On Tuesday 17th September at 7.30pm the Torquay & District Soroptimist International are hosting a talk by Anita Edgar on the street children of India.
Anita Edgar’s story began when she was on holiday in Goa. Like any tourist, she was looking for some rest and relaxation on the beaches, with her daughter. Matthew Kurian was ministering to his congregation in a slum in north Goa and worked with drug and alcohol addicts. His vision was to open homes for the children he saw on the streets to keep them away from potential abuse and to give them a chance at life. During her stay in a beach hotel in Goa, Anita was moved by the plight of children rummaging for food in garbage heaps behind her hotel. The sight disturbed her, giving rise to visions of homes to shelter these children. Providentially, their paths crossed one Sunday morning when Anita met Matthew in his church. The seeds of El Shaddai were sown in 1996. The next year, the Trust was registered, and the story of El Shaddai began.
Anita is bringing along the co-founder of her charity who is visiting from India and she also has artifacts to sell price ranging £2.00-£22.00 with the very popular calendars £5.00.
Soroptimist’s work together on projects with the 3 E’s: Educate, Empower & Enable.
We aim to learn about El Shaddai who hope to bring lasting change, by working with whole families and communities and not just the children. They counsel parents on the importance of education and impressing on the communities the need for maintaining hygiene and preventing disease, the legal implications of child labour and the importance of family planning.
They work closely with women in these communities to empower them financially by building skills to set up their own enterprises.
Through these projects, they aim to help the village communities develop their own villages and improve their living conditions.
It would be lovely if you could join us for this FREE evening at our meeting room at Rosegarth, Tor Church Road, Torquay.
torquaydistrictsi@gmail.com