Happy 15th Anniversary!Happy 15th Anniversary!

In this newsletter we celebrate the past 15

years of TREAD and FOT’s work with special

focus on Trinity Day Care Centre, Kudunure!

In July 2000, Friends of TREAD was registered as a

UK charity with five trustees to support the work of

TREAD India trust.

Shortly afterwards, FOT received a call from TREAD

India founder and Director, Dr M Sounder Raj “Good

news!” he said over the crackling telephone line.

“We have found premises to rent for a day care

centre for 50 children and we open in September—it

will cost just £400 pcm to run!” FOT trustees were

excited but alarmed by this sudden request—how

were they to raise this kind of money each month?

£400 divided by 50 children worked out at £8 a

month so an appeal was put out swiftly to friends,

churches and neighbours. By the time Trinity Day

Care Centre opened in September 2000, FOT had

sponsors pledging monthly donations for about 40

children. Since then TDCC has grown and now caters

for over 100 children on a regular basis. FOT has

never had quite enough sponsors to cover the costs

but somehow the money has always come in

through fundraising or general donations.

Sounder was well known and respected by childcare

organisations so when Compassion International’s

East India District Officer visited TDCC he was

impressed by the model of childcare provided before

and after school. He told Sounder that Compassion

would be interested in running projects in partner-

ship with TREAD in parts of Orissa and surrounding

areas if infrastructure and management costs were

found by a partner organisation. This became FOT’s

Thank you for our boundary wall!Thank you for our boundary wall!

In partnership with TREAD India Trust main work over the next few years as we raised

funds for the purchase of land and buildings for

three more Child Development Centres. Once built,

Compassion International took responsibility for the

running costs and monitoring of these centres.

Since 2000, four more trustees have joined FOT and

the list of supporters has grown, providing regular

monthly donations for projects as well as one-off

donations. The Orphaned Assistance programme and

Grace Tailoring project both exclusively funded by

Friends of TREAD sponsors continue to offer support

for needy children and young people who are often

in desperate situations.

Thanks to the generosity of a FOT supporter, TDCC

now has a rear boundary wall with smart gates. Not

only will this improve security for the children and

staff but will prevent neighbourhood cattle from

wandering in and creating havoc!

In recent years we heard that some of the old

thatched mud huts in Kudunure, home to many of

the TDCC children, were being replaced by new

government buildings. We were quite encouraged

until we heard that these are only half-built as the

government pays for the basic building and expects

the inhabitants to use their own money to finish

them. Hence the houses aren’t plastered, some will

have door and window frames and cloth or tarpaulin

will be used for protection from the elements, some

won’t have windows at all. Hepsi says “Very very few

have a complete house” Our experience of buildings

in India with its extreme climate makes us aware

that these houses will quickly become little more

than slums with electric fittings and sanitation in a

poor and dangerous state. FOT trustees plan to focus

on TDCC and the village during their next visit in

spring 2016 and will be able to see these houses.

Housing in Kudunure VillageHousing in Kudunure Village

Sarah, David and Hannah Centres Sarah, David and Hannah Centres

FOT have received a request from TREAD India for

replacement motor bikes as all the bikes are at least

4 years old and are used daily on very bumpy tracks

often in appalling weather conditions. The bikes are

needed at the three Compassion sites (Sarah, David

and Hannah) whilst Jayraj, manager of TDCC, would

prefer a more comfortable and cheaper lady’s bike

which is better suited to the tarmac road that he

rides on daily. Taking into account part exchange of

the old bikes, they would cost a total of £2500.

HELP! New Motor Bikes HELP! New Motor Bikes NeededNeeded

Compassion are providing 6 computers for the

Sarah Centre children as there is a suitable room

available in the Grace Tailoring centre. They will do

the same at Hannah centre if FOT pay for the

electrical wiring there—app cost £500

It has been a busy summer for the TREAD centres—

Sarah, David and Hannah with all kinds of courses

and activities for the children and their parents.

These included:

• Child Protection talk to parents, children and

staff about children’s rights and protection against

abuse

• Sports’ events for all ages of children

• Medical checks on children with free medicine,

plus training about sunstroke and malaria

• Celebration of Water Awareness day—the

good use of it, boiling water, not wasting it

• Candle and Detergent Making programmes

• Kids’ Club Holiday Bible schools

• Personal Health and Hygiene classes for

parents and teenagers

• Youth Camps for senior children

• Agricultural Plantation training for children of

agricultural workers

• Art and Craft classes

• The older boarding school pupils from Hannah

Centre were taken on an educational outing to

visit the Electrical Power Project at Balimela

(Odisha) and beautiful surrounding area. Balimela

is a major business city attracting tourists and a

centre for tribal cultural study.

• The younger children went to to swim and fish

in beautiful waterfalls and rivers in Thirathgah. It

is a centre for the study of tribal ways of life and

also an important centre for trade and commerce

• At the Hannah Centre in April, 165 parents

attended a meeting organised for the parents of

senior school children

• Five children from the Hannah Centre were

selected for a one month music class in

Chattisgarh for keyboard & guitar .

• Fifteen children were taken for football coaching

in Jeypore for a month and have formed a team

named David CDC Club.

• Thirty children spent a month in TREAD HQ in

Bhadrachalam for spoken English, essay, letter

writing and also Basic Computer coaching.

• Seven David centre children spent a month in

Hyderabad learning guitar and keyboard skills

Grace Tailoring Sewing MachinesGrace Tailoring Sewing Machines The cost for 9 machines as gifts to the students has The cost for 9 machines as gifts to the students has

been covered by a private donation and from Les been covered by a private donation and from Les

Mains Ouvertes in France. Many thanks to you all!Mains Ouvertes in France. Many thanks to you all!

Congratulations!Congratulations!

Many congratulations to TREAD India’s Director

Vasanth and his wife Annie on the birth of their

daughter! Baby Rachel arrived 8 weeks prematurely

in January, weighing less than a bag of sugar. Soon

she will be strong enough to move to her home in

the Sarah Centre in Podia with mother Annie. The

family can’t wait to be reunited and start their

family life together in September!

HOW CAN YOU HELP US?HOW CAN YOU HELP US? People often ask us how they can help support the work in India. This

month we are focusing on using the internet. Have a look at our Facebook page –just type in Friends of TREAD–

and then share our page with your friends.

If you copy the link below and make it your homepage, each time you use a search engine you raise money for Friends of TREAD.

It doesn't cost you a thing but donations to us add up!

http://tread.easysearch.org.uk

If you do any shopping on the internet—anything from your weekly groceries to buying flights or insurance, try

easyfundraising.org.uk who provide a FREE fundraising service. Every time you shop online using all your favourite retail outlets you raise funds for

Friends of TREAD and it doesn't cost you a penny!

Charity 1081400

233 Wishing Tree Rd, St Leonards on Sea

TN38 9LA

Tel: 01424 853697/ 0117 9093592

email treaduk@hotmail.com

FACEBOOK/Friends of TREAD

www.friendsoftread.org