What is a one-time donor ?
Over the years, regular and occasional donors have come forward and helped to create a ‘Social Fund’, a sum of money dedicated to urgent needs outside of expenses directly related to the children’s education.
This is a sponsor who wishes to donate money on an ad hoc basis, as they wish and as they are able, without being a sponsor, i.e. without committing to paying £18 per month for a child’s education.
Denise’s actions – Head of SAI Children UK
It should be noted that the vast majority of the operations organised and detailed below come from SAI CHILDREN UK (England) and its manager, Denise FURET, who has been very dedicated to this cause for many years and has forged links with companies that support the school.
Based in England and with a background in business and marketing, Denise now puts her professional skills to work for children. The children benefit directly from her actions. While the school focuses primarily on education, Denise and SAI CHILDREN UK prioritise issues of nutrition, health and living conditions, which are considered essential to academic success.
One of the pillars of Denise’s work is extremely rigorous financial management. Every expense is controlled down to the last penny. The school cannot incur any expenses without Denise’s prior approval. Local suppliers are carefully selected and prices are negotiated.
Here are some examples of how funds from the Social Fund have been used :
- Purchase of 650 backpacks for school supplies (July 2025) by Sai Children UK (England)
- Maths lessons broadcast in a classroom and offered by an English donor
- Free breakfast
- Donations of reusable sanitary towels for girls (Sai Children UK)
- Purchase of shoes
- Dental care
- Purchase of bicycles
- Purchase of glasses (repeated every year except in exceptional circumstances) thanks to Sai Children UK
- Introduction to music (also by Sai Children UK)
- Short outing outside the school (not done since 2021): coming soon (funds not yet found !)
Purchase of 650 backpacks thanks to the ‘Gift of Health Project’
Here is a video (which we received on 31 July 2025) showing the purchase of backpacks for pupils, funded and organised by the charity ‘Sai Children UK’ (in the United Kingdom). Thank you to them !
MATH CLASS broadcast as a tutorial to a class
Example of ‘seva’ (selfless service) filmed in a classroom in July 2025 This involves private lessons given to older children who are struggling with mathematics. This is a pilot project led by the on-site maths teacher in conjunction with an English donor (Denise?) and her friend Umika, an economics student at university (in England) who is very talented in mathematics and has also helped children in the United Kingdom. This is a wonderful project for the school’s pupils and will certainly inspire others ! A big thank you to our English friends!
Donations of reusable sanitary towels for girls (Sai Children UK)
Once again, Sai Children UK distributed washable sanitary towels (which can be reused for two years) to young girls. Thank you again to them !
Offering them breakfast
The Breakfast Project is Denise’s most ambitious and costly project. It addresses a major problem identified in India: malnutrition among schoolchildren, which directly impacts their concentration, health and ability to learn.
This project involves providing a daily breakfast for the school’s pupils and teachers. Each day of the week corresponds to a specific food item, funded by a donor company :
Monday and Wednesday : bananas (funded by Maison Moti, a London-based company)
Tuesday : cakes (funded by Cintra, an international company)
Thursday : rice (funded by BFC Ltd, a fertility clinic in Bristol)
Friday : brioches (funded in memory of Mrs Vadgama)
Saturday : biscuits (funded by Cintra, an international company)
In total, four companies provide financial support for this project. Every year, Denise contacts them to inform them of the budget required for the annual running of the Breakfast Project. Donations generally amount to between £2,000 and £3,000 per company, paid in a single instalment, with the exception of BFC Ltd, which contributes monthly.
Initially set at £20,000, the project has raised £43,000, confirming the effectiveness of the trust placed in the association.
A few photos of breakfast being prepared, as many of them arrive from the slums on an empty stomach… It’s really delicious 🤞 😍
Offer them shoes
Because they often walk barefoot and the ground is dangerous (there are also snakes, scorpions, etc.).
Enable them to take care of their teeth
Their standard of living does not allow them to afford this type of care, which is sometimes urgent.
Offer them a bicycle!
To avoid hours of walking, cycling, which is beyond their means, is an effective means of transport.
Buy them glasses
An annual event (‘Eyes Project’) for those with visual impairments, thanks to the visit of an ophthalmologist from Bopal…
INTRODUCE them to music!
Another event organised by Sai Children UK, this time in July and August 2024 (only two years later), thanks to three young Spanish girls who introduced the pupils to music! Great!
