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We are so grateful for the generosity of our supporters who really got behind our matched giving campaign in December. We are overwhelmed by the support we have received, and because of your commitment, we have been able to raise an impressive £76,888 for CINI's Emergency Ward and Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre.
Nina Schrank is currently volunteering over in India, helping strengthen their fundraising locally. She has taken time out from this demanding task to do an interview with Debika Par, one of the young mothers being helped at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre. This is what Debika had to say about her experience:
Mother - Debika Par, 19 years old. Child - Jeet Par, 18 months (boy)
1. Tell us about your situation before you got here?
The situation at home was not good, my child was very sick, my husband is a farmer and was struggling and we didn't have enough to eat.
2. What help has CINI given you?
When I came to CINI it really changed both my sons and my life. He was suffering from breathing problems. He also had diarrhoea. But now the situation is much better. I know if he stays here for some time he will get better.
[Malnourished children are more vulnerable to illness. Illness also makes it harder for children to absorb the nutrients from their food so children enter a vicious cycle. A child dies of a malnutrition related cause every 30 seconds. Because their immune systems are weakened, even common conditions such as diarrhoea can be fatal]
3. How has this improved your life?
CINI helped me get nutritious food for my child and also medicines at the proper time. So, it helped me immensely to keep my child safe from diseases.
4. What are you now looking forward to in the future?
I want to take care of my child the way CINI people took care of him, previously I didn't know how much to feed him and when to feed him, but now I'm confident that I will be able to give my child the proper nutrition that is required.
5. How will you use what you have learnt at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre when you return home?
In NRC I have learned to make Oral Rehydrating Solution, made of 1 litre of water, 1 handful of sugar and 3 pinches of salt, which will prevent dehydration during diarrhoea. Also I have learnt to make nutrimix with lentils, flour and molasses or sugar, made into a porridge which is nutritious for the babies. Previously I used to feed my baby 3 or 4 times a day but now I know it should be 5 or 6 times.
6. Do you feel confident to tell other family members or friends about good nutrition or how to help prevent your child from falling sick?
I would insist to my family members and friends to do the same thing that I have learned at NRC. I would keep my baby healthy by being hygienic and giving him the proper food at the proper time.
7. What message would you give to people in richer countries who can give money to projects like this?
I really want the people outside to know about our story, so that they [CINI] can reach out to more people like us.
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Debika and Jeet are now towards the end of their stay at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre and almost ready to be discharged.
Prevent children like Jeet from ever becoming malnourished by supporting CINI's innovative Sponsor a mother programme. |
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If you would like to help prevent children like Jeet from becoming malnourished in the first place, and would like to build the skills of mothers to give their children the best possible start in life, you may like to Sponsor a mother .
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Six months ago Becky volunteered to run in the Woman’s Adidas 5K Challenge in Hyde Park on the 6th September. Becky says she is the world’s worst athlete and had never even jogged that far in her life before! She used to run regularly in her thirties (over a decade ago) but other activities such as cycling have taken precedence.
She never dreamed that her modest run would inspire people to give so generously! The total amount raised so far, including gift aid, is £1,357.
This sum is more than enough to pay for four community based camp teachers in our education camp in Kolkata for a whole year. This camp aims to reintegrate young children working as cheap labour in hazardous industries into the mainstream school system by means of an intensive, year long education camp.
This project has been running successfully for over 5 years and we have a track record of getting 75% of the children registered in local schools, in age-appropriate classes, within 12 months. Access to basic education is critical in reducing the inter-generational cycle of poverty.
It was a double celebration for Becky as it was also her birthday. Her close friend Carol baked the highly appropriate birthday cake pictured below!
Becky says the response of family, friends, colleagues and ex-colleagues has been really heart-warming!
It is so easy to set up a fundraising page on www.justgiving.com and it doesn’t have to be a marathon! Come on all you wannabe fundraisers, go for it!
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| This year for the first time ever, the prestigious Royal Festival Hall at the heart of the Southbank Centre Complex, opened its door to host the biggest and most celebrated show of the year. Kings College London proudly hosted the 2009 Diwali Show at such a distinguished venue. Now running in its 17th consecutive year, the Diwali show promotes the crème de la crème of British student talent. On 29th of November, was witnessed the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures through a variety of dances, catwalks, musical acts and comedy sketches on one unforgettable night.
Kings College London Charity Diwali show is the biggest student-organised show in the UK raising thousands for worthy causes worldwide. This year KCL has chosen to support CINI’s work to help poor mothers and children in India. |
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It is with deep sadness that we report on the passing away of Professor David Morley on 2nd July 2009. David was a genuine source of inspiration to all at the Child in Need Institute and it was a great honour to have him act as a patron. David took a very active role in CINIs work, and visited our institute in Kolkata, India on two occasions where he was able to see his pioneering ideas on mother and child health care in developing countries put into practice.
David received the CBE and the James Spence medal of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, in recognition of his influence and achievements in the field of under-five epidemiology. His successes included driving forward the key components of the child survival revolution led by UNICEF, James Grant and Jon Rhode, setting up the breastfeeding policy and practice course with Felicity Savage King and colleagues at the UCL Institute for Child Health, and developing the outstanding concept of Teaching Aids at Low Cost.
In developing simple and effective aids to promote child care in the poorest communities, he inspired a generation of health care professionals, teachers, journalists and managers, and will undoubtedly leave behind an extraordinary legacy.
Our deepest sympathies go out to his family during this difficult time.
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It may sound daft, but toilets are important!
Many schools in India don't have toilet facilities. A lack of loos can lead to girls dropping out.
Without toilets, girls have to relieve themselves outside of the school building, which is not only embarrassing, but can also lead to sexual harassment. A lack of toilets can also pose a threat to girls' health. Reluctant to urinate where they might be seen, many girls don't go to the toilet all day, which can lead to infections and bowel disorders. During their period, girls find it especially difficult to attend school.
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 Girls' education is vital and is known to have a variety of benefits for the wider community, and particularly the well-being of the next generation. We can't let a lack of loos stand in the way of girls going to school!
Actress Sophie Thompson and London Secondary School Teacher of the Year, Dai Jones have come together to launch this campaign. Now we need your help.
- £22 is enough to pay for one toilet
- £125 would pay for running water so the kids can wash their hands
- £562 would pay for a septic tank
- £2,500 would build a complete toilet facility: the building itself, the plumbing etc, with two toilets for girls and two for boys. And your name on a plaque!
By providing toilets for schools in India, you can help ensure more girls get an education.
Sophie Thompson
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Alternatively you can make your donation over the phone, ring 020 7582 1400 or send a cheque to Loos Women Campaign, CINI UK, Suite 631, 456-458 Strand, London, WC2R 0DZ (payable to CINI UK).
If you would like to raise funds for this work at your school or workplace, please email us on info@cini.org.uk for a list of fundraising ideas. |
CINI's innovative mother and child sponsorship programme means your are helping children from before they are born - by teaming up with a mother - to help ensure she can give her child the best possible start in life. For more information see our Sponsor a Mother page.
World Food Day (16th October) highlights the plight of 962 million undernourished people in the world. In 2001, India committed to the UN Millennium Development Goal of halving its number of hungry by 2015. According to a recent report published by the Institute of Development Studies China has already met its target. India, though, will not meet its goal until 2043, based on its current rate of progress.
Much more needs to be done. These photos illustrate the work of CINI's outpatient clinics and related emergency ward and nutrition rehabilitation centre. These services serve as a model for helping to improve government services, and are visited by 3,000 government staff and health professionals a year so that they can see effective work to prevent malnutrition and improve maternal health in action - and implement this knowledge in their own workplaces.
Please help mark the run up to World Food Day (October 16th) by donating here or supporting our Sponsor a Mother programme - please see below.
Photos by journalist Ciara Leeming
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Fundraising doesn't need to be all about jumping out of airplanes, hiking up cold mountains or swimming in the English Channel! You can entertain your family and friends at home and still help to raise funds for our ongoing projects. CINI has now launched its own 'Dine to Make a Difference' program. All you need to do is invite some people over, provide a meal and refreshments. CINI will provide a special invitation card explaining to your guests that they will be asked to donate whatever they would have spent if they went out for a meal. Holding dinner parties in aid of CINI are an effective way of fundraising because;
- anyone can do it
- satisfaction of actively raising funds and supporting CINI's Fighting Malnutrition in India Appeal
- having friends and family over is always fun
- snowballing effect (you introduce your guest to CINI, they then host a dinner and so on)
Please let us know you are interested in doing a dinner party by emailing Avril at avriloriordan@cini.org.uk
Hold your own Dinner Party - click here for the information you need to get started
Here is CINI volunteer Avril hosting our first 'Dine to Make a Difference' dinner party! Avril (in blue) and friends enjoyed a Spanish-themed array of dishes. If you would like to ask Avril how it went, or ask for tips on how to run your own party, email avriloriordan@cini.org.uk
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Would you be interested in joining a trip from London to see the gardens at Highgrove, the family home of the Prince of Wales, on September 17th in aid of CINI's work in red light areas?
The gardens at Highgrove embody the Prince’s environmental philosophy that it is better to work with nature than against it. Today, after much time and effort, the gardens are a flagship example of the organic movement, both in terms of environmental sustainability and natural beauty. Currently there is a two year waiting list for organisations to visit the gardens and they are not open to the general public.
Tickets cost £150. £120 from each ticket purchased by CINI UK supporters will go directly to CINI's work to prevent children from red light areas in West Bengal being drawn into sex work, £10 will go to the Prince's Trust and £20 will cover event costs including lunch, transport and a tour guide.
The Oscar winning film, Slumdog Millionaire, has given more people an insight into the difficult lives faced by children living in India’s slums. Children stuck in desperate circumstances are forced to take menial jobs from sorting litter, to working in industries making consumer goods destined for the British market, including leather items and plastic flip flops. Many are working in hazardous conditions for very long hours, earning as little as £2.50 a month.
“We obviously still need to get across the point that if children living in slums or on the streets are going to get the skills they need to lift themselves out of poverty, they need to be studying not working” he added.
The CINI founder is ambivalent when commenting on the Indian government’s role in trying to ensure education for all children. He says: “The Indian government has brought in an impressive array of legislation on this issue, including laws made last October banning children from working as domestic servants, but we need to hold them to account for implementing these laws.”
Disagreeing vehemently with the idea of work being the only option for children born into abject poverty, Dr Chaudhuri says the failure to provide them with a stable life and a secure future lies with society – and its failures to look into the roots of these problems: “Working children are being deprived of their childhoods - and it is important that we all take responsibility for helping them get educated, rather than taking the easy route out by pretending the situation is hopeless.”
“To date, CINI has helped more than 10,000 child labourers go back to school, or get registered at school for the first time in their lives – so we know that by motivating parents and children, providing good quality teaching and supplying two nutritious meals a day at education centres, it is possible to give children the start they need to reach their potential as productive young men and women” he added.
If you would like to support this work please use the big yellow ‘donate now’ button at the top of the page and when asked for your instructions to the charity, write “for work with slum and street children.”
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Last Monday, Cyclone Aila swept up from the Indian Ocean and struck India and Bangladesh devastating villages as far as 400 miles inland. Alongside the 325 confirmed fatalities and 8,000 still missing, it is now estimated that over a million people have been displaced.
Despite the numbers affected, media coverage of this humanitarian emergency has been sparse at best and we are urgently trying to raise awareness of the need for assistance for those affected
Women with their children carrying belongings they could salvage from the flooding
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CINI is working as quickly as possible to meet the needs of those affected, but we need support to provide basic provisions. In Maipith Island 20,000 of the 65,000 inhabitants have sought refuge in schools and community centres after seeing their homes swept away in the floods. They are in urgent need of shelter, food, clean water, bedding, clothes as well as mosquito nets and medicines to fight the increased risk of disease.
To give you an idea of the costs involved:
- Protective sheets from which families can build their own shelters cost £11 per family
- Family sized mosquito nets cost £4 per family
- Food will cost 28p per person per day
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Funds are urgently needed for this relief effort. Please donate at www.justgiving.com/cycloneaila-ciniuk
Thanks for your help
Anna Taylor - Director of CINI UK
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Bani Makkar is swimming 10 kilometres in aid of CINI on 1st May. Having trained for weeks and weeks she is now ready to make a splash for your cash. "It's going to be tough, I think it will take me about four and a half hours. But if I'm able to help rehabilitate just one severely malnourished child, or help one child labourer get back into education, it will all be worth it."
CINI has published a Child Malnutrition in India Report, highlighting false assumptions which are holding back work to address hunger related deaths.
South Asia has the highest rates and by far the largest number of malnourished children in the world. Fourty percent of the world’s severely malnourished children under five live in India. Launching the report, Dr Samir Chaudhuri, the founder of CINI, said: “We need to question assumptions such as the idea that rates of malnutrition are not as bad in India as they are in Africa, or that malnutrition is primarily caused by a lack of money for buying food. It is a sad fact that South Asia leads the world in rates of child malnutrition, and that even when incomes rise, rates of child malnutrition do not necessarily fall.”
“We need to be prepared to discuss difficult issues around gender relations in the South Asian context,” he continued. “These issues affect mothers’ consumption of nourishing food, and this has implications for the health of our children”. The gender issue is complex, but the report suggests getting new fathers to act as male peer-educators encouraging local discussion about attitudes and behaviour that are damaging to women’s health and well-being. The NGO’s staff and volunteers also prompt fathers and other family members to consider the actions they can take to help improve the health and nutrition of the next generation.
The report includes practical recommendations about training mothers on how to prepare nutritious meal on the tightest of budgets, preventative healthcare that can help ward of illnesses that make it difficult to absorb nutrients, and the home treatment of diarrhoea. The charity’s experience has shown that these measures have the potential to halve rates of malnutrition within a five-year time-frame. Please see below for a link to the full report. For a practical way to help prevent child malnutrition, see details of the sponsor a mother programme.
Child Malnutrition in India report (pdf)
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The Right Honorable Lord Slynn of Hadley died yesterday (7th April) at the Cromwell Hospital in London. Lord Slynn has been a Patron of CINI UK from its inception, and has provided much needed love and encouragement to his wife, the charity's founder - Odile Slynn. He will be sorely missed by all of us.
Do you dream of conquering some of the worlds most famous challenges, but have limited spending money, time, are afraid of flying or all of the above?
Then a virtual challenge is a great alternative for you. Simply think of a challenge you would like to do, such as cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats, or swimming the English Channel, find out the length/distance/height of the challenge, and get sponsored to do it in the comfort of your local gym (or park, company, school or home). You can do this on your own over a number of visits to your gym, or you and a group of friends could take on one big distance and see if you can complete it one go.
A few ideas:
Cycle Land’s End to John O’Groats - 874 miles
Cycle London to Paris – 300 miles
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro - 5898m
Climb Mount Everest – 8850m
Swim the English Channel – 21 miles – 680 lengths of an Olympic size pool
For more information just email karenallonby@cini.org.uk with the subject line 'virtual charity challenge info please'
Perhaps you’d rather a 'normal' charity challenge?
For tips on doing sponsored events click here
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 Have you been awarded a place to run for the Flora London Marathon this coming April? If you are still looking for a worthy cause to donate your sponsorship money to, why not run for CINI?
If you decide to run the marathon for CINI you will be given literature to show you what your time and effort will go towards. We will also provide a hassle free, efficient means to collect your sponsorship money via the www.justgiving.com website; we will even help you with fundraising ideas and PR: to help you get the most out of the amazing challenge you are taking on!
Knowing that your help is making a practical difference to the lives of poor women and children in India will make your experience even more rewarding. Experience the exhilaration of having run 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km) and to have raised enough (£872) to pay the salary of a full time local nurse in India for six months, helping turn around the lives of severely malnourished children!
As well as the Flora London Marathon there are many other runs that you can do in aid of CINI’s work.
Click here for some you could choose from.
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| This Mother’s Day, why not do something more meaningful than buying another box of chocolates?
Support the Child In Need Institute’s (CINI’s) work to help poor mothers and children in India, and we will send a special gift card, and a friendship bracelet made by women in its project area, to show your mum that you understand what a difference it makes to have a loving mother. |
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Little girl outside CINI's Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre shows her mother that she is appreciated |
Many poor children in India are not so lucky, as many lose their mothers in childbirth. £7.50 is enough to train a traditional birth attendant, helping to ensure that dozens of women from poor families in India receive care during and after birth from a skilled person who is knowledgeable about hygiene and infant health. Your mum's card will explain how this support will help save women's lives.
For more information and to order this gift click here
You may like to go further and sponsor a mother in your mum's name for £10 a month for 30 months. When sponsoring a mother, in addition to the gift card and friendship bracelet, both you and your mother will be linked to a pregnant woman in need and sent photos and progress reports.
With your help the woman you are linked to will have access to nurturing and support during pregnancy, a skilled attendant to help with the birth, and help after the child is born: empowering the mother to give her child the best possible start in life. This support will give this woman and others in her community a chance to break free of the inter-generational cycle of poverty, malnutrition, and ill health.
It will be possible to email messages to the mother in India (which will be conveyed to her by our project staff), or even to visit her and her family to learn more about how she and her friends and neighbours have benefitted from your support.
For more information and to order this gift click here
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If you make http://cini-friends.com.charityhomepages.com/ your homepage and use it for your searches instead of Google, Ask.com will donate an average of 7p per search you do to the work of the Child In Need Institute (CINI) to help poor women and children in India. This will generate flexible funding for the charity at no cost to you!
If you do 25 searches a week, this will raise enough in a month to provide the food and medicines needed to nurse a severely malnourished child back to health each month.
All you need to do is go to http://cini-friends.com.charityhomepages.com/ now and then choose 'tools' then 'internet options' to make this your default home page
Please email the CINI UK team at info@cini.org.uk to let them know you have done this as they are keen to have 1,000 people helping CINI in this way by the end of the year. And it would really help if you could persuade your friends to help in this way too.
CINI UK has been selected to feature in the Good Gifts Catalogue (www.goodgifts.org). You can buy SF10 - Medical fund for street children or 6034 10 Safe Births.
The price of the gift is passed on to CINI UK and other charities in full. So, it is an excellent way of solving your gift problems, and supporting our work.
The Good Gifts Catalogue has a wedding list and wish list service, particularly suitable for special occasions like anniversaries or significant birthdays. You can use Good Gifts as in memoriam presents and keep a few in stock for unexpected birthdays or Christmas gifts.
The purchaser gets a card to give, or keep, acknowledging the gift, along with the guarantee that the gift is always wanted.
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Spread some ethical cheer in aid of CINI UK with these beautiful cards taken from original hand drawings by Bristol artist Cordelia Cembrowicz. The cards are blank inside for your own message and are printed on recycled paper and come with recycled envelopes.
Find out more about the artist at: www.cembrowicz.co.uk.
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Something about adrenaline |
Cost: £2 each or £9 for a pack of 10.
40p from every card will be donated to CINI UK
Click here to order by email
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If you would like your friends and family to make a donation to CINI UK rather than spending the money on unwanted presents for you this Christmas, please click here and CAF/pantspresents.org can add a simple widget to your Facebook, MySpace or other social networking page.
This Christmas why not send hassle-free, paper-free, inexpensive Christmas e-cards to the ones you love, whilst donating to mothers and children in India. For more info see: www.everyclick.com/christmas
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Solicitors up and down the country are now accepting bookings for writing or updating wills for free in return for a donation to a consortium of nine of the UK’s best-loved charities. Ring 0300 0300 013 or see www.willaid.org to find the participating solicitor nearest you.
CINI UK is not one of the consortium of charities that benefit from Will Aid donations. However, we still tell our supporters about the scheme as it is a wonderful opportunity to write or update your will in return for a donation to charities mainly working in the field of international development.
We also hope that after you have made allowance for your family and friends, that you will consider leaving a gift to CINI UK, leaving a lasting legacy by helping poor families in India break free of the cycle of poverty, malnutrition and ill health.
For more info see www.willaid.org
As a baby, Gautam Lewis received care and support at CINI's Emergency Ward in Kolkata. He is now living in London, and has a photo exhibition called "Full Circle" due to run from 13th October - 19th October 2008 at the Mernier Chocolate Factory, 53 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RU. The exhibition will feature the story of his early childhood, how he ended up living in London, and how he is now trying to help other disadvantaged young children in India, particularly those suffering from polio.
weblink: www.freedom-in-the-air.com
Purity Trading raised enough at its stand at this summer's Taste of London event to provide the food need to nurse 25 children at CINI's Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre back to health. The company's founder and owner, Savio Azaredo, said "Our products draw on India's traditional spice heritage, so I felt we ought to give something back to help poor families in the country." The company is planning a broader partnership with 5p from every pack of its Curry Tree brand spices sold coming to CINI UK. See www.puritytrading.com for details.
October 2008
 Working closely with local NGO and government staff, CINI's Disaster Response Team has so far helped 1,350 of the families worst affected by the Bihar floods.
Family packs have been distributed to families with the following items: saris for women, lungis (a type of sarong) for men's use, towels, soap, detergent powder, folding mats, stainless steel mugs, stainless steel plates and mosquito nets. Having adequate clothing is an enormous comfort and source of dignity for families who have lost everything.
Having plates and cleaning materials will help ward off preventable diseases. Mosquito nets are a crucial means of cutting the chances of developing malaria.
Acknowledging the support of CINI, Saraswati Devi, aged 68 years, said, "We lost many things: relatives, livestock and the hope of life. Today, we find the support given to us by CINI is God's Gift and we see reason to revive our hopes for the future."
The bulk of the funding needed for this work has come from CINI UK supporters, CINI staff and Give India. In addition clothing has been collected in India and dispatched to the area with the help of Down2Earth. Further funding is still required as this is an ongoing situation with the flood waters not expected to fully subside for several months.
Support can be sent by clicking here to donate online or sending donations to CINI UK, Suite 631, 456-458 Strand, London, WC2R 0DZ (cheques payable to CINI UK)
The famous bangla band Chandrabindoo performed an intimate gig for just 250 people at Hampstead Town Hall at 6.30pm on Saturday 18th October in aid of the Child In Need Institute's (CINI's) work to help poor women and children in India.
The band's unique sound draws on, reggae, rock, calypso, hip-hop and Bengali folk influences.
With eight albums under their belt, the group is a household name in Kolkata, Mumbai and Dehli. |
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This impromptu performance was their London debut, and we are thrilled they did it in aid of CINI.
Time and date: 6.30pm on Saturday 18th October
Ticket price: £10 or £15
Venue: Hampstead Town Hall, 213 Haverstock Hill London NW3 4QP see map
To hear the band's music please follow this link http://www.esnips.com/_t_/chandrabindoo?q=chandrabindoo
Fasting can give you empathy for the millions facing hunger in India every day. If you get your fast sponsored in aid of work to prevent malnutrition, it can also make a practical difference to the lives of the people affected.
The recent rise in prices for staples such as rice and wheat in India have increased the number of poor families facing hunger. We have been striving to make a difference by providing nutritious food to severely malnourished children in our Emergency Ward, to the vital work of preventing malnutrition through education and awareness raising work in the community.
CINI has helped bring hope to poor families, while also building up community knowledge on good nutrition and how to prevent and treat diarrhea and other common illnesses. In combination with a lack of nutritious food, these illnesses, if they go untreated, can make it difficult for the children to absorb the food they do eat, resulting in starvation.
So join CINI UK in its third year of sponsored fasting. Raising just £50 will be enough to provide the food needed to nurse 15 severely malnourished children back to health in our emergency ward. Reach £300 and you will have raised enough to pay the salary of a health worker for six months, helping to prevent malnutrition.
The date for our sponsored fast is the 9th August. To get involved, contact karenallonby@cini.org.uk or call 020 7582 1400
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Dear Friends
 I have just spoken to Dr Chaudhuri, the Director of CINI India, who has told me that CINI is going to be involved in the relief efforts to help the families whose homes have been washed away by the flooding in Bihar. It is estimated than more than 2.7 million people have been displaced following monsoon rains of such intensity that the Kosi river has not only breached its banks but has actually changed course.
The greatest need in the refugee camps is likely to be food, and in particular there may be a need for baby foods to help maintain the strength of young children. Currently some people at the refugee camps are only getting one meal a day.
There may also be a need for some shelter materials including ground sheets taupaulins and blankets. It is likely that many people will have lost all their possessions and so will also need basic family packs with soap, kitchen utensils and kerosene stoves for cooking.
This relief effort is in urgent need of funding.
You can donate here, or by sending a cheque to CINI UK, Suite 631, 456-458 Strand, London, WC2R 0DZ.
Thanks for your support.
Anna Taylor
Director of CINI UK
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The sponsored fast team for July have now set up their online sponsorship pages. Please support their efforts by sponsoring them online by clicking on the links below. Or if you are interested in joining in the August fast, please email karenallonby@ciniuk.org for more details
Isabelle Pelly - www.justgiving.com/isabellepelly
Sophia Furber - www.justgiving.com/furberfastsforcini
Shelly Raj - www.justgiving.com/shellyraj
Rima Shah - www.justgiving.com/rimashah
Sana Usman - www.justgiving.com/sanausman
Heather Tomlinson - www.justgiving.com/heathertomlinson
After having spent several weeks at CINI's Emergency Ward and Nutrtition Rehabiltiation Centre, assisting the staff there as part of his medical elective, Dr Feroz Shah has been inspired to run the BUPA Manchester Run in aid of CINI's work to fight malnutrition. He is aiming to raise at least £300 - enough to fund the salary of a health-worker working at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre for a full six months. To show your support for his fundraising efforts, please go to www.justgiving.com/fshah and sponsor him online. To find out more about taking on your own sponsored challenge in support of CINI's work, please email info@cini.org.uk
The 8th March was International Women's Day. CINI marked the day by launching an appeal for support for its Adopt A Mother programme, which is helping save mother's lives in poor communities in India.
In most parts of India, entrenched gender inequality compounds poor women's limited access to antenatal care, medical support during child birth and adequate nutrition during pregnancy. Consequently, women are 80 times more likely to die of a maternity related cause than women in the UK, meaning that over 529,000 women fall prey to maternal mortality each year. |
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"Gender inequality is a major factor contributing to poor maternal health in India and is a huge part of the work we do. We recognize the importance of educating families about the priority that pregnant women's health should take."
Director of CINI - Dr Samir Chaudhuri |
Herne Hill resident and mother, Wilma Cavuoto, is excitedly preparing for the Maratona Di Roma 2008 (16th March). She is donating all sponsorship money to the Child in Need Institute (CINI) to help transform maternal health and nutrition in Kolkata (previously Calcutta), in a bid to empower disadvantaged mothers in the region.
Wilma decided to make her 42.195 km-long challenge really make a difference after hearing about CINI UK’s Adopt A Mother programme, through the Herne Hill Union of Catholic Mothers group in the run up to Mother’s Day. “I decided to run the Rome Marathon this year almost by accident! Friends and family encouraged me and eventually the idea turned into a rather challenging reality,” Wilma exclaims.
“When I heard about CINI’s Adopt A Mother programme I decided it would be really worthwhile to help a smaller charity that is focused on the heath of mothers and babies. CINI is about life and that’s both unique and important.”
Limited access to medical care in rural areas contributes to the fact that India accounts for one quarter of all maternal deaths in the world. For every one of these deaths there are even more women for whom crippling complications develop after giving birth. Often these post-natal risks – such as bleeding to death– stem from being underweight, anaemic and generally malnourished.
Women in India are 80 times more likely to die of a maternity related cause than women in the UK CINI recently reveled in its awaited Maternal Health Report. CINI will use the much-needed funds raised to help improve mother and child health services in Kolkata.
To sponsor Wilma and help her to transform the lives of women and children in India go to http://www.justgiving.com/wilmacavuoto.
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Have you considered the benefits of leaving a legacy to CINI UK in your Will? The chairman of a respected London law firm, specialising in legacies and bequests, has recently been quoted as saying “people who leave money to charity live three years longer than those who don't".
Though a direct causal relationship between leaving a charitable legacy and living longer has yet to be proved, what is proven is that making charitable donations in your Will has real tax benefits. Though you can leave money to your husband or wife tax free, on the event of the their death, tax is charged at 40% on your estate, over and above the first £275,000 – which with today’s house prices is not an uncommon estate size. In contrast to this, NO tax is charged on charitable gifts left in your will – making this one of the most cost effective ways to give to charity.
For further information on leaving a charitable legacy please contact Anna on 020 7538 0309 or email info@cini.org.uk
Calm and Clear is offering maternity massages and reflexology to expectant mothers with 5% of the cost supporting CINI’s work to improve maternal and child health in poor communities in India.
Details of the massages can be found here
Details of the reflexology can be found here
Under5s.co.uk have announced they will be selling their 2008 Mother’s Day themed educational resources packs, filled with fun ideas for learning through play, in aid of the Child In Need Institute’s (CINI’s) life-saving work to help poor mothers and children in India.
The Mother’s Day pack contains a foundation-stage-medium-term-plan and three focus-plans with advice on helping children learn while making Mother’s Day buns, doing a Mother’s Day painting or making a Mother’s Day print. Also included are three colour pictures of mothers to print, laminate and display. Each pack costs £2.95 of which £2.00 will go directly to fund mother and child nutrition and health projects on the ground in India.
To find out more or buy your copy click here
I arrived in Kolkata on 10 th October 2007. I was to spend 7 full days visiting various CINI projects in Kolkata and Siliguri (Darjeeling).
The first 4 days were spent in and around Kolkata seeing the inspirational work being done in the slums, areas around the station, the Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) and Emergency Ward. We visited a village - Daluipur, in the Khagramuri area: Bishnapur Unit 2 outside Kolkata, in 24 Pargans, where we visit two families being helped by the Adopt a Mother programme. Here we were met by two CINI staff who had been involved with this particular village for some years and were told how things were improving with the help of CINI. Two days were spent in Siliguri when we visited - the Drop in Education Centre near Siliguri Train and Bus stations, education shelters in the slums close to the station, and a drop in Education Centre in the Red Light District of Siliguri. Further afield - a Pilot Project in the closed Tea Gardens of Talbiguri.
A visit was made to the Gol Park Office in Kolkata run by Kakoli where she explained to me how the Adopt a Mother project is recorded and how a record is kept of all the project funding.
The HQ in Siliguri is run by Marissa who gave us a presentation of work carried out in Siliguri and the surrounding areas - this being the main HUB helping vulnerable children and families who come to Siliguri from the surrounding states - eg Bihar, Nepal, Assam.
Ronita at the NRC explained the ongoing work and mission of CINI: and how they are moving towards promoting Child and Woman Friendly Communities.
The most important points that I learned from my visits were that communities and individuals must be educated and understand the importance of good nutrition - most important in the first two years of life - together with hygiene, and health care so that their children will survive longer and be able to learn and enter mainstream schools enabling them to gain employment so that they can then support their own families. A lifecycle approach. PREGNANCY to EARLY CHILDHOOD onto ADOLESCENCE.
We need to try and raise funds to support the whole cycle of work supported by CINI. I was struck how the children who attend the drop in centres WANT to learn and how they all support each other. Although these vulnerable children may have been abused and had to leave their family homes, yet there was no violence in any centre we attended. Expert counselling is given to all the children by CINI staff.
It is important to stress that CINI works with other NGOs offering expertise in training.
I came away with a great feeling of hope - yes, the poverty is horrendous and the scale of the problems particularly in Kolkata are immense, but if we can teach people how to improve and care for themselves they will be better able to cope and contribute to society.
Susan Forsyth - October 2007
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