February 2020

This journey so far has been a true ‘education through life’ experience, which we are excited to continue together now that we are a charity, and with your continuing kind support. We have arrived at this point because of the people whose belief in our mission, which essentially wrote itself long before we wrote our charity’s constitution. We wish to continue the good work we do as we broaden our horizons as far and wide as possible, and I’m sure together we can make an even greater impact.

Since I publicly launched ‘Building Budland’ in February 2017, I have had some very loyal friends that have come on board behind the scenes servicing the projects with the same ethos of volunteering and passion to see it happen as have the volunteers sweating on the building site. Two of the most constant and consistently reliable people that have been helping since very early on are Daniel Davies and Luke Hoyes who have given us much more credibility, especially with creating our content, branding, logo and marketing.

I met Daniel on my first trip to India when I decided to volunteer in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) some years ago with the Sisters of Charity whose work benefits the sick, disabled and destitute. He was passionately volunteering as a teacher with the physically and mentally disabled children in the Daya Dan home for disabled children. I worked with him each morning of his final week where he passed on to me his experience and I continued his private lessons for one disabled child’s learning for a few weeks. I worked to the best of my ability but I actually felt a little out of my depth at the time while I watched Dan in his element as a professional teacher, shadowing him in order to try to add continuity to the classes as well as learning. Dan was very kind with his approach and my introduction to the work we were doing which helped put me at ease. Although we kept loose contact since then, it’s been amazing reconnecting on that deeper level again and getting to know Dan further while he has been checking and editing all the written work inclusive of the website, project proposal, posters, fliers and other official documents we’ve needed to do along the way. He also challenges me with his differing life experiences and perspectives, which have been very healthy for me especially when I get too involved with the work we do. He’s become a very important and genuine friend who has been a rock for me throughout this experience. I’m sure at times I have tested his patience but I am so appreciative of his support, he has been simply amazing in believing in our mission while also making sure we are on point. I’m not sure I would be writing this now if he wasn’t onboard, and fondly look forward to him joining us on the project in Nepal.

Luke is an old mutual friend of friends from my hometown village pub, where I used to work many years ago. Again, it has been a massive surprise and a particularly rewarding experience to see how we have been reconnecting over these projects so many years later. Back in 2017 Luke first surprised me by offering to design the ‘Building Budland’ logo, of which he did an amazing job. I love this logo! Since then, Luke has only become more driven as time has gone on and he has broken through all my expectations. He has further surprised me by constantly and passionately coming up with ideas to tweak the website, posters, fliers and anything else needed graphically. Most recently, he has knocked my socks off and blown me away as we have worked together on the fully animated project proposal document, giving the project a professional identity and consistency. Like Dan, Luke’s creativity, passion and expertise have helped the charity content to be visually communicated. As a young industry professional, I believe the sky is his limit and he has lifted the project visually beyond anything I thought was possible. He has also become a true asset to Building Budland and I am very grateful that he has pledged his donated time and support indefinitely. Both Luke and Dan’s support, straight honesty and volunteering have heightened the project’s credibility and ability to communicate to a wider audience. They have kept this dream alive over the last three years and I hope we can ignite future dreams together as we continue for as long as we all can. I would be truly lost without this kind of support.

My highly successful brother Tony, who is a solicitor with his own legal practice in London, inspired by the work we were doing, spoke to me about registering Building Budland as an official charity together and offering his skill set to support the work. Tony has also contributed financially by donation for Raju’s new home and has also committed to supporting the school. We spoke in great depth and excitement about this for a quite a while before it finally and only recently came to fruition.

A friend of Tony’s; Mark Lawson is a successful property developer who I have met periodically over time. He has also enthusiastically pledged his support to come on board as a way of giving back to a country that’s been so good to him over the years. He’s been visiting Nepal since the 1990s for trekking and I imagine his adventures have been very spiritually rewarding. We’ve been talking since early in the project when he surprised me by coming out for a few days while we were building the first retaining wall, to see what it was all about, before one of his extreme treks. Over the last year it’s become much more complex and we have gone through the lengthy charity application process to become official charity trustees together here in the UK. I believe we all have the very different skills and life experiences needed to make this a success and to add further gravitas to the work we voluntarily do in the service of others. I am very happy with this team as I look forward to the day we will all enjoy the same space together, and even more so with Ujjwal in Nepal too.

I think it’s important that we are never too trapped in ourselves as individuals to experience the magnitude of life through all of our senses. The world is bigger than any of us and has sadly it has far too much suffering. All pain is real. Every child’s innocence teaches us that happiness is a frame of mind and does prevail even within the worst of circumstances. With your support, our projects will protect that innocence, by raising the bar; giving them best environment possible in which to learn and to be in control of their future as they grow. The projects teach us the complexities of life’s tapestry. This tapestry of life teaches us compassion and to care for others, especially those that are struggling, mindfully knowing without judgment that life is fragile and short. Our freedom to travel is a stark reminder that simply being born in a certain continent or country can directly affect our opportunities, and even shape our destiny.
The gravity and power of nature has brought us together. through the spirit of the work we have successfully completed, to serve justice to the work we shall continue do. We have been fortunate to have had such dear friends support us so far and to create so many new ones along the way. As we move forward together as an official charity, a voluntary collective and cooperative group we will continue to create infrastructure to serve the projects we develop, in the service of creating true infrastructure for all of the communities we visit and ultimately to give desperately needed support to so many vulnerable families.

We will soon be firing on all cylinders now, as we begin to build the school, and we welcome as much help as possible both financially (every donation matters, none is too small), and physically. We will not always know what’s around the corner, where the road could meander to or where this journey will ultimately take us; but we know wherever it goes, we will have profound experiences with incredible people as we continue to be genuinely happy giving service to those in desperate need. With your continued support building Budland School will just be the beginning. If you are interested in donating, fundraising, volunteering, or would like to help in any other way, please do not hesitate to contact us via the website or through social media (@buildingbudland.org).

Finally, I would like to say a huge thanks to everyone who has been a part of the journey so far; for your patience, your heart, and all of your continued support. You are pretty beautiful people, and you are all very special!

To be continued with our project development updates………