Day care and Tuition Centre for over 250 children from dysfunctional families.

WELCOME TO WHEEL OF HOPE’S HAPPY HOME

Day care and Tuition Centre for over 250 children from dysfunctional families

Wheel of Hope was started by David and Pamela as the Millennium Star Cricket Club under the patronage of Miles Duke of Norfolk. It

is now a nationally registered charity both in the U.K and India

Tuition is needed for all but the very rich children in India as there are often over 60-70 children in a class.

Today we have evolved into a super day care centre to protect the children from lives in

poor uncaring homes

Most of our children have both parents and father goes out fishing at sea every night.

They go in small boats and often boys as young as 12 0r 13 (when they are legally allowed to leave school) help them

The homes from which our children come are usually dysfunctional because father has a medical, drink or

drug problem. Alcohol is a very bad problem in fishing villages such as ours

Our children sleep at home but during daylight hours they are at Happy Home

protected from their Fathers.

We help the mothers in many ways including counselling, medical advice and sometimes help with bills and even food

We offer sewing courses

Jewellery making courses

Cooking courses and candle making so that they can earn an independent income

Suresh has sent our teachers on a candle making course so that they can teach our mothers how to make candles

and they all have official certificates in candlemaking!

Here are our teachers proudly holding their first candle …. Suresh is getting much better at tasking

photos!!!

Children have to have tuition because if they fail their exams they stay down

a class and eventually there is no point in them staying at school.

We give them all they need to stay at school, their books and uniforms as well as tuition in

classes averaging 25.

We have a really splendid team of teachers who work hard teaching the children and trying to solve their problems. Here are some of them in their official uniforms

Happy Home and Wheel of Hope India is run by our managing Trustee Suresh Kumar who is

married with a wonderful wife Shena

.Wheel of Hope is a non-religious organisation that just happens to be the adopted charity of Doncaster Minster and the Bishop of Doncaster

is our Patron

Life at Happy Home is HAPPY … we try to make it that and every visitor is so impressed

with their joy and exuberance

They work very hard doing 2 hours of tuition in the morning before state school

and 2 hours in the evening before going to bed.

We make sure they have a good meal at school every day and on Saturdays we feed them at Happy Home. Suresh’s sister Kavitar cooks for them!!

The children love to play but have so little time except Saturday afternoon and Sundays.

Pamela and I are in India with guests for 3 months of the year and during that

time we make sure they have singing and dancing lessons and have a party.

I also teach them to paint, they love making a mess but they are good at clearing it up!

Thanks to Doncaster Council, Ridgewood and various other friends we have a Computer suit at Happy Home … paradise for our

Matriculation Students

In 2010 we did a major presentation which was professionally put onto DVD. Their acts went on for 4 hours!

Shiju Shija and Malu live with their mother and father in a small leaf house that backs onto the open sewer

You may notice mother’s face and hands are badly burnt… you will soon discover why!

Very few have lavatories, running water or even electricity

Water is taken from filthy wells and has to be boiled to make it drinkable.

Father a fisherman tried to burn his wife to death by pouring kerosene over her. This is

common as it is difficult to prove it was not an accident.

Fortunately the children saved her but she is badly disfigured.

We have given the whole family help and counselling and also built a lavatory for them.

Vinitha was not so lucky. Her father succeeded but he died of cancer a few months later. She lives with her grandmother who works as a coolie

We had to build a house for them. It is very basic but it is a roof over their heads.

Manu has lived with his mother and sister Shija outside aunt’s house since the age of 4.

Without the help of Wheel of Hope Manu would have had to have gone fishing at the age of 12.

He tries very hard and his work has been excellent this is his diagram of a human cell done when he

was 13.

Sadly he was one of our two boys to fail matriculation. However 13 out of 15 passed! We will make sure he becomes an apprentice and has a worthwhile job.

We are very grateful to so many who support us regularly especially Ridgewood school which gives

substantial monthly donations to us

Here some Ridgewood 6th formers try their skills at impressionist painting to encourage our children at Happy Home

It costs nearly £3000 per month to run Happy Home this is through …

Rent for Happy Home; Salaries for the teachers;

expenses for Suresh and his team; Food for the children at happy Home;

Outreach to the poor; School uniforms;

School books and equipment; Painting equipment; Electricity water and

general maintenance; medical expenses on rare occasions

Expenses in the UK are also incurred through having to pay for fundraising venues such as

antique and car boot fairs

Also buying fundraising items in both India and the UK

Petrol expenses travelling to venues and giving talks. No one in Wheel of Hope UK takes a salary all time is given on a voluntary basis.

Much fundraising is done by Pamela who arranges dinner parties, lunches and

afternoon teas at our home. She also helps with Antique and Boot fairs.

Why not invite a group of friends to our house for dinner we can easily cope with 12 to 14 and you

know that the profit goes directly to the charity.

Prices start from just £7 for tea, £10 for lunch and dinner … depending what you want to eat.

Christmas dinners cost £30 per head but you can guarantee a sumptuous feast with bubbly and all the trimmings!

David gives talks about Wheel of Hope and many other subjects at Mothers Union, Rotary Dinners, School Assemblies and many other

organisations

At his home in Conisbrough the lower ground floor has been turned into an Egyptian Museum and talks room.

Since the age of 7 David has been fascinated by Ancient Egypt and has led nearly 35 trips there in school holidays.

It is ideal for special fund raising events after dinner parties

There, Power Point presentations can be given to audiences of up to 20 and there is still room for

Tutankhamen!

These talks are not just on Ancient Egypt but on very many aspects of history and Art especially the Renaissance and Impressionists

Why not ask for a leaflet and join us?....all to raise funds for the Trust

The very best way to help us is through monthly bankers order payment … it matters not how little. Remember we are a registered charity and if you pay tax we can claim GIFT AID

  Remember too our Boot Fairs and Antique

Fairs. If you think you have anything we could use for fundraising please contact us at the same number or email [email protected] or Pamela at [email protected]

You could also come and stay with us in India. Remember Pamela and David spend 3 months

a year there. This is our house where you would stay.

You would meet our children and if you wanted join in their activities

You would also see wonderful sites and spectacles.

We would take you on tours round South India where you would not only see the countryside

but also …

Fabulous Palaces like Mysore 

and Temples like Madurai

And incredible World Heritage sites like Hampi …

Not to mention fantastic religious festivals  

And you might even like to ride an elephant!

Thank you from all the Trustees of Wheel of Hope

and everyone at HAPPY HOME