Flavio Gracias’ Anniversary Message
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5th October 2000
This year sees the 20th Anniversary of the founding of Help A Poor Child.
From a small beginning, way back in 1980, the founder of our Charity, Derrick Pereira (who is our current President), has seen a vision of helping poor children, develop into a growing `donor’ organisation.
The policy of establishing recipient branches in India, which are charities in their own right, at an early stage, has proved to be a very apt decision. Apart from providing autonomy for the branches to operate, it also ensures full accountability. We have been very fortunate in recruiting dynamic and honest office bearers to head the organisations in India. It is our intention to have further recipient branches in India and we pray that this objective can be fulfilled in the new millennium.
Considerable progress has been made by our branches, particularly in Calcutta and Madras and we are proud of their record to date. We look forward to establishing permanent centres in these two areas. This progress has been achieved despite the handicap imposed by the Indian Government in the form of Foreign Exchange Regulations.
We would also like to see the formation of donor branches in the more developed countries around the world. Apart from H A P C (UK), we now have a very active branch in Western Australia that has already provided help to causes within Australia and in Bangladesh.
Looking at the home front, I am most grateful to the dedicated members of my Committee that have served diligently since I accepted the honour of being Chairman about four years ago.
Our fund-raising efforts would not succeed without the assistance of our supporters, many of whom are members of the Charity.
The highlight of our work in recent years has been the development of a successful Child Sponsorship Scheme which allows individual donors to relate to the respective children they sponsor. Our earnest desire is that this activity will grow in manageable steps in years to come.
To conclude my message, I would like to convey my admiration to Derrick Pereira and the members of his family for laying a strong foundation which has allowed the organisation to develop steadily over the last two decades. I hope that during my period as Chairman, the Charity will succeed in growing from the acorn planted twenty years ago, into a thriving oak tree’ touching the lives of more and more poor children for the better – `a dream come true’.
Flavio Gracias – Chairman