England cricketers have met the members of British Asian Trust, one of the Prince of Wales’ charities, at a special training session in Mumbai. Ten girls between the ages of 13-19 from the Trust’s rural development project, Mann Deshi were delighted to meet England cricketers, including Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali and Joe Root ahead of their test match with India on Thursday, 8th December.
The trust has arranged the British cricketers to meet the girls, who have all excelled in a range of sports from running to hockey. The event marked the final day of the Trust’s major public appeal ‘Give a Girl a Future. England cricketer and British Asian Trust Ambassador Moeen Ali said: “The British Asian Trust is putting incredible work, funds and resources into transforming the lives of thousands in South Asia. The ‘Give a Girl a Future’ appeal has demonstrated that with the support of the UK public, we have been able to make a massive impact on so many lives in the region. It was an eye opening experience to meet some of these beneficiaries today, children from Mumbai who have little hope or future. Their lives have been transformed by the British Asian Trust.”
Richard Hawkes, CEO of the trust said: “It’s fantastic to give some of our children this once in a lifetime experience here in Mumbai. These children have been involved in our Mann Deshi project for a number of months as part of our overall livelihoods work in India. Today is a special day for us as we bring our ‘Give a Girl a Future’ appeal to an end. The appeal has been our most successful in the Trust’s 9-year history and we’d like to thank the England team for taking some time out and spending it with us in Mumbai.”
The British Asian Trust’s ‘Give a Girl a Future’ appeal launched on 7th September and has focused on providing education and skills training to engage vulnerable girls and women in South Asia. All funds donated during the appeal have been doubled by the UK Government. The appeal has seen support from the Trust’s key ambassadors and celebrities such as Zayn Malik, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Anita Rani, Naughty Boy, Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty and Rahul Dravid.
