Friends of ROSHNI began at the start of 2005. We feel we have achieved a lot during this short time... what do you think?

Building project

Thanks to all our supporters we have now raised £17,000 towards the new building project. This money will pay for the therapy wing of the new building. This includes a physiotherapy gym, a large room for the Early Intervention Group, sensory room, adapted bathrooms, music room and a Speech Therapy Room. There is still some work to do, as we will continue raising funds for a while. The building should be ready to move into by October 2008. We may also need to raise funds for furniture and equipment before too long.

Child Sponsors

Our supporters currently sponsor 23 children and young adults at ROSHNI, and the number of sponsors keeps growing. The students who benefit are those who cannot afford to pay the fees to attend ROSHNI. Sponsorship money has paid for things like extra care to support families at home, fees for a child to attend mainstream school with the support of ROSHNI staff, and an operation to correct a hearing impairment in a young boy. All the sponsored children receive free therapy, tuition and transport to ROSHNI, medical care when needed, nutritional support and the provision of aids at home such as standing frames, splints and special chairs.

o date, Friends of ROSHNI UK has donated £6360 to ROSHNI through the Child Sponsorship scheme.

Staff Grants

Friends of ROSHNI UK recognise the importance of staff training and development. In 2006 we started an annual Staff Training Grant, which any staff member at ROSHNI can apply for in part or full. The awards are as follows:

• 2006 - Rakhi Asthana, £100 to support her BEd in Special Education, Cerebral Palsy
• 2007 - Ram Sevak Bareiya, £250 to pay for a 1 year course in Developmental Therapy in Delhi

In 2007, we gave our first annual grant of £100 for our new Staff Professional Exchange Scheme. This is to enable staff members to spend time visiting other disability organisations in India, to share skills and learn new ideas. The grant covers travel, accommodation and food costs while the staff members are away from home. It was used this year as follows:

• Mou Boral (Special Educator) attended AADI in Delhi for 3 days in January.
• Renuka Shrivastav (Special Educator/Vocational Group Supervisor), Sharad Pathekar (Special Educator) and Vivek Sharma (Therapy Team Coordinator) spent 2 days at Karuna Vihar School in Dehra Dun in February 2007.

Volunteers

To date, we have trained and sent 8 skilled volunteers to work at ROSHNI, including:

• 4 physiotherapists
• 1 special needs teacher
• 2 occupational therapists
• 1 occupational therapy student

We are currently in the process of recruiting volunteers for September 2008. Please get in touch with Penny if you are interested in applying - info@friendsofroshni.co.uk.

Provision of specialist equipment

We have collected a lot of specialist equipment over the last 3 years, which has been taken over to India by volunteers and visitors. The equipment has all been donated by therapy departments and special schools in Kendal, Manchester and London. This includes:

• assessment kit for premature babies
• supportive pushchair and chair for children with poor sitting balance
• 175 orthopaedic appliances, including supportive footwear and foot splints
• 9 textbooks on disability related issues
• PECS communication software for the computer
• Various items to be used in therapy and educational programmes, such as therapy balls, a parachute and a digital camera.

Vocational Training

Friends of ROSHNI UK sell hand-made bags and cards on behalf of the Vocational Group at our fundraising events. To date, we have sold £687 worth of their produce. The money raised is sent back in full, and is divided between the students who make the goods, and the rest put back into the training project.

Professional visit to UK

Vivek Sharma, the Therapy Team Coordinator visited the UK in 2005 for 2 months, during this time he undertook several short training courses and observational placements in hospitals and therapy departments across England. The trip was funded by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, and planned by Friends of ROSHNI UK.

Funding Special Trips

Our sponsors have donated £230 to allow 15 young people from low-income families to attend Performing Arts and Special Olympics events across India over the last 3 years.

Students from roshni about to go on stage at the Anjali project 2006
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A Roshni Prizewinner at the Special Olympics
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learning pottery at project Anjali in Orissa
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a gold medal winner from a Special Olympics event in Calcutta
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We are pleased with the help we have given so far, but we always want to do more! Can you help us support Roshni even more, by volunteering, sponsoring Roshni student, or making a donation?

Last updated February 2008