I was 65 on 20th January and had just got back to Kolkata in time to celebrate with everyone on the roof of Anna Bari. I told Pappu that I thought this year to just get a few decorations, but not to go over the top with flowers. Of course, when I walked into Anna Bari in the morning they had strewn rose petals on the stairs leading up to the roof and everyone from both the boys home and Lula Bari were sitting up there waiting for me.

I was 40 when I started shuktara with Anna and Sunil on 1st July 1999 and this year as we prepare to celebrate 25 years of shuktara I remembered that Pappu is now the same age as I was back then. This made me realise how quickly time goes and how magical these times and ages and dates are.

Soon after my birthday, Pappu took all of the girls from Lula Bari and the staff in a bus to the North of Bengal where they stayed by a large water body, took picnics and enjoyed some local dance performances.

Since our last newsletter we have had a number of one-off donations for which we are really grateful. Also two supporters have signed up to donate monthly. The worries of the trustees in the UK have momentarily subsided and this is an encouraging start to helping us sort our shortfall.

We have also been given an amazing opportunity to double donations from now until the end of June.

One of our longstanding supporters has just written to us to let us know how concerned they have become at the increasing shortfall between the amount of money needed to keep our homes running and the amount we receive in regular giving. They have offered to double every donation that shuktara receives by the end of June up to to a maximum of £15,000. If any of you are considering either a one-off or regular monthly donation, this is a brilliant opportunity to make your money go further and – if successful – will go a long way to helping us repair our finances.

If you are interested in making every pound you give turn into £2 for shuktara’s young adults, please don’t hesitate to donate by 1st July, shuktara’s 25th anniversary

We have recently had a few visitors who have stopped by on their travels. It was wonderful to see Mike Gibson who came with his partner Emma and 4 other friends after they had visited the Andaman Islands. Mike and his core group of friends managed to raise enough funds for us to purchase our girls home Lula Bari, in memory of Mike’s wife Lula who died in 2012.

Nigel Rogers and his sister Shirley also spent a memorable afternoon visiting both homes. We appreciate when supporters who have donated for specific things are able to visit and see where their money was used.
Please remember that up until the end of June your donations will be doubled and thank you for your continued support of shuktara.

David Earp