India Direct

CURRY EVENING 19th March – 7pm AROMA SPICE MACCLESFIELD

john — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:33:04 +0000

We are holding a curry evening to raise funds for the new home we have to build at Bethel. Annie’s father has agreed to sell us land on the site where we have our temporary home. We need approximately £60,000 for this.

The curry evening will be held at Aroma Spice, 40 Park Green, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 7NE. Their website address is: if you would like to get in touch or book a ticket.

Tickets are £15 and £8 from each ticket comes directly to us. We will have a great night in a great atmosphere. Thank you to Raj for his help and support with this.

Hope to see you there!

Christmas at Joy and Bethel

john — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:56:43 +0000

Bethel Home flooded with light Christmas 2011

Annie, Matin and Omega work tirelessly every Christmas to provide an amazing time for all our children and widows at Joy and Bethel. This year, you raised nearly £3000 to pay for this mammoth achievement. The children each receive a new outfit, travel expenses for their parents to join them for a special chicken biryani meal, a gift and a visit from Santa Claus. It was so great to see Johnson on the photos alive and well.

Our widows really need your help. If you can sponsor a widow it makes such a difference to their lives. They can pay their hut rent, buy food and put their children through school in a uniform and with books. Jobs are hard to come by for widows, due to the stigma of widowhood. We are working to try to find ways to employ our widows – possiby through micro loans for small businesses, buying them cows or chickens. If you are interested in this or would like to help, please get in touch.

The children love to entertain each other and their guests, so they always put on a special show! The cards you sent to India will be put up around the children’s homes and treasured by those who receive personal ones from their sponsors. These will be squirrelled away in their trunks and cupboards. A brief note from the UK always brings a huge smile!

Thank so much to all our sponsors and supporters for giving our children a Christmas. We so appreciate you all!

Widows at Bethel - looking healthy thanks to India Direct and Love and Care Charitable Trust

Joy Home Christmas Feast 2011

Joy Staff Christmas 2011

Joy Home boys loving their dancing! Christmas 2011

Pattubakiyam is a widow we built a house for near Joy Home

CHANGE OF ADDRESS FOR INDIA DIRECT

john — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:09:34 +0000

For many years, one of our dear friends, Suzi Shackleton (Artist and designer of fabulous works using felt) has been hosting our PO box for us and paying for it too. It is time for us to ‘go it alone’ now, and to say a huge THANK YOU to Suzi for her absolute generosity. Our new postal address is:

India Direct
75 Rugby Drive
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 2JF

Dan Bennett’s Run – actually 50 MILES!

john — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:07:15 +0000

Our sincere apologies to Dan Bennett. We reported his run to have been 50km when in fact it was 50 MILES. This is a supreme achievement and we are so sorry that we have made it seem less than it was. Thank you again Dan!

Christmas Direct – just £10 to give a child or a widow a Christmas

john — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:30:29 +0000

Yes, it’s that time of year again! Please donate £10 to give a child or widow a Christmas. Your £10 provides:

New outfit or sari
Christmas meal of chicken biryani served on a banana leaf (special treat in India!)
A small gift
Large sack of rice for a widow
Travel expenses for family to visit
Entertainment
A visit from Santa

Not bad value. Please click ‘Donate Now’ if you can help. Type ‘Christmas Direct’ into the information box so that we know what your money is for. Send us your email address if you would like to receive photos of the children opening their Christmas cards.

Poynton High School India Project 2011

john — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:58:56 +0000

Annie dispensing medicines prescribed by doctor

Poynton High School visited our Projects in India in July 2011. Our website was not doing as it was told, so it has taken a long time to be able to post this blog. Still, good things come to those who wait! 19 students and 3 members of staff, a parent and Grace and Paul Nadin-Salter accompanied them. Aletta Ashmore and Helen Milligan (trustees of India Direct) and Scott Keiffer were the staff members who organised and supervised the trip. Liz Cooper, parent, undertook to role of First Aider, which she did brilliantly. 64 Immodium tablets were given out altogether on the two-week trip. Not too bad… Everyone on the trip funded it for themselves. They also raised money over two years by bag packing at supermarkets, holding events, raffles etc. This money paid for trips out for all our children in India, a medical camp and craft activities for the children. Any left over will be going towards providing beds for the boys at Joy once their new building is completed.

Working together to paint the temporary Bethel building

Whilst out in India, the students visited both projects and a village near to Joy home. In the village, they helped with a free medical camp for 360 desperate villagers. Back home, they had raised £1000 from a raffle for this day. We were all deeply moved by the plight of the people. Many were literally starving, and there were a number of ederly and widowed people who were living on the streets. All were given a medical examination by a doctor, and an on-site pharmacy dispensed drugs according to their prescriptions.

Temporary Bethel building

In the evening, blankets, sleeping mats and saris were given out to those in most desperate need. At one point, people were surging to the front, desperate to get their much-needed gifts. Many tears were shed at that point.

The students also helped to paint our temporary Bethel home, carried out craft and sports activities with the children at Bethel and Joy, and had a lot of fun! They even bought a cow for Joy home, who came with a calf. Grace, Annie and Johnson went ‘cow-shopping’ in the village, and by that afternoon she was installed and happily munching away. Her name is Paul, which means ‘milk’ in Tamil. Her calf is called Pip – after the ‘Poynton India Project’. The milk will help provide the children with the vitamins and minerals they desperately need when they first come to us. The cow will eat waste vegetable trimmings and provide manure for the vegetable garden. Johnson knows all about cows and had everything set up in four hours flat.

The trip was incredible. Both the English and Indian students gained an awful lot of confidence, enjoyment and communication skills throughout the two-week trip. It was wonderful for Paul and Grace, Annie and Omega to see all the students working together with the Indian students to paint their new temporary home near Chennai.

Doctor at medical camp

India Direct is so grateful to Aletta and Helen for all that they continue to do for us. 4 more children are now sponsored as a direct result of this trip. Thank you so much to Poynton High School and your amazing support.

Paul the cow

Annie would like to set up more medical camps. Each one costs £1000 and delivers free care to those most desperate. The Indian government has recently reduced the amount at which it believes people can live on. This causes even more desperation and distress when people are sick. Please help if you can. It makes a difference.

Beads Unlimited Publish a blog about us!

john — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:24:26 +0000

Beads Unlimited are a company that Grace Nadin-Salter uses for her jewellery business – Just Grace Jewellery. Grace taught all the girls at Bethel and Joy how to make wire and bead bracelets when she visited our projects in India in July. Beads Unlimited often send out great email newsletters, and Grace read that they were interested in hearing about charities where beads had featured as part of the work. Grace immediately sent them an article and photos of our girls busy making bracelets! The boys had also loved this activity, but were harder to catch on film actually doing it! Beads unlimited have linked our website to ours now, which is absolutely fantastic. Not only that, they have sent Grace an amazing pack of resources for jewellery making. This means that even more money can go to India Direct when she sells her jewellery. She gives 15% of everything she makes from her business to India Direct. Please visit the Beads Unlimited blog at:

Dan Bennett 50K Run for India Direct

john — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:17:24 +0000

Dan at the end of his 50K run

Our friend Dan Bennett decided one Sunday after a church service, that he had to run 50K for India Direct and that he was going to raise £1000 for us. We were stunned. That anyone would want to do that, let alone for us, overwhelmed us. Dan set off on a dark morning in Coventry and ran back towards Macclesfield. Dan has raised nearly £1100 for us as a result. Thank you so much Dan. You deserve a medal, let alone a post on our website…

Johnson has heart attack

john — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:46:17 +0000

Johnson saying 'Thank you' to us for his recovery

Last month, our treasured member of staff, Johnson, had a heart attack. He underwent emergeny surgery to fit a medical stent (at a cost of around £2,500) and is happily now fit and back to work. His wife Rosie was delighted to have him back at Joy alive and well, and so are we. Johnson does all the gardening, security work and general looking after the boys at Joy and has a seven month old daughter called Marilyn. Johnson is a fine man – patient, kind, firm and consistent. A true role model for our boys. We are so glad to have you back with us, Johnson!

Joe Mawood – 64 mile Bike Ride

john — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:34:45 +0000

Joe cycled 64 miles on the 10th of July from Manchester to Blackpool to raise money for India Direct. The ride stated at Old Trafford, at the Manchester United football ground and finished at the mirror ball on Blackpool’s seafront. Joe’s dad was taking part in the ride, and Joe decided to join him to raise money for charity too. Thankfully, he chose ours! Joe chose India Direct because his school (Poynton High School) works with us and he knew that his money would go to a worthwhile cause. Joe raised £120 which he knows will make a difference to our work in Bethel and Joy Children’s homes. Thank you Joe!