May 2023

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

Good news indeed. We’ve shed the shackles of the Tamil Nadu Government which were causing an interminable delay in the building of the planned 12-classroom extension for the Higher Secondary School.  It had been a 50/50, Government/Venkat Trust arrangement  but with the project stuck in bureaucracy on the Government’s side we were going nowhere. Now, a six-classroom extension financed by VMT only is due for completion on 15 June and in time we’ll put up another single storey building.

We were at our wits’ end in January when the Government decreed that changes be made to the foundations already agreed and built. I was in Kovalam at the time and the then happy discovery that we could go-it-alone if we restricted the building to one floor had the cement mixers whirring in a flash. As we’d already been allowed to put up a functional ‘temporary’, but very permanent looking, classroom block, the additional classrooms will enable us to provide all the pupils with their own desks in their own space. At last, all those who gave so generously to the building appeal many months ago will soon be able to see a result in bricks and mortar. 

I’m really proud to report that in the very first year of our 12^th standard class, the students have excelled themselves. (Before we attained the status of Higher Secondary School, our pupils had to go to another school to complete 11^th and 12^th standards).  Of the 120 12^th standard students (Upper Sixth), 85% have passed the end-of-school Government exams to qualify them for further education. This is a great achievement and is better than any other school in the area, including the fee paying St Joseph’s in the village and other private schools. The number included 23 sponsored children and 22 made the grade, an even more inspiring achievement for those from the poorest homes in the village. Pass or fail, we recommend the best course of action for each individual and if university is not for them we suggest vocational training to suit their varying skills, ranging from motor mechanics for the boys to beautician courses for the girls. All those sponsored remain under the wing of the Venkat Trust until they have finished their studies. 

In recognition of our school’s success, the Trust has awarded grants to the top three students. The student with the highest mark of 85% is planning to study law, the second, with 84%, is set up for an engineering degree and the third with 83% is considering her course options. 

We had a delightful and very well attended Curry Lunch in Hove last month but were sorry that some familiar faces weren’t with us as several people were on holiday over the Easter period. JR and Ali were also unable to join us in person but thanks to Zoom, they and Aarthi were wired up from the start and guests were able to chat to them.

A short video was shown of our new roof garden at the Higher Secondary School built in memory of the actress and Venkat supporter Gwyneth Powell (see obit in last Newsletter), a fitting tribute for a very special person and keen gardener. Her husband Alan kindly chose us as the beneficiary of donations in her memory and several of her thespian friends who contributed to the garden were at the lunch.

This is a garden for participation by the students, a place where they can learn about flowers and plants, vegetables, herbs and medicinal plants. This opportunity will doubtless produce some keen green fingered youngsters and gardens will be popping up in their own homes’ outside spaces, particularly to grow vegetables for the family’s supper. Medicinal plants are an important part of Indian medical culture and the students are learning what plant to use for what ailment and how to prepare it.   

The main attraction in the garden, running along one length of the site, is the arched walkway flanked by flowers on either side and the Coconut Tree House is a pleasant cooling-off spot, a shady place to rest and enjoy the garden. . You can see the video on https://vimeo.com/821188517

To applause in Hove and Kovalam, Alan cuts the ribbon to open the Gwyneth Powell Memorial Garden. 

Also at the lunch our brilliant fundraiser, Alex Smallman, was presented with an engraved glass vase in recognition of her extraordinary fundraising efforts. Every year Alex manages to get lots of her Uber Mummies, her keep fit and friendship community, to run in the Brighton Half Marathon in aid of VMT, and this year no less than 45 of them pounded the streets of Brighton and Hove, totting up 562 miles between them. Many of our projects will benefit from this extraordinary effort. Many thanks to Alex and the runners.



 Also at the presentation with Alex and her partner, trustee John Whelan, were a couple of gate crashers - their then 11-week old, utterly scrumptious, identical twin boys, Arthur and Patrick. It was a joyous occasion all round.

We’re very grateful to the many others who have organised fundraising events for the Trust. Thanks to Eightspace, a national company providing innovative furniture for the education sector, a large container of school furniture is right now steaming its way to the Port of Chennai. What a help that will be in the furnishing of our new classrooms. They have also sponsored several children.

Organic Zoo sells superb 100% organic baby and toddler clothing. Owner Paulina very kindly handed over a whole day’s takings at her shop during the pre-Christmas rush to the Venkat Trust.

We have many to thank for picking up the tab for a year’s salary for the new teachers needed for the growing numbers at the Higher Secondary School. We hope that the Government will then step in, as they should have done for the first year, but we’re not holding our breath.



We have The Peter Cundill Foundation and IntoGiving to thank for their continued support and also many individuals for their fundraising efforts – sponsored walks, bike rides, swear boxes and the rest. Thank you all very much. 

You will be pleased to hear that letters to your children can now be sent to Kovalam by e-mail as well as by post. We hope it will encourage more sponsors to keep in touch with them. One of our English teachers will print and pass the e-mails on to the children, having deleted your e-mail addresses, and help with translation as needed. The children’s replies will still be sent by post. The dedicated e-mail address is vmt.sponsoredchildren@gmail.com The subject matter should read “Name of child (name of sponsor)”.  

With rising costs in India, it would be helpful for the sponsored children to have an increase in their monthly payments. However, we’re having hard times here too so rather than ask you to increase your standing orders, we have decided to change the breakdown of the monthly amount donated so that the children will now get £10 and savings will be reduced to £4. At the time of further education we will, as usual, be grateful for any help from sponsors towards fees to supplement savings and the Trust will always pick up the tab for the balance. 

Taken some years ago, many of these sponsored girls are now graduates or have other qualifications. Now enjoying stimulating careers, their lives have been turned around beyond their wildest dreams and for them poverty has been consigned to history.

Four years on from my big birthday weekend event in Kovalam, some first time visiting supporters and others on a return trip spent a weekend in January in Kovalam going to see the schools and the sponsored children’s homes and joining in the various activities at the sponsored children’s weekly Sunday get together.  They also enjoyed the warm evenings having supper in the garden of the trustees’ house and a barbecue on the beach.   



The fairly recently formed girls’ cricket team challenged the visitors to a cricket match. A doddle for the mixed visitors’ team, older and towering above them. Not! The Venkat Girls romped home. How shaming but great fun!  The girls have put together an excellent team and they got to the final in an event in Pondicherry recently. We’re hoping to get an ex Indian international player to help with the coaching of our team. They could go far.  

We are very grateful to our volunteers: Sandra Huggett for her admirable admin work and Astrid Hunton for the layout and circulation of our Newsletter.