her.

 Birthdays in November

Rainbow children

Jyothi 27.11.95, bhasker 15.11.96, Manohar A 27.11.04, santosh D 27.11.09, Rajsekhar 13.11.09

Prem Nivas

Chinna rao 8.11.98

How did we do in September?

Children sponsored          7

Sarah's cards                   170.00

St Marks Church            1222.00

Bourne Church                120.00

M & CC                          750.00

K & KB                           100.00

X                                        50.00

These sponsorship and donations are mostly the result of Victors charisma and people appreciating his genuine love for all in his care.

Contacts

Danny (Treasurer)      brighterfutureuk@sky.com 01233 612598  07731191858

Manya ( Chair)             pmanya.norris@gmail.com 

Charity commission reg, charity no 1110823

Sonia and Richard's Visit

UK sponsors visit their child in India

 Sonia and Richard, from near Bury St Edmunds, came to see Sanyasi, whom they have been sponsoring since 2007. Sanyasi went to meet them at Visakhapatnam  airport. Sonia and Richard visited the Rainbow Home where Sanyasi lives and they were given a big welcome by the girls at DMC house too, with songs, dances, and lunch. 

After lunch with the children Sonia and Richard went to see Manya at Prem Nivas, the Home for HIV affected children, that Sonia and Richard helped to fund, through garden parties in their village. They distributed gifts ti the children. The balloons were     very popular.

The main event of the day was a cricket match between England "Richard Kingfishers" captained by Richard  and India " Richard Superkings". captained by Victor's son Richie..

 Visiting Shanti Nivas new Home and Hospice

  Opening the new kitchens at
Shanti Nivas.

Boiling milk in the new kitchen to ensure that there will always be food available .

Meeting Hospice Patients

Sonia and Richard meet Sanyasi's mother who works ten hours a day breaking stones in a quarry, to support her other  two sons.

September 2012 Newsletter

Edited by Manya

I am sure everyone would like to join me in welcoming our Indian Director, Victor, to England!

Victor arrived at Heathrow on Tuesday 28th evening and was met by his brother Danny. It was the first time he had left India and his longest flight. Everything is so new and exciting for him, from the double decker Boeing aircraft , the sight of the Dubai duty free , the meals on board.and the hundreds of passengers.

His first few days were spent acclimatising and getting used to things over here, the driving speeds, motorways, the variety of goods in the supermarkets. Danny provided rice and curries.

Victor discovered all sorts of cakes and goodies when he attended the Coffee Morning that one of our sponsors, Rosemary, had organised in Bromley, Kent. With raffles and bric a brac, selling cakes and some of Sarah’s cards.

Danny put Victor on the train for Victoria and I met him at the barrier, to begin a tour of London on an open topped bus,and the visit the Tower of London.

We found we had a 2 hour wait in Ely so took advantage of seeing the cathedral. Victor is really impressed by the age of buildings, the countryside and the quietness of the driving – no horns blasting as in India (where the horn is used as a signal to overtake!).



Nottingham was our prime destination, as that is where our benefactor Jack Chappell lives. It was Jack who provided the lion’s share of the cost of the building you all know as DMC House, where the Rainbow Children live. From that auspicious gift Brighter Future has grown into a charity with ten interrelated projects for children and adults from leprosy colonies, from railway platforms, from the poorest areas and for people infected by HIV/AIDS. From 13 children in 2004 Brighter Future now gives  loving care and education to 160 children. Jack is 91 years and nine months old and has been unwell recently.  He was, as the mentor of Brighter Future, the first on Victor’s list of people to thank .

Meanwhile back in India..

Mary, Victor’s wife, is holding the fort, supported by a committee of senior staff. Mary is always heavily involved in the day to day running of the  Vizianagaram children’s homes as well as the Tailoring Institute activities. Victor’s son is lending a hand with the internet communications.

Danny keeps checking with me to see if I am providing Victor's daily rice! Actually Victor enjoyed his first English dinner  and has partaken of a number of traditional English and Continental dishes provided by our hosts in Nottingham and Leicestershire. Katy in Staffs  made curry and it is also on the menu for his Peterborough visit  to the Leprosy Mission  in case he is suffering from rice withdrawal symptoms.

The Shanti Nivas Site

The Pickford House Hospice is now complete and has opened its doors to Sick HIV+ patients.

The first six patients are ladies who were in the government hospital but were not allowed to stay for more than a week no matter how unwell they were. We have taken them into our Hospice.

Dr Sampat, who is our Prem Nivas doctor, is also going to be on call and make regular visits to Pickford House.

Would you help us care for a patient in our Hospice at Pickford House?

Now that we have patients in residence we are looking for someone to sponsor a month’s patient care. Food, vitamin supplements, medicines, injections when necessary, doctor,s visit fees, prescribed medicines and nursing  - all for £10 a month! Chose to sponsor a patient for a period of months if you like, eg 3 months, 6 months or for a year. Share a patient  with a friend or  several friends? Send me an email pmanya.norris[@gmail.com]

Simon’s Sales

Simon has been having more sales in his little 4x6 front garden. There were not so many people around but he raised £102.
Simon is a new and enthusiastic supporter and has asked if he can come out to see us in India. The boys will be delighted to have a pal to play cricket with them. All of our previous volunteers have been girls.

How did we do in August?

Children sponsored   1                                                                          
Donations/events in August
Simon’s mini sales   £102
Deborah sold Sarah’s cards for us  £10  
And so did Chris £10
Rosemary’s Coffee morning £468.50
East Carlton Church parishioners £25  
Sue Davies   £50

Birthdays in September and October

Rainbow Children

Sept. Ramu and Laxman 1.9.02, Manohar 7.9.97, Arunakumari 7.9.99, Kavitha 14.9.06, Samson 17.9.99,Jereena 19.9.99,Elisha 28.9.01,Madhuri 29.9

October Wamsi 11.10.01,Madhuri B 16.10.04,

Prem Nivas  

Sept. Swathi  9.9.94
                 
October   Sunita K  3.10.05,

If you would like to send a birthday card  or letter to your child
it can be either by post to:-

Brighter Future Development Trust, PO Box 18 Plot 705 Vuda Layout,Vizianagaram, 535003 Andhra Pradesh, India.

It takes about 10 days to reach India.

Or by email to 
brighterfutureindia[@gmail.com]

These addresses apply to all the homes and projects.

If you would like to send a little something for a birthday, or Christmas, or for the annual outing  to the seaside, it is easily done over the internet to
LloydsTSB code 30-90-28 ac 03085385.

It is also possible to send a cheque, payable to Brighter Future International Trust to me or to Danny. (The bank charges 69p for every cheque paid in).

Some children get e-cards and gather round my computer with friends to view them.!

Contacts
Danny    brighterfuture[@sky.com]    01233612598   07731191858
Manya   pmanya.norris[@gmail.com]   01284719997   07505792915

The London 10K 2013

The London 10K is a prestigious running event through the  iconic streets of the capital, which is held every year in July

Forty intrepid people signed up to run for Brighter Future International Trust. Some of this year's runners were new to the event but they enjoyed the music, the cheering and camaraderie so much, that they have offered to do the run again next year.

Anjali was running in her fourth 10K for Brighter Future, Lucy her 3rd and Danny his 2nd, Instead of being at the tail end, this year Danny completed the course in 90 minutes. Everyone finished the course and several joined us at the pub on the  river later!

A heartfelt thank you to all  our runners! 

The money is still coming in and has now reached the £7000 mark. This money is earmarked for the new Hospice, Pickford House, for HIV/Aids mothers and children which is nearing completion at the Shanti Nivas site.

We have already bought  tickets for next year's 10K on the second Sunday of July 2013 so give us your names  and recruit your friends to join you on the 10K

Brighter Future is planning more great runs for next year. In September or October we will have tickets for the Great North Run and for the London 'Run to the Beat'. We will keep you informed about the events and may even offer some training tips!

HIV/AIDS Children

Roopa

Raja Rao

Brighter Future has its own doctor and social workers who survey the villages in the Districts of Vizianagaram and Srikakulam to find children suffering from HIV.

We take the most vulnerable children into our special homes for children with HIV/AIDS.

The children were born with HIV and most of them are orphans.

Some children are referred to Brighter Future because they have no one willing or able to look after them. Some of the children, like Roopa and Raja Rao, are malnourished and are very ill.

James

James afterwards

HIV infected children suffer from many illnesses that cause skin infections, TB, fungal infections as well as the common childhood diseases, because their immune systems are very weak and their bodies cannot resist the germs.





James had skin infections all over his body that took months to heal. Now he is a happy boy (with scars).



If the children have a nutritious diet, clean water, good personal hygiene, regular rest and exercise they can live longer before they need to start on the very strong drugs that help to slow down the progression to full AIDS.

Our HIV children’s homes enable the children to have a happy childhood, go to school and prepare for their future.

Prem Nivas (House of Love) was opened in October 2006

Karuna Nivas (House of Compassion) followed in 2009

Thompson House in June 2012.

We now have 80 HIV+ children in our residential homes.

We buy only the best medicines, and have to pay for doctors and laboratory investigations as there is no national health service in India.

It costs £25 a month to sponsor an HIV infected child.

Durga does not have a sponsor. He has been waiting for over a year for an uncle or aunty to send photos to him.
P S. A year later Janet Aunty found Durga!

Durga Prasad