Sewa UK’s Rickshaw Run to raise funds for children in India

The Sewa UK Rickshaw Run 2023 (RR23) will be supporting the refurbishment of a dental unit at Arogyadham in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh, India. The facility provides free or very affordable cleft and palate surgery to support the 500 surrounding villages.

iGlobal spoke to Sewa UK volunteer Dr Hardik Bhansali to find out more details about the project.

“The operations that take place are life changing for the children and allow them to integrate into normal society without any associated stigma,” said Dr Bhansali.

According to Sewa UK, over 35 thousand children are born with a cleft defect annually in India. Over half of those are either unable to afford treatments or are completely unaware that this can be treated at all.

The Rickshaw Run will see 108 self-funded participants from around the world gather at Chitrakoot in India in December 2023. Over the following 12 days, these participants will be travelling over 2,000km in 36 Rickshaws, raising funds and awareness for this noble project along the way. Having crossed four Indian states, the run will culminate in Kutch, Gujarat.

As well as this, there were also limited sponsorship packages for those interested in sponsoring the event. These ranged from £2,000 to £75,000, depending on how much advertising the businesses were looking for and their budgets.

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Sewa UK also makes it clear that since it 100 per cent volunteer-operated, all the donations will go directly to the cause without any admin costs.

The refurbished building will have 6 dental surgeries on the first floor. On the ground floor, it will have one dental surgery, one operation theatre and one dental lab as well as other facilities such as waiting areas, offices and washroom facilities.

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Ahead of the Chaitra Navratri Festival, Sewa UK has also partnered with the Cultural Collective’s ‘Rang Taali Charity Garba 2023’. The proceeds from the event – which will take place on Saturday, March 25, in London in Oakington Manor Primary School – will specifically go to the Rickshaw Run 2023 initiative.

Info: Sewa UK, The Cultural Collective