Mallika Rale catches up with the Expat Wives of Pune Foundation who are trying to bring together NGOs and corporates to help children’s charities and women’s empowerment groups

Idania Duncan is on a mission — to provide a better tomorrow to our children. With the help of other enthusiastic members of the Expat Wives of Pune, she helps raise money for different NGOs that are doing good work in the city.

“I was volunteering with an orphanage, Preet Mandir, and the idea to take this work further stemmed from there. A little baby girl, Suman, at the orphanage used to fall ill all the time. She had a heart defect for which she had to undergo surgery. We raised money for the surgery, but unfortunately, she did not make it. We wanted to do something for her, in her name. Thus, we registered as a proper NGO, Expat Wives of Pune Foundation, and decided to help other kids like her. Suman really touched our hearts,” shares Idania, who moved to Pune from the US five years ago.

One of the first events that they organised as a fundraiser was a Valentine’s dance and dinner. “It was for the Ashraya Initiative for Children, and we managed to collect Rs 7 lakh,” she recalls, adding, “People or even corporates are sceptical about donating to organisations because they are never sure whether it will be used for the right purpose. They do not know whom to give to. So, we do the groundwork, of identifying worthy NGOs, finding out what exactly they are doing, through our questionnaires. Then, we market them so that people know what they stand for. Of course, we also follow up with them and have all our checks in place. It is after all this that we go about raising money for them. We also want to highlight the fact that the worthy NGOs far outweigh the bad ones.”

They are hoping to provide assistance to Bright Star Education and Door Step School as well. “The plan is to bridge the gap between NGOs and corporates. We are in a uniquely advantageous position to bring these two together because many of our husbands work for these companies. Children’s charities and initiatives that empower women are our focus areas,” explains Idania, adding, “After all, Pune is a second home for us.”

As for the expat wives who have been spending time with the Ashraya kids, they find it an extremely enriching experience. Says Melanie Armer, also from the US, “We take snacks for them and celebrate festivals with them. We also get games, puzzles for them. Many of them come to my place and they love to paint and draw. You should see their art; it’s fascinating. In fact, once, we even put up an exhibition of their artwork and bought all of it. They are great kids.”

Chris Evans, who is from the UK, chips in saying, “More than anything, they crave for that human connection. And if everyone can give something, however small it is, it will grow into something bigger and help them. People cannot donate just like that because there is a whole process involved in it, so we are trying to make it easier for them to give.”

Mary Kay Hazel, who came to Pune in December last year, volunteers with Ashraya. She says, “The expat wives are some of our major donors. Right now, we are focusing on children from the Waghri and Sikligar slums, areas that have been identified as ‘communities of origin’ for street children. We try to provide these kids an experience that they otherwise would not have had access to. So, we organise summer camps, sports day, dance day, puppet shows etc.” Mary Kay also teaches English to these children.