In the Joy of Others Lies our Own, In the Good of others Abides our Own.

This is the profound message that our beloved Guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj  practices and preaches and it is this message that inspired the children and volunteers of the UK Bal Mandal to participate in the BBC ‘Children in Need’ programme; a charitable event that raises funds every year for the very unfortunate children who to are either orphans, suffering from acute illnesses, living in poverty or have been abused by their parents - the list is endless.

This year the children and teens decided to stage an articulate performance to raise funds for the ‘BBC-Children in Need’ programme. They persevered for 40 hours over two weeks to perform a spectacular Indian cultural dance. Under the banner of ‘ Kids 4 Kids’ & ‘Show you Care’, the 400 children attending the BAPS children’s forum & Sunday school in London also gave up their pocket money for a week to ‘make a difference’ to a deprived child’s life. Whilst living in the modern world of various luxuries, contributing towards this chartable cause gave them a sense of compassion and affection for the less fortunate children and taught them to appreciate & cherish what they have! Moreover, whilst watching this programme, thousands of children from a number of schools that visit the London Mandir throughout the year as part of their religious education curriculum could also relate their ‘day trip’ to the Mandir and appreciate the organizations charitable efforts for the wider community.

 On Friday 17th Nov, the compassionate feelings and the fund raising efforts of the children were recognised by the BBC. Scenes from the traditional Indian dance, interviews of  kids and the support slogans of the 400 boys and girls were recurrently broadcasted on prime time TV not only throughout the ‘Children in Need Programme’ but also during News-round on Friday and Saturday  which was viewed by over 20 million people.

It was pleasing to note that we were the only Indian Children’s organization on national television to support this campaign where our efforts were shown alongside other organisation’s efforts of raising funds, wherein people had either washed cars or gone to work in pyjamas to mention a few; portraying a sense of collective cohesion and contribution within the multi cultural society working together to shape a better future for the unfortunate and the under privileged children.