(It is better to Light One Candle than to curse the darkness)
The One Candle Fund was set up in 2004 during a visit to K.V. Kuppam by some of the Link supporters. The name was suggested by Sally Whittingham who was in India developing the Nursery School project at the time.
Education is highly valued in India but for financial reasons some of the families in poorer villages found it difficult to support their children at school beyond Standard 7. We knew we could not help all the children but with the help of RUHSA we were able to set up a system to offer educational bursaries of between £20 and £25 per year for the children of a few of the poorer families.
The women of the village self-help group helped with setting up the One Candle Project.
Govinderaj knew the village well and helped administer the One Candle Fund for the first 4 years.
The aim of this fund is simply to enable children from lower income families to complete their education. It was decided to support children from the weaving community in the areas of Seetharamanpet and Kamatchiammanpet in K.V.Kuppam Block.
The One Candle Project has a simple but successful format. Bursaries have been made to one hundred children and each year they receive funds from RUHSA on our behalf when they begin the new school term.
Most of the village turned out for the distribution of the first cheques.
The One Candle Project’s first group of children.
Vijayalakshmi (left) studied engineering and now works in Chennai. Her sister Vijayakumari (right) qualified as a nurse and works in a hospital in Chennai. Both girls were the inspiration for the fund.
We raise funds in the UK through events and some schools have raised money for us. Some loyal supporters have set up standing orders to help us and we have also received donations from the Bishopston Trading Company’s charity, the South Indian Rural Development Trust. When a child is selected for a bursary we promise to support them until they complete their education so we are always grateful for any donations to the fund.
If you would like to learn more about this friendship link, plan a fund raiser event or make a donation to one of our projects, please click HERE.
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