A local charity that helps the disabled in South India is hosting its annual fundraising dinner on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Karahi King in downtown Prince George.
The Samuha Overseas Development Association (SODA) was started in 1996 and founding member Hilary Crowley has committed to raising $25,000 each year for their overseas efforts.
“It’s such a wonderful organization in India and of course, I’m a physiotherapist myself so I work with people with disabilities,” Crowley said.
“But just to see the commitment of the disability workers there and to see the degree of disabilities in the children – when I first went it was all polio and now polio has been eradicated but we’ve helped so many people walk again after their polio. Now we’re seeing children with all kinds of disabilities and adults with spinal cord injuries and other injuries and the need is so great and if we weren’t there doing it they wouldn’t have any other access to healthcare because they are in such remote villages.”
The funds go to an organization called Samuha in South India in the state of Karnataka, Crowley said.
The program started with five disability workers and its grown so that now there are 28 workers in the program which has moved into other villages over the years to help many more families, she added.
It’s been 30 years since Crowley spent a year in Karnataka from 1994-95.
"I'd been going back there pretty well every year since for about six weeks at a time," Crowley said.
But she has not made the trip since 2019.
All proceeds of the fundraising event will go to the program as the dinner has been sponsored by an anonymous donor.
“Karahi King has catered the event for the last few years but this time we thought we would just go to the restaurant,” Crowley explained.
“If we get more than 60 people we will book the restaurant for the next night as well.”
The evening will consist of authentic Indian cuisine and a presentation after dinner.
“There will be wonderful food,” Crowley said.
"And there will be a slideshow of our work featuring children that I started seeing 30 years ago and we’ll see what they’re doing now as adults so it will cover 30 years of the program and we’ll see big changes in these kids who could only crawl on their hands and knees and now they’re working, earning money to provide for their families. A good news story!”
Donations from previous dinners have funded an early-intervention centre for preschool children and another for people with spinal cord injuries.
“So the people of Prince George have helped big time to raise these funds to make the program possible,” Crowley said. “The people in India really appreciate it because they need all the help they can get as the families we work with over there are really poor.”
To reserve a seat or a table visit SODAdinnerreservations or email [email protected].
If you cannot attend the dinner and would still like to donate visit www.samuha.ca/
