Help us rescue Nepal’s Forgotten Children |
The Esther Benjamins Trust is the leading registered charity that works exclusively for those Nepalese children and young people most marginalized and discriminated against within society.
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This mosaic was made by Rina who was rescued by The
Esther Benjamins Trust from an Indian circus in April 2004.
The Trust has taught her the art of mosaic making and
Rina is now in our full time employment as an artist.
Through the Trust she receives commissions from around
the world. The peacock mosaic was ordered by Aline for her garden in the Scottish Borders where it is admired endlessly.
The Esther Benjamins Trust has rescued over 230
trafficked Nepalese children like Rina from Indian
circuses where they were exploited as slave labour in
dangerous and abusive conditions. Several hundred
more await our help.
www.ebtrust.org.uk
Learn about Commissioning a Mosaic
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Recent News
How 20 girls were saved from circus slavery
About the trust
We help the scores of deaf and disabled children denied a full education and kept on the fringes of society, for whom we are providing scholarships, classrooms and training for employment. We have rescued children from prison, unwanted by relatives who disowned their criminal parents. We have taken children away from a life begging on the streets, from a life where sniffing glue was their only comfort. We’re giving these children a loving home and secure environment in which they can enjoy education and a fun-filled childhood.
Now we need funds to help hundreds of children trafficked across the border, sold into lives of abuse as performers in Indian circuses, performing dangerous acts with no safety precautions, locked away in bonded labour. Since January 2004 with our help over 200 children and young women have been rescued and brought home to Nepal where we provide the care and support they need for a brighter future. Younger children can return to school and we provide courses and small businesses initiatives for older girls to enable them to live independent, happy and secure lives. Our aim is to see an end to the use of children in Indian circuses by 2008 and the permanent closure of this child trafficking route.
An excerpt from our most recent newsletter:
Commission a Mosaic
In the last newsletter we told how the refuge children in Godawari had been introduced to the art of mosaics. This is an art tradition that goes back two thousand years in the West. However it’s new to Nepal since it was introduced by the Trust eight months ago.
Every Friday and Saturday the children come to the mosaic studio that’s been set up in Philip Holmes’ home. There they slice and cut cheap locally-available bathroom tiles into pieces that they then use to make images of wildlife or decorative pieces. The completed mosaics are then mounted above their beds at the refuge as a virtually indestructible testament to their artistic skill!
The initiative has been taken a step further with two of our school leavers, Priya and Reena, now in daily mosaic training that will lead to work and financial security. Priya and her sister Sital returned from the Great Indian Circus last year to find that their impoverished parents had both taken their own lives. Priya was promptly sent by her aunt to work in bonded labour in a Kathmandu carpet factory. Meanwhile sister Sital was brought to our refuge. After an exhaustive search by our staff Priya was traced and the sisters happily reunited when Priya was retrieved from the factory in August this year. Reena is one of 29 children that we rescued directly from the exceptionally cruel Great Indian Circus in Kerala in April 2004. She is showing quite exceptional artistic flair; the dragonfly pictured below was her third-ever mosaic and she loves her new occupation.
There is certainly a market for mosaics locally in Nepal but we are now inviting supporters further afield to commission a hand made mosaic by the girls. The commission can be by an individual, school, club, church or company. Or it can be made as an “ethical gift” to a friend. You can choose a theme - flower, bird, insect, animal, cultural - or it can be a request for a mosaic to be made of a child’s name. We will notify the recipient of the commission by sending an attractive card. Once completed the mosaic can be sent to the donor or it may remain in Nepal to add colour and beauty to a children’s home, school or disabled day care centre. At the same time it will raise awareness about the dangers of trafficking.
The easiest way to commission one of our eye-catching mosaics is to use the online order form on our website. Alternatively, just write to us telling us what you would like, for whom and what you would wish us to do with the completed artwork. If the mosaic commission is for a friend then, upon request, we can send an attractive card notifying him or her of your gift. If the completed mosaic remains in Nepal the artist and donor will be acknowledged with a small inscribed plaque mounted alongside the mosaic.
The cost of the mosaics vary according to size as follows:
Please note that if you wish us to export the mosaic then shipping and insurance costs will incur an additional charge.
| Size |
£ |
US$ |
Euro |
| 1' x 1' (30cm x 30cm) |
50 |
100 |
75 |
| 1' x 2' (30cm x 60cm) |
100 |
200 |
150 |
| 2' x 2' (60cm x 60cm) |
250 |
500 |
375 |
| 2' x 3' (60cm x 90cm) |
500 |
1000 |
750 |
| 3' x 3' (90cm x 90cm) |
1000 |
2000 |
1500 |
| Child's name (maximum 10 letters) |
10 per letter |
20 per letter |
15 per letter |
Some other ideas for how you can help:
Hatti Trading sells handbags and suede leather items made by older circus returnees in Kathmandu and provides the Trust with some direct funding support.
You can help our work through Hatti Trading by purchasing these stylish bags or even by holding a “bag party” in your own home. Visit www.hattitrading.co.uk or telephone 01793 514067
Sponsor a child : http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/sponsorachild.htm
Join one of our international treks or challenges or our tandem skydive. You could also take one of our guaranteed places in next year’s London or Edinburgh Marathons. For further details visit www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/challenges.
Recycle your mobile telephones and old printer cartridges through ShP solutions www.shpsolutions.com . We will receive at least £3.50 for each phone that is recycled. Please contact us for recycling bags or bins.
Payroll Giving, also known as Give As You Earn, is a tax-free way of giving regularly to EBT making it one of the most efficient ways of supporting us. Talk with your employer or contact us for more information.
Through our website register with Everyclick as your search engine; each time you search you will raise money for us!
Sell any unwanted items on eBay through Mission Fish specifying that a percentage of the money comes to us. Visit www.missionfish.org.uk for further details.
And please don’t forget our work in saving children’s lives in Nepal if you are planning on writing or re-writing your Will
Contact Details:
The Esther Benjamins Trust,
Third Floor,
2 Cloth Court,
London,
EC1A 7LS
Tel: 020 7600 5654
e-mail:info@ebtrust.org.uk
website: www.ebtrust.org.uk
Registered Charity number 1078187
The Brooke
The Brooke has been serving the working equines of India since 1990. Providing the only veterinary treatment for working equines throughout the country, the Brooke also provides free training and education on animal welfare. Working solely through mobile teams the Brooke treats up to 6,500 animals a week.
Sayed Chand tells his story of his encounter with the Brooke. Sayed recently brought his pony to the Brooke suffering from chronic lameness of the right hind leg. Sayed was a worried man as his horse was unable to walk properly, facing pain each time the animal moved Sayed felt forced to beat his horse to make it work. Sayed and his pony must earn at least Rs150 every day to support his family of four children. Homeopathy was used on the animal since conventional pain killers were not working. Within five days the pony recovered dramatically and has been working well ever since. Sayed said of the Brooke and its treatments “I don’t beat my horse any more, the new medicine had cured my horse. Nowadays I am earning 200 rupees every day.”
Sayed’s story is something we hear regularly. We believe the vast majority of the miss-treatment of animals is down to ignorance and poverty. Working in developing countries throughout the world the Brooke aims to help people create a sustainable life for themselves through providing free education and training and solutions that will last. If you would like further information on the Brooke please call 020 7930 0210, or www.thebrooke.org.
Brooke Healthy Working Animals for the World’s Poorest Communities
Brooke Hospital for Animals,
Broadmead House,
21 Panton Street
London SW1Y 4DR
Tel: 020 7930 0210
www.thebrooke.org
Registered charity No. 1085760
