ECOSOC, the AMR Innovation Fair  Success Story

Introduction.                                                                                                                                                                       The story of the Interfaith Children’s Home began in early 1998 when Mrs Patricia Earle, Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) representative for the Midlands region of the United Kingdom, was invited to visit the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. There she witnessed the desperate plight of some Dalit (‘untouchable’) communities, encountering a large number of orphaned children whose parents had committed suicide. The main reason for this was crop failure, in the cotton farming industry, and the resulting burden of debt. Most of the orphaned children could not receive any education, due to their having to go out to work, or beg on the streets, or the lack of schools in remote rural areas.

Developing an idea.                                                                                                                                                       Back in Birmingham, UK, Patricia put the idea of building a Children’s Home to care for some of the Dalit children, creating the possibility for them to receive an education, to the ladies of her Women’s Peace Group. The group comprises women from all faiths, races and ethnic backgrounds who have been meeting together each month since 1993. The ladies embraced the idea and began raising money individually, as well as in their temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras, etc. WFWP groups in other parts of the UK also held fundraising events to support the project.

Construction.                                                                                                                                                                     By December 1998, sufficient funds had been raised to begin building what was to become ‘The Interfaith Children’s Home of Hyderabad’. An associated organisation, the Religious Youth Service, brought 36 young people, again representing all the world’s faith traditions, to lay the foundations for the Home. Additional support came from the International Relief Friendship Foundation. The young people spent two weeks together in the rural community of Uppal, 15km from Hyderabad, both constructing the foundations and also spreading the message of interreligious cooperation and Communal Harmony in schools and to the local population.

Completion.                                                                                                                                                                         Local builders completed work on the Home during the year 1999, and it was officially opened in 2000 by a member of the ruling Telegu Desam Party, Hon Vijaya Rama Rao, Minister for Roads, Buildings and Ports, and formerly responsible for the national CBI, together with Mrs Della Godfrey MLA, nominated representative in the State Government of Andhra Pradesh for the AngloIndian    

 community. More than thirty Dalit children have been cared for at the Home during the past eight years, a mixture of boys and girls of various ages, enabling them to attend a local village school and receive an education which would otherwise be denied them. So far, 8 children have graduated from the Home and all have done well enough in state exams to continue their education at Intermediate Colleges.

Maintaining the Home.                                                                                                                                                    Although the ultimate aim is to find support for the Children’s Home within India, rather than it being an Aid-type of project, the majority of funding to maintain the Home has so far come from the UK. The WFWP has made substantial contributions towards maintaining the Home during the years 2000 – 2007, both from specific fundraising events and through individual child sponsorship.

In Birmingham,  in addition to donations from numerous churches, temples and other places of worship, financial support has come from the Mother’s Union, Soroptimists International, Sikh Nari Manch, the Asian Women’s Network, the Hindu Women’s Club and the Indian Consulate. In April 2003, the wife of the Consul General of India in Birmingham brought together a number of voluntary organisations and NGO’s in a day of fundraising, raising £18,000 (US$ 35,000) of which £7,000 was donated to the Interfaith Children’s Home.

Future Development.                                                                                                                                                        In India, the Children’s Home has become well recognised for its realistic contribution to Communal Harmony and good relations between people of different faiths, receiving the national Samaj Vikas Peace Award and, in January 2003, the international Hind Ratan (Jewel of India) Award, presented by Former President of India Shri K R Narayan.

Consequently, the state government of Andhra Pradesh is in the process of granting new land for the project’s expansion and development. A new home is to be built, with better and separate facilities for boys and girls, staff and guest accommodation and a clinic to provide Mother and Baby healthcare for the local community. The latter will be sponsored by a matched funding arrangement between Birmingham and Hyderabad Rotary Clubs, who wish to assist in the overall development of the project. Other funding partners who wish to support the development are Muslim Aid and Sikh Aid. WFWP UK Martina Coombs, Vice President of WFWPI for Europe