December 2024

Every penny donated goes to the Venkat Trust. All UK costs are met by the Trustees

Christmas Greetings to you all.

As well as the Venkat story, it’s about our respective early lives and 23 years running our Ab Fab style PR company. For the past 20 years our time has been mainly spent looking after the Venkat Trust and the events that have unfolded - from a chance meeting on a beach to tragedy and triumph - are told in the book.   

If you’d like to buy a copy of Accidental Lives (or copies, it being Christmas time) we’re offering signed books to Venkat Trust supporters at a special launch price of £15 (cover price £16.99) plus postage of £2.50 for one book, £3.75 for two or more.  Please e-mail me at info@venkattrust.org.uk for payment details. Accidental Lives is also available on Amazon, from our publisher Black Spring Press and to order at book shops.  Our royalties for the sale of the book will go to the Venkat Trust.

Totally absorbed as well as she might be -

our youngest reader is Lindsay's granddaughter, Orla

Book signing at the launch party

Kovalam is in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India and the tenth largest. It alone has a population of nearly 80 million, ten million more than inhabit the UK.

Given these statistics, one would not imagine our Higher Secondary School to be anything more than a number hidden deep in the state’s school records but it continues to claim fame on many fronts.   

There are 6,848 high or higher secondary schools in Tamil Nadu but we’re not just one of them – we’ve been named as one of the top ten.



Sixteen-year-old student Nanina has been asked to join Tamil Nadu’s girls’ cricket team. This is an extraordinary honour which has been recognised by the District Collector and other important Government officials and she has been presented with certificates, cricket bats and balls. I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s representing her country. My loyalties will be divided as her fast-bowling thunders down on the hallowed turf of Lords and England’s team trails back to the Pavilion! (Nanina is no slouch in the classroom either – she got 93% in the last Government exams).

Nanina in the District Collector’s office for the presentation of bat and ball

Sulayka Banu was just a toddler when she and her older sister were orphaned by the Tsunami. They then endured a very poor and peripatetic childhood until arriving in Kovalam.   Happily, they soon found themselves under the wing of the Venkat Trust, sponsored, and enrolled as pupils at the High School. Both have done well: her older sister is thriving in the medical world and this year Sulayka Banu gained a first-class law degree. She is now an advocate in the Bar Council training to be a barrister. 

Sulayka Banu being congratulated by JR, our Managing Trustee.

The last of our current building projects, the Chemistry lab, situated alongside the splendid Physics lab, is nearing completion. Together, they are wonderful examples of the importance we place on a state-of-the-art science section, such is the reputation we have acquired for the quality of teaching and facilities offered to our budding scientists.   

We’re almost there. There are six classrooms on the ground floor, above which are the Physics lab and classroom on the left. The Chemistry lab and classroom on the right will be opened next month.

The educational budget from the Indian Government is so small that we find ourselves having to take on more and more of its responsibilities to maintain our high standards.  The costs for the original High School were shared between the Trust and the Government but since then every building has been paid by us alone. Apart from the extension above, we’ve built another six-classroom block, two small ‘wings’ onto the Higher Secondary School building and the large and very flexible Janakiraman Community Hall in the village. Its huge ground floor provides an ideal meeting place for the sponsored children and upstairs are our offices, the English language audio visual lab, model railway and village, music room and the University Club. 



Our Senior School students need lots of text and reference books to help them in their studies but there was no room for them in the main library. JR, never one to miss a trick, found a very economical solution. A 20ft shipping container, which was given to him, is now a very smart academic library and fits the bill perfectly.

The free medical drop-in clinic mentioned in May’s Newsletter continues to offer free consultations with a doctor, surgeon and nurses at the Venkat Trust’s Janakiraman Community Hall. It’s proving to be a huge blessing for the people of Kovalam whose health is improving thanks to the on-the-spot medical advice and treatment now available. The service is very kindly provided the Chettinad Hospital in neighbouring Kelambakkam

A free consultation for Kovalam residents with a doctor and nurse from Chettinad Hospital

Our honorary fundraiser Alex has signed up runners giving their sponsorship money to the Venkat Trust for many years with brilliant results but the next half marathon looks set to be the best yet. To date, the indefatigable Alex has more than 40 people running on Sunday, 2 March and expects more yet. She’d be delighted to welcome anyone who might be interested in joining her Venkat Trust group. She can be contacted on alex@ubermummies.com.

Kovalam, actually.  The trustees’ delightful but modest house has had a major makeover and now boasts a small swimming pool. We haven’t suddenly got grandiose ideas but we realised there was serious income potential if we let the house when we weren’t there. A pool was a ‘must’ JR advised.  Now called Venkat Villa, it has two bedrooms with modern shower rooms, a terrace overlooking the beach, a palm tree growing through the open roof of the spacious sitting room - and a swimming pool. 

Needless to say, all renovation costs have been separately funded but once these have been paid off from the letting income, all profits will go to the Trust. 

A 20% discount is offered to our supporters for the four-person Venkat Villa and each floor at Venkat House can accommodate two persons. Please contact Aarthi on admin@venkattrust.org.in for details and availability. 

We are always very grateful for donations at Christmas time for something specific or our general funds:

Buying a copy or two of Accidental Lives is one way of bolstering our funds and spreading the word. All royalties are earmarked for the Venkat Trust.

We need more teachers. This should be the responsibility of the Government but without us the classrooms would have 100 pupils or more per teacher. We are aiming to have no more than 30 students per teacher but this is not yet the case. £2,500 will take care of a teacher’s salary for a year and any donation would help us recruit more. 

Thank you for any help you can give us.

Our sponsored children and more than a thousand school students are thriving in the stimulating atmosphere of our primary and higher secondary schools. Through the generous support of our loyal supporters our sponsored children can look forward to a bright future and all our pupils are cared for under the wing of the Venkat Trust and benefit from excellent free education, sporting facilities and pastoral care.   

With my very best wishes for a happy Christmas and a healthy and peaceful New Year,

Sylvia

Founder Trustee

We are very grateful to our volunteers: Emma Holder, our UK Sponsorship Coordinator, Sandra Huggett for her admin work and Astrid Hunton of Expat Academy for the layout and circulation of our Newsletter.

The Venkat Trust is a registered charity No.1104363

The Venkat Trust, 12 Westbourne Gardens, Hove BN3 5PP

Tel: 01273 719362

|e-mail: info@venkattrust.org.uk |website: www.venkattrust.org.uk

UK Trustees: Sylvia Holder, Lindsay Swan, Sarah Da Silva,

Nick Goslett, John Whelan, Natalie Lee, Frankie Knight, Helen Bathe

Kovalam Trustees: Janakiraman (JR), M. Ali