The Loomba Trust

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The Loomba Trust Profile

The Loomba Trust – Activity Report 31st October, 2005

OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Loomba Trust are to promote the welfare and education of children of poor widows, orphaned children, and also children who have lost their mothers, as a result of natural disaster and for other auxiliary purposes as the trustees may determine.

The Trust aims to expand its education programmes nationwide to all of the 29 States in India, thus raising awareness of the plight of Indian widows and their children throughout the country. The Trust also aims to support the widows who have lost their husbands as a result of HIV/AIDS.

All beneficiaries are selected irrespective of Gender, Religion or Class and scholarships are guaranteed for a period of five years, initially.

Profile
The Loomba Trust was established in the UK on 26 June 1997. It was created by Raj and Veena Loomba by charitable trust deed, and has a sister charity registered in India. The inspiration came from Raj’s late mother, Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, who became a widow at the age of 37 and succeeded in educating her seven children single-handed. The Trust aims to educate the children of poor widows throughout India.

The Trust was officially launched in London on 25 March 1998 in the presence of the British Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP and his wife, Cherie Booth QC. The Trust also received the support of the Prime Minister of India, The Honourable Atal Behari Vajpayee, who inaugurated the Trust in New Delhi on 31 March 1999 by lighting a lamp at his residence.

The Trust was honoured that Cherie Booth QC, who became the first Patron of the Trust in 1998, agreed to become the President of the Trust and officially inaugurated Loomba House in London on 8th September 2004.

In 2004, the Trust started an initiative “The Loomba Trust Partnership Initiative”, which will enable corporations and individuals to educate 100 children of poor widows in India through the charity. Donors may choose any state or city of their choice. The Initiative has been well received by many corporations including HSBC, BT, EDF, Clegg Gifford & Co, Mellon Group, ICICI, Precis, Flintstones, Birla Charitable Trust, S.K. Modi and Sheetal Kapoor and Ricky Kapoor.

The Loomba Trust has launched International Widows Day, a new initiative, which takes place each year on 23 June, to highlight the plight of widows and their children all over the world and to provide a focus for effective action. The date of 23 June was chosen because it was on this day that Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, the inspiration of the Trust, became a widow.

Cherie Booth QC announced the initiative at the House of Lords in the UK on 26th May, 2005, which was followed by launches in India on 7th September and the USA on 21st October, respectively.




President
Cherie Booth QC

Patron-in-Chief
Sir Richard Branson

Patrons
The Rt. Hon. Countess Mountbatten of Burma CBE, CD, JP, DL
Sir Sigmund Sternberg O. St. J., K.C.S.G., J.P.
Joanna Lumley OBE
Sir Mark Tully OBE
Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws QC
The Rt. Hon. Baroness Betty Boothroyd PC
Baroness Jay of Paddington
Lord Janner of Braunstone QC
Veena, Lady Williams of Mostyn
Sir Rob Young GCMC
Ken Livingstone
Lady Harding
Rt. Hon. Charles Kennedy MP
Stephen O’Brien OBE
Sir Ian Blair
Baroness Shirley Williams of Crosby

Chairman Trustee
Raj Loomba

Trustees
Lord Dholakia of Waltham Brooks OBE, DL
Lord Slynn of Hadley
Lady Pilar Brennan of Bibury DMCO
Shamin Lalji
Veena Loomba
Reeta Sarkar
Roma Loomba
Rinku Loomba

In India, the Trust has four Trustees, of whom Dr L.M. Singhvi is the Chairman Trustee along with Raj Loomba, S.K. Khanna, Sushmita Malik, Veena Loomba and K.M. Singh

Advisory Council
Karan Bilimoria CBE DL (Chair)
Barry Humphreys
Vijay Kasbekar
Kartar Lalvani
Umesh Parmar
Captain A K Sharma
Meera Syal MBE
Akbar Verjee
Hugh Harris
STATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

The Loomba Trust is currently educating over 2300 children of poor widows in 16 states in India, including 500 children, who lost their fathers or both parents in the Tsunami disaster in Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu in South India:

Delhi Programme – 100 students

This programme was started on 30 March 1999, at the inauguration of the Trust, which took place at the residence of then the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee in Delhi. There are 49 girls and 51 boys benefiting from the Trust and each child will be supported up to their graduation and beyond if they wish to pursue Higher Education.

Orissa Programme – 100 students

This programme was launched on 5 January 2001, and was attended by the Governor of Orissa, HE Shri M M Rajendran. The programme is run by NSP (Nilachal Seva Pratisthan), an Indian Government accredited NGO. The Trust is funding 100 children who lost their fathers and in some cases both parents, during the devastating 1999 cyclone in Orissa.

Gujarat Programme – 100 students

This programme was started in November 2001 and launched by Mr Edmund Marsden, the Chairman of the British Council in India. The Trust has selected 50 children from the Bhuj area; the area worst hit by the 2001 earthquake, and the other 50 beneficiaries are from Ahmedabad and surrounding areas.

Rajasthan Programme – 100 students

The Rajasthan programme was launched on 18 January 2002 in Jodhpur. It was presided over by the then Union Finance Minister, Honourable Shri Yashwant Sinha in the presence of 500 guests. Shri Raj Kumar Bhandari who lives in Jodhpur and is committed to social work supervises the programme.

Punjab Programme – 100 students

This programme started in July 2002 and was officially launched in the holy City of Amritsar at the Guru Nanak Dev University on April 24, 2003. Lord Dholakia of Waltham and Lord Williams of Mostyn from UK attended the launch. The Trust is educating 100 students who are receiving 500 Indian Rupees monthly for a guaranteed period of five years.

Andhra Pradesh Programme – 100 students

Ms. Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State, Trade and Industry, UK launched the Andhra Pradesh programme for education of 100 children in Hyderabad on 6 January 2003. Shri. Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Mr. Mark Runacres, acting British High Commissioner were present amongst many other dignitaries, on this occasion.

Haryana Programme – 100 students : The Haryana programme was started in July 2003. The Trust is educating 100 students in the State, consisting of 66 girls and 34 boys, who have been guaranteed to receive scholarships for a continuous period of 5 years.

Uttaranchal Pradesh Programme – 100 students

The Uttaranchal Pradesh programme was launched on 8th September 2003 in Nainital. The Hon’ble Governor of Uttaranchal, HE Shri, launched the programme. Sudharshan Aggarwal at Raj Bhawan. The Trust is providing scholarships to 110 children.

Arunachal Pradesh Programme – 100 students

The Arunachal Pradesh Programme was launched at the residence of the Honourable Chief Minister, Shri Geong Apaang on 14th November, 2003.The launch was attended by many state dignitaries, including the Honourable Governor, Shri. Pandey and the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister of India, Shri L. K. Advani, who gave cheques to 12 children of poor widows selected by the Loomba Trust.

Tamil Nadu Programme – 700 students

Chennai – 200 students: The Tamil Nadu programme to educate 200 children of poor widows was launched at Raj Bhawan by His Excellency, the Honourable Governor Shri P.S. Ramamohan on 13th January 2004. The Sriram Welfare Trust, a local NGO has agreed to supervise the programme as well as support it by matching the 100 scholarships to be provided by the Trust. Therefore, there will be 200 children of poor widows benefiting in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Nagapattinum – 500 students: The Loomba Trust has come forward to educate 500 children and support their widowed mothers, who became the victims of the Tsunami disaster. The beneficiaries include both girls and boys aged from 6 to 12, who come from all different religions in the small fisherman’s village of Nagapattinum in Tamil Nadu in South India. The programme will continue for 5 years, initially. The programme started in April 2005

Chhattisgarh Programme – 100 students

The Trust is honoured and privileged that H E Shri K M Seth, Hon’ble Governor of Chhattisgarh inaugurated the Trust’s Chhattisgarh Educational Program to educate 100 children of poor widows at Raj Bhawan in Raipur on Tuesday, 10 May 2005. The Chhattisgarh Educational Program is sponsored by the British Telecom, a leading corporate in the United Kingdom and has received the support of The Mahila Sewa and Kalyan Samiti, an NGO based in Raipur. The Mahila Sewa and Kalyan Samiti have helped the Trust to select 100 children and have agreed to manage the Loomba Trust’s Chhattisgarh programme.

Jammu & Kashmir Programme – 100 students

On 18th May, 2005, the Trust started its J & K Programme, which was inaugurated by the Hon’ble State Governor, Shri Sinha at Raj Bhawan in Jammu. There are 50 beneficiaries selected from Jammu and 50 from Srinagar and come from all religions, including Hindus, Kashmiri Pundits, Sikhs and Muslims. Each child will receive Rs 500 per month that is guaranteed for 5 years.

West Bengal Programme – 100 students

H E Shri Gopalakrishna Gandhi, Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal inaugurated the Trust’s West Bengal Educational Program to educate 100 children of poor widows at Raj Bhawan in Kolkata on Saturday, 13 August 2005.


Maharashtra Programme – 200 students

Mumbai: The Trust selected 100 children of poor widows from 9 schools in Mumbai. The programme started in September 2005 and all beneficiaries will receive scholarships, guaranteed for 5 years by our donor, Mr. Martin Ciupa, from Singapore.

Pune: Mellon Group Europe, based in Pune in India, have agreed to sponsor the education of 100 children of poor widows in this city. The programme started during September 2005

Madhya Pradesh Programme – 100 students

The programme started during September 2005 for 100 children of poor widows, which will be officially launched by the Honourable Governor of the State Shri Balram Jakhar on 11th November 2005.

Uttar Pradesh Programme – 100 students

The Loomba Trust selected 100 beneficiaries from the state of Uttar Pradesh during October 2005 and the programme will be supported by individual donors from the UK, who pledged to educate children of poor widows in India through the Trust.

Activity and Fundraising

21st October, 2005 – Cherie Booth QC announced the US Launch of the Loomba Trust and the International Widows Day at the 60th Anniversary celebration of the United Nations in New York, in the presence of the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan.

The Gala Dinner was held on October 21st, 2005 at the U.N. Delegates Dining Room at the United Nations and hosted by the United Nations Association of New York. This announcement in the United States was made in order to elevate the issues facing widows as one of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals.

5th October, 2005 – The Loomba Trust celebrated the festival of lights, Diwali, at the Dorchester in London on Wednesday, 5th October. For the 6th year running, the charity dinner was co-hosted by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone and London First.

The celebrations were attended by over 430 guests from both the Indian and British communities and included a number of dignitaries and business leaders in the capital. The Loomba Trust raised over £180,000 at the event, which will enable the Trust to educate at least 100 children of poor widows in each of the 29 states, nationwide, in India, a goal that was set out just 6 years ago, in 1999.

18th September, 2005 - A leading international cosmetics company has donated 100,000 pounds to the Loomba Trust to help educate children of widows in India. Canadian supermodel Linda Evangelista presented a cheque for 100,000 pounds to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, who is also the Patron of the trust at a gala function organized by the cosmetics company M.A.C. at Viva Glam V at Covent Garden last night. In his brief remarks, Livingstone praised the work of the trust in educating children of widows in India.

7th September, 2005 - Cherie Booth Q.C. launched International Widows Day in India at a function held at the Loomba Trust’s Head Office in New Delhi, which was attended by many senior politicians, diplomats and business leaders.

1st September, 2005 – Virgin Atlantic Airways started raising funds for the Loomba Trust through “Change for Children” appeal, on virgin flights worldwide. The appeal will run for 3 months.

23rd June, 2005 - The first International Widows Day was marked by the Trust by releasing 1000 multi colour balloons near the Tower Bridge in London. Similar activities also took place in other countries including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Uganda and South Africa.

26th May, 2005 - The Loomba Trust launched International Widows Day, which will take place on 23 June each year. Our President, Cherie Booth QC, made the announcement at the partnership lunch hosted by Lord Dholakia at the House of Lords, which was attended by the Hon’ble Governor of Uttaranchal, His Excellency Shri Sudarshan Aggarwal. Through our work over the years in India we have become increasingly aware that widows and their children face similar acute problems all over the world resulting from social stigma, conflict, extreme poverty and disease. With this new initiative we aim to address their tragic plight in many countries. We very much hope that the United Nations would recognise the day.

20th March, 2005 - Ragamuffin Man at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane took place on Sunday, 20th March 2005. All the money raised from this performance will go to the Loomba Trust to support the education of 500 unfortunate children who have lost their fathers or both parents in the Tsunami disaster in Nagapattinum in South India.

Amongst the audience of over 800 people, Cherie Booth QC, President of the Loomba Trust, Lord and Lady Dholakia, Dr. David Thomas and many other dignitaries attended the charity play, which tells the story of Dr Thomas Barnardo and the origins of his work helping destitute children in London in the 1800s. The Loomba Trust maintains strong links with the Barnardo's charity of which Mr Raj Loomba is a Vice President.

The performance and its cast of 140 pupils aged 5-13 and staff from the Reigate St Mary's Preparatory and Choir School re-enact the entire musical, written and composed by Jon Fielder. Ragamuffin Man, with its unforgettable message, happy and sad songs, combined with these very talented children touched even the hardest heart.

27th November, 2004 – The Trust held its first ever charity banquet at the Ashoka Hotel in New Delhi in India on 27th November 2004. It was a successful event in terms of raising the profile of the Trust in India and also in raising funds for the children of poor widows.

We were honoured that Cherie Booth QC, President of the Loomba Trust, and 40 other Dignitaries from the UK, including Lord Dholakia, Baroness Betty Boothroyd, Baroness Shirley Williams and Baroness Jay travelled from the United Kingdom to attend the Banquet. We were also honoured that the Honourable Home Minister Shri Shivraj Patil, Honourable Chief Minister of Delhi, Shrimati Sheila Dikshit, and many other Dignitaries graced the occasion with their presence.

Through the generosity of Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic Airways, who also travelled to Delhi to attend the banquet, and many Indian Corporates including Birla Charitable Trust, Godfrey Phillips India, and Bharat Hotels Limited, we received pledges at the banquet, amounting to over £500K .The proceeds will enable the Trust to educate 1500 children of poor widows and support their mothers in India for a continuous period of 5 years.

13th October 2004 – Diwali at the Dorchester, the annual fund-raising event was co-hosted by the Loomba Trust, the Mayor of London and London First at the Dorchester Hotel. Over 460 people attended the Diwali celebrations, including Cherie Booth QC, President of the Loomba

Trust, who was the Guest of Honour. Other distinguished guests included Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, David Davies, Shadow Home Secretary and Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrat. Joanna Lumley, Patron of the Trust, made an appeal on behalf of the Loomba Trust. An amount of over £100,000 was raised on the night, which will support the education of children of poor widows in India. A donation of £5000 has been given to Barnardo’s in the UK.

8th September 2004 – The Trust was honoured that Cherie Booth QC, who became a Patron of the Trust in 1998, agreed to become the President and officially inaugurated Loomba House in the presence of His Excellency, Shri Kamalesh Sharma, High Commissioner for India, Mrs. Sharma, Lord Dholakia OBE DL, Sir Sigmund Sternberg and many other dignitaries.

29 April 2004 - The Trust hosted a lunch reception at the House of Lords in honour of Sir Rob Young GCMC and his wife, Lady Young for their continued support for the work of the Loomba Trust in India. Sir Rob served as a British High Commissioner in Delhi for six years. The event was presided over by Lord Dholakia OBE DL, a Trustee and attended by many distinguished guests including Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

16 October 2003 - Diwali at the Savoy Charity Dinner, once again co-hosted by The Loomba Trust, London First and the Mayor of London. A grand total of £106,258 was raised during the evening, out of which amount of £5000.00 has been donated to a London Charity, Project Fullemploy.

26 June 2003 – Lunch at the House of Lords co-hosted by The Loomba Trust and the Rt. Hon. Lord Dholakia of Waltham Brooks OBE DL, in order to celebrate India and the Indian Diaspora through a research programme entitled, ‘The Global Position of India 2010’ to be conducted by the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). The research programme is expected to start in 2004 and will run initially for two years at a cost of £50,000 per year.

12 May 2003 – Dinner at City Hall hosted by the Mayor of London, to help the Loomba Trust raise the funds necessary to educate at a London university two children, who have already benefited from the Loomba Trust in Delhi. The University of Westminster and London Metropolitan University agreed during the evening to waive tuition fees for a three-year degree course for these two children, additionally Air India and British Airways undertook to support their travel from India

April 2003 - Dr Mike Krimholtz, son-in-law of Lord and Lady Dholakia supported the work of the Loomba Trust by participating in the Polar Race. He walked 350 miles from Resolute Bay in Canada to the North Magnetic Pole and raised over £2,000 for the Trust.

10- 14 MARCH 2003 - “A Celebration of Colour” an exhibition by Jan Puffet was held at the Nehru Centre in London from 10th to 14th March 2003. Lord Puttnam of Queensgate OBE opened the exhibition and was attended by many dignitaries and supporters of the Loomba Trust, including Lord and Lady Dholakia. Many colourful paintings were sold at the exhibition to raise funds and the generous artist, Jan Puffet, donated 600 prints, worth £15,000, to support the education of children of poor widows in India.

6 March 2003 – 5th Anniversary celebration lunch, hosted by Lord Dholakia OBE DL at the House of Lords. The Guest of Honour was Baroness Jay of Paddington, who further honoured the Trust by agreeing to become a patron.

9 December 2002 - Reception at 10 Downing Street, hosted by Cherie Booth QC, in aid of the work of the Trust. Speaking at the reception, Cherie Booth commended the Trust for raising sufficient funds to educate 1000 children of poor widows in India since its launch in 1998.

24 October 2002 – "Diwali at the Savoy" Charity Dinner. The Trust, the Mayor of London and London First co-hosted a charity dinner at the Savoy Hotel held to celebrate the Indian Festival of Light – Diwali. Baroness Betty Boothroyd, former Speaker of the House of Commons, was moved by the work of the charity and agreed to become one of its patrons, offering her personal support to widows and their children in India.

26 June 2002 – Launch of the Trust in Scotland by Sir David Steel, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, at The Scotch whisky Heritage Centre, Edinburgh. The Trust was grateful to Cairn Energy Plc who sponsored the launch.

10 June 2002 – Luncheon at which Sir Mark Tully OBE was Guest of Honour and speaker. The Trust’s documentary, “World of Widows”, which was scripted and narrated by Sir Tully, was shown to great effect to the guests.

28 May 2002 – Dinner at the House of Lords on the theme of Corporate Social Responsibility, at which Countess Mountbatten of Burma was our Guest of Honour.

May 2002 – Dinner at the House of Lords, at which the Trust was privileged to welcome Joanna Lumley OBE as Guest of Honour and speaker.

22 November 2001 - Reception at the Delhi residence of the British High Commissioner in India, His Excellency Sir Rob Young and Lady Young, in aid of the Trust.

1 November 2001 – London First Diwali 2001 Dinner, at which the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, The Rt. Hon. Charles Kennedy MP, was our Guest of Honour.

18 July 2001 – British Indian Golden Jubilee Banquet in association with Care International UK to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of India becoming a Republic. HRH The Duke of Kent attended the banquet as our Guest of Honour.

5 November 2000 – London First Diwali 2000 Dinner, at which the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, was our Guest of Honour.

July-September 2000 - Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic, supported the Trust through the ‘Change for Children’ Appeal on Virgin flights, as well as making an Appeal on BBC Radio 4 in support of the Trust.

4 November 1999 - The British Indian Diwali of the Century Banquet, at which HRH The Princess Royal was our Guest of Honour. It was the Trust’s first fundraising event at which £70,000 were raised. The Trust donated £10,000 to Save the Children Fund and the remaining amount was used to educate 100 children who lost their fathers in the devastating cyclone in the state of Orissa.



OVERVIEW

The Loomba Trust, although young, has gone from strength to strength in the short period of seven years. The Trust is currently educating over 2300 children of poor widows in 16 states in India. Beneficiaries are selected irrespective of gender, religion and creed, who are guaranteed to receive scholarships for a continuous period of 5 Years.

With the funds raised at the Diwali at the Dorchester dinner, donation from M.A.C. International and Virgin Atlantic’s appeal, the Trust has raised sufficient funds to start educating 100 children of poor widows in each of the 29 states and support their mothers in India, to fulfil our aim that was set out just 6 years ago in 1999.


International Widows Day Conference – 23rd June, 2006

The Loomba Trust is planning to organise the First International Widows Day Conference to be held in London on 23rd June, 2006.The purpose of the conference will be to raise the awareness of the plight of widows, who are suffering through poverty, disease, conflict and social injustice in India and many other countries in South Asia and across Africa.

Our President has already agreed to preside over the conference. We will be inviting high profile speakers like Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Sonia Gandhi and many others. We will also bring together the government and voluntary organisations from all over the world to participate in this important event.




For any further information please contact us:

UK: The Loomba Trust, Loomba House, 622 Western Avenue, London W3 0TF
Tel: 020 8896 9922 Fax: 020 8993 6327 Email: mail@theloombatrust.org

INDIA: The Loomba Trust, Suites 13 & 14, 31 Prithviraj Road, New Delhi, 110011
Tel: 011 2463 6832 Fax: 011 2463 4310 Email: Khanna@theloombatrust.org

Website: www.theloombatrust.org

The Loomba Trust Locality of Operation

• Overseas

The Loomba Trust Areas of Benefit

• Children and Youth
• Community Relations
• Education
• Family Welfare
• Health
• International Organisations
• Overseas Aid
• Social Welfare
• Human Rights

Address




Tel -
Fax -

Websites and Email Contact
The website of The Loomba Trust is - http://theloombatrust.org

Number of Trustees
The total number at The Loomba Trust is 5+

Donate Webpage Available
There are Donate Webpage Available at The Loomba Trust

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