Hemraj Goyal Foundation helps raise funds for new School on Wheels bus for children in Mumbai

Philanthropists Avnish and Anita Goyal, in partnership with Ensemble Couture, hosted a glittering event at The Montcalm, Marble Arch and raised £1,887 and also donated £5,000 to go towards supporting the School on Wheels initiative, which helps some of the poorest and most disadvantaged children in Mumbai, India.

Created by the Child Action’s Doorstep School project, Schools on Wheels are buses which are designed as mobile class rooms and are an effective strategy to reach out to the most unreached groups of out-of-school children i.e. street children and pavement dwellers. It also acts as an emergency class room where space is a constraint.

Non-formal education classes are run on School on Wheels and an attempt is made to mainstream the child once an expected level is achieved. Substance abuse and other health related issues, social awareness, etc. are addressed along with imparting literacy on School on Wheels.

The Hemraj Goyal Foundation joined forces with Ensemble Couture to support this worthy cause by hosting The Fashion Affair event, which had over 100 people in attendance and was hosted by TV personality and radio presenter Suzi Mann.

The event featured an exclusive raffle with prizes including a pair of Lucy Choi designer shoes, a set of Arsenal FC club level tickets, an afternoon tea experience at The Montcalm, and an outfit from Ensemble’s own collection.

To conclude the evening, Avnish and Anita Goyal took to the stage to present Seema Sharma, CEO of Child Action, with a cheque for £5,000; kick-starting the fundraising for the new school bus. Guests then enjoyed an intimate performance by British-Indian singer H Dhami, whose performance had most of the guests on the dance floor within minutes.

Speakers at the event included the Hemraj Goyal Foundation’s Director Anita Goyal who introduced the Doorstep School project with an engaging video clip from Mumbai. This was followed by Child Action’s CEO Seema Sharma, whose emotive speech described how her own week-long experience in the slums of Mumbai, living with 1 million people in 1 square mile, led to the creation of Child Action.

Anita Goyal said: “The Hemraj Goyal Foundation are pleased to have had this opportunity to collaborate with Ensemble Couture, to share our passion in supporting the phenomenal Doorstep School project in Mumbai. This event has kickstarted our fundraising for a new school bus to operate and support children with their education, and we are delighted that we were able to present Child Action with a cheque for £5,000 on the night.

“This event was a fantastic occasion to be part of, filled with fun, fashion, and fundraising.”

If you would like to attend or support any of HGF’s upcoming fundraising events, please contact Chesca for more information on info@hgf.org.uk.