Nigel Eastwood, CEO of a popular residential telecom service provider in the UK, will undertake a "charity run" from Katra to Vaishno Devi shrine tomorrow.
The proceeds of the charity will go to Society for Promotion of Tribal Welfare and Development (SPTWD), a Delhi-based NGO providing free education for underprivileged people in India.
"We announce that CEO, New Call Telecom Ltd (NCTL) Nigel Eastwood, will undertake a charity run on 17th October from Katra to the famous religious shrine of Vaishno Devi popular amongst devotees across religions and countries," SPTWD CEO, Benjamine told reporters here today.
"He is raising money on the crowd funding website JustGiving.Com and hopes to raise at least Rs 5 lakh through the charity run," he said.
Eastwood, meanwhile said that he was "honored" to be able to help SPTWD.
"It is an outstanding organisation, staffed by wonderful people who are totally committed to supporting hundreds of families, children and young people.
"I have been visiting India regularly for more than 10 years and I have seen for myself the incredible work they do. I just hope I can raise as much money as possible so that they can reach even more disadvantaged communities," he said.
Hailing the cause of the charity run, Benjamine said, "Tribal communities are some of the most disadvantaged people in India. In 2005, scheduled castes and tribes accounted for 80 per cent of the poor rural population."
"Suffering from high levels of discrimination, they experience some of the worst health outcomes in the country as well as the highest levels of incarceration," he said.
SPTWD, founded in 2003 works with tribal communities in Assam, Manipur, Tripura and Delhi.
"I am delighted that Nigel is undertaking this run and raising money for SPTWD. It's our job to give tribal groups a voice, promote peace and provide support, education and training," the SPTWD CEO added.
