Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club continued its long term support for the The Esther Benjamins Trust following a visit by the founder of the Trust, Philip Holmes who gave an update on the Trust activities. Club President Dennis Owens presented a cheque to support activity of the Trust which works exclusively for deprived, disabled and stigmatised Nepalese children.
Contact between Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club and The Esther Benjamins Trust started a number of years ago as a result of a Club member, the late Eddie Ashley, having a conversation, in a Nepalese Guest House, with Philip Holmes the then recent founder of the Trust in memory of his wife who had died in tragic circumstances. The aim of the Trust is to transform the lives of marginalised and disadvantaged Nepalese children, see www.ebtrust.org.uk and Philips vision was to give a nation who had helped Britain in many conflicts something back. Eddie and his wife Pauline were at the time visiting their daughter, a teacher in a Nepali school and from these initial contacts a project developed where Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club, in association with Clubs in Germany, Holland and Belgium provided a Bus to the Trust for an unusual purpose.
The purpose of the Bus was to collect children from a Nepal prison, where they were locked up along with parents arrested / convicted for whatever reason and deprived of any education. The Trust was able to arrange for these innocent children to be taken out of prison for schooling and the Bus was the means for this to happen. Some years later the Bus is still considered by Philip Holmes to be the best acquisition the growing Trust has had.
The Trust now has homes and refuges in different parts of Nepal. Activity has expanded, often dangerously, in the rescue of Children from other forms of abuse. The rescue of children trafficked originally from their homes in Nepal and smuggled across the border into Indian circuses is a major activity and considerable challenges exist in rehabilitating young people who have spent most of their lives, essentially in bondage and subjected to violent and sexual abuses
The development of income generating activities is a continuous challenge and recent initiatives involve the development and sale of mosaics produced by the young adults protected by the Trust. In his presentation to Macclesfield Castle Rotarians Philip Holmes was able to report an item had been purchased for display in a British Royal Household.
The challenges faced by many organisations like The Esther Benjamins Trust are acute. Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club members have visited Nepal and maintain a close liaison with the Trust and receive regular updates on its progress. Presentation of further funds is another example of how Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club contributes to improving the quality of life for people at home and abroad.
Further information about Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club can be found at www.macclesfieldcastlerotary.org.uk or from Secretary Alan Bishop on 01625 433926
