Category: News

Jute Williams returned to Zambia for her annual visit in September. She was accompanied this time by the BPFC film crew who were to carry a full programme of filming the various projects and individuals supported by HHI as they had already done earlier in the year in India when they accompanied HHI’s Chair Edmund Plummer on his annual visit to that country. The results of their efforts can be viewed by using the links below.

There were many moving and memorableitems inthe reports which Jute sent back each day during her annual visit to Zambia. Have a look at these in Jute’s Travelogue under the News item in the HHI website.

The films from India can also be viewed on the Films section of the website

This year’s RS50 event, held on Sunday 21^st August, was the 21^st since the first one in 2002

The numbers taking part continue to increase each year and a record 800 cyclists had entered beforehand. On the day 610 took part in the 50 mile route and 207 over the 15 miles.

The weather was favourable and everyone completed their routes. There were many favourable comments from the cyclists about the organisation of the event and especially about the usual excellent refreshments at the various locations.

A record sum of over £15,000 was raised and once again Health Help International received a very generous donation of £6000. This brings the total amount received by HHI from the RS50 events since 2002 to just over £60,000  

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Newsletter-40

Newsletter-39

After an absence of two years due to the restrictions of Covid, Edmund Plummer, Chair of HHI, was able to resume his annual visit to India at the beginning of 2022 when he spent two weeks catching up on all the projects and organisations supported by HHI in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Later in the year he joined Alun and Jute Williams on their return visit to Zambia to see all of the activities being supported by HHI there. 

Interesting reports on both these visits as well as photographs can be seen on the HHI website. 

Iain Park had the opportunity to speak about Health International and the Strathaven Friends of HHI in an interview he had with Helen McCabe broadcast on 21st November 2022 on Avondale Radio. This local radio station which is accessed on the Internet is reaching an ever widening audience since it started up earlier in 2022. Helen presents a programme called ‘Thinking Allowed’ which is broadcast twice a week. Iain’s hour long chat with Helen when he was able to tell her all about the work of the Charity and Strathaven’s involvement with it was interspersed with six musical items chosen by him. You will be able to listen to it shortly when it is added to the list of archived items  -on www.avondaleradio.com  

The SFHHI committee supported the Strathaven Gala Day and at the same time promoted Health Help International with their stall in the Public Park where they displayed the Painted Leaf Cards and other items on sale on behalf of the Charity.

Despite rather inclement weather and with committee numbers reduced to four these stalwarts managed to attract a good number of visitors to their tent and with excellent sales talk raised just over £100 for HHI. 

A free prize draw for a basket of ‘Taylor made’ biscuits, generously donated by Willie Cooper  helped to generate interest. The draw for the prize was made by Gala Day Chairman Colin Dempster who also presented it to the winner Marion Law.

This is the title of the latest book produced by Iain Park 

This unique correspondence was from Barbara Hamilton to her future husband, Andrew Dykes, during the years of World War I.

Andrew, a member of a farming family whose farm was near Strathaven, in the Parish of Avondale, South Lanarkshire, had emigrated to New Zealand in 1909 to establish himself as a farmer in the south of South Island. Barbara, also from a local Avondale farming family, was unable to follow him as planned because of the war but they became engaged by post in 1916. She wrote to him faithfully throughout the war years until she was able to sail out to join him in 1919.

Barbara, who had trained as a schoolteacher, combined her duties teaching at Strathaven Academy, two miles away, with the hard manual work of the farm but also was able to enjoy the hectic social life of the farming community that continued despite the war.

Her letters give a fascinating insight into her busy life and the effects of the war on the town and farming community as she recounts the growing number of friends and family members injured or killed during the hostilities.

The book is available to purchase via the shop

This latest productionfrom HHI tells the stories of four schools, two in India and two in Zambia which have benefitted tremendously from the support of HHI and the monies provided by it in recent years to help with the building of extensions and the provision of much needed facilities. The progress they have all made and the improvement in the lives of the children who attend them, many of them severely handicapped makes for heart warming reading. 

Four-Schools

This is the title of Iain Park’s latest book, a biography of Tom Sutherland, following up his earlier books ‘The Centenary History of the Strathaven Scouts’ and his climbing book ‘Eye to the Hills’

Tom, the son of a Presbyterian Minister, was born and spent his early years in the state of Victoria, Australia. After graduating with an Arts degree from Melbourne University he was a lecturer in Humanities at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Even as a schoolboy Tom committed himself to helping others and as student and lecturer in Melbourne he devoted all of his spare time and energies to many good causes and particularly to helping the young and disadvantaged people of all ages. 

In 1975, aged 38, he travelled to India at the invitation of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charities Brothers in Calcutta intending to spend a few months working with them. He has stayed in India ever since. Inspired by the work of the Brothers and Mother Teresa herself he has spent the last 40 years working tirelessly to improve the lives of the poor, the sick and the destitute people in the southern state of Kerala. Having giving up all his own possessions he has lived the life of those he has been serving and denied himself any of the conveniences of modern life, supported in what he has done by family and friends in Australia and by others whom he has inspired in other parts of the world.

One of these was Ron Prosser, the founder of Health Help International.  Ron and HHI have been supporting Tom for the past twenty years, and providing him with regular funds to enable him to carry out his humanitarian work in Kerala.

Iain’s account of Tom’s life of service has been published in the form of a high quality paper-back book of about 165 pages including over 100 colour photographs.

The book costs £15 all of which will go to HHI to provide continuing support for Tom’s work in India through the activities of his Charity the Banyan Tree.