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You are warmly invited to the launch night of an exhibition in Mayfair, London which will take you on a photographic journey around the villages and back-streets of West Bengal. Visitors will be introduced to CINI’s work and taken to meet the mothers and children at the heart of our work. The photos reveal inspiring examples of practical humanism in practice, and lessons from which the West could benefit.
There is no charge for the exhibition launch night which will include free drinks and a Q&A session with photographer, Stuart Mackay. There will also be an opportunity to learn more about our upcoming Mother’s Day campaign and how you could get involved to help us work with mothers to break down the inter-generational cycle of poverty, malnutrition and ill health.
The launch night reception is on Tuesday, 2nd February at 6.15pm to 7.00pm at the Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London, W1K 1HF.
Please do let us know if you hope to be able to join us. We would love to see you there.
The Nehru Centre is having a free Indian Classical music concert at 7.15pm which you are also very welcome to attend
Thank you to photofusion for printing and mounting the photos for the exhibition |
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Actress Sophie Thompson, best known for her roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral and Room with a View, is the first person to bravely agree to run the London Marathon this April in aid of CINI’s work to help mothers and children in India.
As a mother herself, and having travelled to India, this is a cause she’s passionate about. She’s already spoken out about the importance of having loos in schools in India so that girls can attend school and receive an education. She’s now going that extra mile (or more like 26!) to raise money and awareness of CINI’s vital work to improve the lives of some of India ’s poorest communities.
To support her fantastic efforts, or to respond to her appeal for the ultimate slogan for her 26 mile slog, please visit www.justgiving.com/Sophie-Thompson0
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Anju Chandna has raised a fantastic £1,550 towards the work of CINI. Together with her family, and a loyal and hardworking cohort of great friends, she cooked an Indian meal with all the trimmings for over a hundred guests. The village hall in West Kirby was the only venue large enough to accommodate all the local curry enthusiasts!
Not only were there culinary delights to excite the palate, but also a quiz to engage the brain. A teacher from the local grammar school volunteered his services as quizmaster free of charge. |
No curry would be the same without the appropriate beverage. A bar was staffed by another friend and her willing family members. Last, but not least, there was a raffle with covetable prizes donated by generous supporters.
The local community had a fun night out with the satisfaction of knowing that they were contributing in a very real way to helping some of the poorest women and children in India. Huge thanks to Anju and her team for all their hard work which paid rich dividends!
This is an excerpt from an article featuring CINI's work shortlisted for Guardian Overseas Journalism Award
It looked like a bundle of rags, but the tiny parcel being thrust towards us was a baby.
Little Dipali's appearance was shocking – twiggy legs, baggy skin and an oversized head that made her look premature at two months old. She was, warned Dr Subho Pal, so severely malnourished that she would die within weeks without treatment. Dipali's mother had died in childbirth aged 16 – a victim of India's high maternal death rate.
The infant's condition was all too common in a country where 42% of children are malnourished, despite booming economic growth. Dr Pal – a paediatrician with the Child in Need Institute, an NGO which runs clinics and education programmes in and around Kolkata – blames this crisis on the low status of women in Indian society.
See full article
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For the last few months, high unemployment figures in the west, falling sales of consumer items, bank closure, relief packages for the car giants in Detroit have captured media attention. The news of the rich who have suddenly become poor, giving up their exotic holidays, buying at cheap stores, giving up purchases of designer clothes, living with their old car for one more year have been regularly appearing in the media.
Very few reports l have come out on how the poor who are already living on the brink, cope.
Let us examine food first. In poor communities almost 80 per cent of the daily wage is spent on basic food items, now with lower incomes or no income at all the poor often go hungry, missing out on meals. The first item to vanish from the diet is the source of protective and body building protein such as eggs, fish and legumes. Vegetables and fruit go next, making growing children and pregnant women vulnerable to disease.
Health care suffers when disease strikes, giving up the seeking of early treatment and care for girls and women, rather than boys and men, and often reverting to poor quality public health services, if and when available. Education is the next to suffer, families pulling out girls first and later boys, sending them on to various forms of child labour and exploitation.
At this crucial juncture, we need to take action to help those living below the poverty line. Grassroots workers of CINI are regularly monitoring nutrition, health, education and protection indicators among vulnerable children and women and working with elected representatives to find appropriate local solutions.
CINI sends its appeal to all donors and supporters to remain by its side so that the poor and vulnerable get a second chance over this challenging time.
Dr Chaudhuri (Director of CINI) talks to children in a slum in Kolkata
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If you would like to be kept in touch with the latest news at CINI, please email karenallonby@cini.org.uk. Include your name and email address and put 'Please keep me informed' in the subject line.
Click here to see archive of previous CINI UK News & Events
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