“I am a retired Methodist Minister living now in Dunkeld, Scotland. I worship with the Church of Scotland; I am part of the virtual choir and help with reading for our online services.

Why am I President? Good question! Well, I guess it is because I was there at the very beginning when Joseph joined me, to work with the Indian and Pakistani Christians at Totterdown Methodist Church in Bristol.

I learned about his impoverished childhood in South India, and how coming from a Dalit background, life could be very difficult. Despite that, he had beaten the odds to earn his BA, two MAs, teach in a theological college, and complete a PhD. Joseph’s dream was that one day in his village, there would be a school for Dalit children, where they were treated as equals and receive an excellent Primary education.

We did just that!

I was there in January 2002 with Joseph and his family, to ‘open’ and dedicate two rooms on the side of the village church as our first school for preschool children. We raised more money, built, raised money, bought land, built, and eventually constructed our current school. Over the last 20 years, I have continued to help raise awareness and money for CRHD. I have also visited the school and tailoring centre several times.

We need to raise more money through regular donations and fundraising events, in order to keep the school running in good condition. We also urgently need a new school jeep.

I am dedicated to the cause and want with all my heart to see our children continuing to receive an excellent education and be able to move on to higher things. That is why I am still President”.

“It is 20 years since we started the CRHD project. The project was inspired by the hardships my family faced during my childhood years in South India. My journey to Jesus and where I am today is nothing but a miracle.

My parents did not have education, any land or even a proper roof to survive in India’s caste dominated society. They raised six boys, and three girls, but could not provide us with any essential facilities due to severe poverty. Growing up in a small hut in the village of Turukanadoni, it was the norm for us to be labourers in the fields of upper caste landowners with no real rights of our own. We were the only ones in the village to not own land or have a real house.

When I was 15, my father went to be with the Lord, leaving my mother in a very dire situation, as she had no resources to care for all of us. She was forced to work in the fields, and barely managed to support us, with the help of my elder brother and sister; they had to drop out of school to help. Ultimately, no one in the village, including our relatives, never bothered to give any help or support. That left the landlords, who loaned us money only if we worked for them. As mere labourers, we were never able to repay this loan, and had to borrow more money, trapping us in a vicious cycle.

I thank God for my Sunday school days, when I was taught to read the Bible and pray, trusting Jesus for my daily needs. As my faith grew, it inspired me to think deeply about our poverty, our struggle against casteism, and the powerful oppression and economic exploitation from all levels in society. I was extremely lucky to go to boarding school in Raichur, the city near Turukanadoni, and began to think about helping my family and others in the village. During one of my morning devotionals, I was reading the book of Jeremiah in the Bible, when this verse stuck out to me:

“I have plans for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.….”

— Jeremiah 29:11

Although I did not know too much about prayer, faith and the scripture, I knew that Jesus is able to transform lives and sustain us at all times. This verse was what I needed to hear when I had nowhere to turn for help. I did not even have money to buy some of the basic necessities.

My circumstances compelled me to pray, that if and when God helps, I would start a school, boarding for children so that none of them should struggle the way I struggled. They would all have a safe environment to excel in their studies. I wanted to develop a Christian Discipleship Centre where local men and women could be nurtured spiritually, trained to be pastors, and become a channel of blessing to others, to spread the love of God.

These prayers and aspirations – since 1979 - were the groundwork for my CRHD vision. I didn’t know how it would be achieved. Through a series of fortuitous, blessed turns, I landed in the UK as a lay worker in Bristol, working in a Methodist church where Revd Gill Evans was the minister. I shared these plans with her, and she reciprocated my vision to help Turukanadoni. We managed to establish a charity, calling it ‘Cross Roads for Human Development’. I believed that the cross of Christ and the faith it inspired, fostered and continues to foster opportunity for all people, as a literal crossroads for humanity to better themselves.

With the help of our donors here in the UK and in Switzerland, the project started out as a small, two-room nursery, but the overwhelming interest from the villagers necessitated a new building. Today we have a nursery class, playgroup, primary and middle school (up to the age of 12). We have seen hundreds of children from every caste and religion freely and fearlessly coming through the school doors, sitting together as equals, learning as friends and enjoying their meals from the same dish without any social isolation for Dalits that you would see in other Indian schools. They’re excelling in their studies.

Many of our children have since graduated to become workers in the medical, engineering and civil industries. Our school also helped BEd/MEd graduates/post-graduates with further training, so they can flourish as experienced teachers. We have always affirmed the ethos “Happy Welcome and Happy Departure” so that even after they have left the school, they continue to keep in touch. After teaching with us, many have moved on to other institutions where they very proudly talk about us. It is good to know that Kids Paradise School has become a stepping stone for many to face the world and excel in their career.

Gill also suggested we start a tailoring centre as a means to help women in Raichur support themselves and their families. This was led by Mrs Sundera Daniel, a CRHD India trustee. Again, donations allowed us to move this project from a small room in Mrs Daniel’s house to a rented space. The centre has become so much more than a mere tailoring centre, with over 2000 women becoming literate and having a much clearer understanding of their rights and health topics. The women come from different backgrounds – college students, young mothers and housewives who would usually only do domestic work - but have worked well together and shared their challenges with each other. It has been an pleasure to see the avenues our tailoring centre alumni have travelled to.

I would like to say a big thank you to all our friends for your financial support and also thoughtful encouragement for this project to go on. We have every reason to thank God for his guidance, providence and assurance of his care, and the prayerful support from all of you. And I’m grateful that some of our supporters have visited this project in the village and Raichur. These visitors take joy in meeting the children and women, and come back with a clearer understanding of the project and our dream. I hope this website will help you understand it too”.

“I became a Christian back in 1983 when I was at University and have since worshipped at a Methodist Church in Leicestershire where I am now Circuit Treasurer.

Joseph’s wife Nutan was minister of my home church in 2006 and I was immediately struck by the work that CRHD did in India. This was an opportunity to support a charity where you knew that none of the money you donated would go in administration costs and all would be used for the work of the projects in India. I know what great use can be made there from small amounts of money.

I was involved in getting the charity registered with the Charity Commission in 2006, as I had experience of the paperwork involved in doing this from my work with another charity. CRHD already had many enthusiastic supporters but registration enabled gift aid to be claimed and gives credibility to an organisation, which helps with fundraising.

As Secretary, my role is to liaise with the Charity Commission and with trustees, organise the AGM and submit the Annual Return. As with all other trustees I am expected to play my part in helping to raise funds.

I was fortunate to visit India in 2007 and again in 2011, seeing the Kids Paradise School and the Nutan Tailoring Centre for myself. I know the people who work there and I will never lose the images of the children and young people who benefit from the work”.

“I became involved with CRHD in 2004 when our chairman, Joseph Suray, took up a ministerial appointment in Leicester. As a chartered accountant, I offered my services back then and continue to be responsible for administering the finances of CRHD, in conjunction with the charity’s other officers and trustees.

I have been over to India and visited both the school and the tailoring centre. The village in which the school is based has very few facilities, which we in the UK take for granted. Our charity assists the schoolchildren in receiving an education, and the trainees in the tailoring centre in obtaining essential skills to support themselves in life - a very worthwhile objective!”