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Curry fans fund a new school building in Jaipur, India
The Maulds Meaburn Village Institute (MMVI) community hall in the village of Cumbria, UK carries out various activities that support and engage the community. The latest curry night managed to raise £900 last Saturday to support a charity build a new school for slum children in Jaipur, India.
One look at the Maulds Meaburn Village Institute (MMVI) in the village of Cumbria, UK and its hard not to fall in love with the Victorian architecture, the idyllic setting and the leisurely energy surrounding the place. But what belies the countryside atmosphere is the far reaching effect of the activities happening in at this community hall. A swell of curry fans raised almost £900 last Saturday to support a charity build a new school for slum children in Jaipur, India.
Guests at the Curry Night at MMVI were treated to a dazzling selection of homemade beef, chicken and vegetarian curries and a chance to see inside a Jaipur slum school and learn more about the students and their lives, in a multimedia presentation by Blencarn resident Jaki Bell, who had volunteered at the school during a trip to India in 2013.
MMVI’s food nights have always garnered a sizeable attendance; however some of the guests at this year’s Curry Night had travelled across Eden to lend their support to the small India charity – Shrestha.
Maulds Meaburn resident Ann Longbone who had recently attended and enjoyed an Italian night, lent her support to Shrestha by attending the event for her birthday dinner along with 2 tables full of friends.
The money raised has expedited Shrestha’s plans to build a new school as a replacement to the existing rented basement at the edge of the slum.
“It would have taken us a long time to raise enough money for a new building but we are very happy because, thanks to the money raised at Maulds Meaburn, it is our hope that this summer we can purchase land,” said Nitesh Paliwal, who runs the organisation. “In the basement, we have just 1 room and so all the children are in 1 class learning together, even though some are just 5 years old and some are teenagers. It’s very hard to help them learn in 1 group. With a new school and more classrooms, I could hopefully have another teacher helping me and we could give the children a better education.”
Parallely, Nitesh also successfully got individual sponsors to sponsor 3 Shrestha children who will now have an opportunity to attend a private school.
“We don’t appreciate how lucky we are and everyone in the MMVI team has been pleased that we could make a real impact on other people’s lives by supporting a grassroots charity working directly with the children in this slum area and their families,” said John Wood, who’s among the sponsor parents.
“Tim Smith, the previous vice chair at MMVI, made all the curry sauces from scratch, despite still recovering from his recent illness, such was his determination to help Shrestha. The catering team worked incredibly hard to produce the food, with the Institute’s new volunteer chef Tony Barnes at the helm, assisted by Sue Rymer, Margaret Jarvis and 2 students from the Kendal College catering department. With all the donations and new sponsors, it just shows that curry can change lives!”