A loving tribute

Dear friends,

It is with great sadness that we write of the death of our wonderful Stuart.  His passing will leave such a huge hole in so many lives – he spent his life dedicated to helping those less fortunate than himself, working tirelessly until his final days on projects which have transformed lives in Ghana, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and beyond.  

There is so much about his life and work to be warmly remembered that we will write at greater length in the near future.  For now, if you are able to and would like to mark Stuart’s passing, please consider contributing to the Memorial Fund that our Trustee, Michael, has set up to help continue his extraordinary work.

With love from all at Star Action

Sri Lanka: Clothes for the destitute elderly

Clothes for a destitute elderley lady in Sri Lanka

Our work continues in Sri Lanka, where the economic situation is not good.  This lady received a parcel of new clothes.

Shonali and her partner show us their lovely new baby

Shonali, daughter of Richard and Sasees, and her husband were recently delighted to introduce their new son to the Bright Life family. Congratulations from all of us!

 

Keshav’s work for Star Action in Nepal

This 107 year old woman was delighted with her shawl

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We want to share with you the photos we have received from, Keshav.
Recently, the focus of our work has been helping the poor and destitute in Kathmandu, and most particularly the elderly. As you may know, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, and very badly hit by the pandemic. Another factor increasing the poverty and suffering in this country has of course been the lack of tourists throughout these past two years:
We, here in Nepal, celebrated Christmas in a very meaningful way: by helping the less fortunate with our 2021 Christmas gifts you so generously arranged. We chose an assisted living facility in the district of Lalitpur in the Kathmandu Valley which needed our help the most.
 
Helping elderly women abandoned by their families has always been our priority because such women need the most help in Nepal. All women living here are illiterate and most of them are widows. We were told that one of the ladies (in the close-up photo above) at the facility was 107 years old who was rescued from the streets of Kathmandu. In our interaction, they shared their stories with us some of which were very heart-wrenching. However, our Christmas gifts brought smiles to their faces and they gave us all their blessings and best wishes. They expressed their heartfelt thanks to you all and Star Action for all the wonderful gifts (they loved the warm shawls for the winter). 

…and more recently in February, he sent his update:

The latest of Star Action’s helps has come at a time when Nepal is just beginning to recover from its third lockdown. With each new lockdown, the people who need help have increased but less help is available because there’s no same sense of urgency in people or government anymore as there was in the beginning of the pandemic. The fund which you have so generously arranged for Nepal this time will also go where it’s most needed. Now that the fund has reached us, we’ve started planning for the relief distribution in a way where most people can be helped out. 
 
We thank everyone at StarAction and our other donors who made the donation for Nepal.
We are very lucky to have the wonderful support of Keshav, whose work with us has made a difference to so many in these difficult times.
 

HOW OUR WORK HAS CONTINUED IN SPITE OF LOCKDOWN

Sri Lanka has been badly hit by the pandemic, and there have been a series of ‘lockdowns’, followed by partial opening up, and then another lockdown. Different regions have been worse hit than others. It has been particularly bad in the Colombo area where Rohan lives. (As you may know, he has been working with us since the Tsunami and during the Civil War.)

The Eastern Region, where our work has been concentrated recently, has fared a little better, and as we write, things are opening up again. In
order to help all those individuals we are supporting (like our elderly granny, Arosoma), we have continued our regular payments and also a
slightly reduced salary for our teachers. Repairing damaged homes, (even those built by government agents, with substandard materials, after the Tsunami), has also been an important part of our work.

Africa has followed a similar pattern; Ghana continues to be badly hit by the pandemic and lack of vaccination supplies. However, in September we received more positive news about our little school in Asiakwa. The headmaster has told us that they are re-opening again after a second closure earlier this year. He has asked permission to have poultry on our Star Action land adjacent to the school, so
chicken and eggs can be used to supplement the school lunches. We are continuing our sponsorship of our very poor pupils, so they can attend school and also giving them their new uniforms and lunches.


India: Schools in Tirenuveli have recently reopened and life is gradually returning to normal, so we are planning to commence our new project. Through this, we will be able to give support to many more children, (mainly girls), living in their own homes, but with Star Action paying for good food for the family, and providing school uniforms and paying the school fees.

Richard & Sasees have been extraordinary in their dedication thoughout; they are pictured here following a post-Covid review meeting.

ASIAKWA TEENAGE COMMUNITY CENTRE - UPDATE

Hamida and Fred have recently returned from Ghana and have reported that contact has now been made with government officials in the Education Department and the first stages are taking place to hand over the ongoing running of the community Centre.

The whole village community are most grateful for Star Action’s work and initiative in building the Centre.

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