The Railway Children- Cheque Presentation
The charity The Railway Children has recently received a cheque for just over £1,500.00 from SI Cannock & District thanks to their President, Lakhwinder Thompson who nominated it as her charity during her year as President of the Cannock club.
The club has held several events during the year when some of the funds raised were for The Railway Children; but the majority of the monies were raised at the club’s main fund-raising event of the year held when Lesley Smith, curator of Tutbury Castle, was the speaker.
During that evening President Lakhwinder presented a cheque for £1,000 to Ian Watson, a representative of the charity, though following his short talk about the charity and Lesley Smith’s wonderful portrayal of Anne Boleyn many bought more raffle tickets or gave donations, thus resulting in the much higher donation.
The charity began in 1995 when David Maidment (the founder) encountered one small girl – an abused street child - in Mumbai; this experience led him to try to alleviate the plight of the two million plus children who are living on streets all over the world. He was especially concerned with the 87,000 children who arrive each year at railway stations of large cities in India from the rural areas. The charity is now active in more than ten countries including the UK where the charity runs 9 projects and 2 phone lines.
Research has shown that a runaway child arriving on a railway station has between 10 and 20 minutes before being approached by a pimp, paedophile or drug pusher; it is therefore imperative that a charity worker can intervene immediately to persuade the child to go to the charity’s support room where staff work to try and reunite the child with their family or else offer them secure lodging.
The Railway Children, known as The Voice for Street Children Worldwide, has helped tens of thousands of children over the years.
President Lakhwinder adopted The Railway Children as her special charity for the year because of what she had personally witnessed in India and her special link with the country of her birth. She was delighted to be able to present £1,000 to the charity – and overjoyed when she realised that another £500 + could be given to them.
Photo attached: President of SI Cannock & District Lakhwinder Thompson with Ian Watson, representative of the charity The Railway Children