Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic organization of Mukesh Ambani-led, Reliance Industries Limited has decided to match funds accumulated for a new anti-trafficking fund. This fund has been launched by the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, in London. Reliance Foundation will contribute to the millions of pounds gatheredfrom other sources and double the amount.
Fund raising event
Prince Charles announced this in a fund raising event held on 3rd February, 2015. His wife Camilla was also present. The Duchess of Cornwall wore Indian attire, silk sari, along with a gown, designed by Anna Valentine. Many UK-based businessmen and celebrities were also present along with filmmaker Gurinder Chadha and singer Ella Henderson.
The theme of the fundraiser event was, ‘Unlocking potential in South Asia.’ The fund will collect the money and award it to grassroots organizations that help victims and spreads awareness among the girls.
The President of British Asian Trust (BAT), Prince Charles, was extremely delighted with Reliance Foundation’s kind gesture. He expressed his deep gratitude towards Reliance Foundation and its Chairperson, Mrs. Nita Ambani. He said that he is thankful to them for matching funds for his trust’s Anti-Trafficking Fund, and for the new partnership.
Views of Kailash Satyarthi
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kailash Satyarthi sees immense pride in being an Indian. He said although India has hundreds of problems, it comes out with billions of solutions to tackle them. He is highly hopeful that our country will surely eliminate slavery from the world.
He feels that India is unstoppable in achieving this. All what we require is compassion, new partnerships, out of the box ideas and a push for the same. He said, “Let us pledge to make slavery history in your lifetime, my lifetime."
The audience gave him a standing ovation on his speech. Prince Charles called him an ‘unwavering campaigner for the transformative power of education and its social role in bringing an end to modern slavery.’
British Asian Trust
Established in 2007 in London, The British Asian Trustis founded by the Prince of Wales. It is aimed to eradicate poverty and struggle from the lives of people in South Asia. A group of British Asian entrepreneurs also came in its support.
Prince Charles’s BAT team is fighting against the gruesome issue of human trafficking thathas horrendous consequences on the lives of women and girls. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, too lends complete support for the girl child and strives to make the people aware about the unsafe situation of girls.
BAT statistics revealed that there are 30 million modern day slaves in the world. Out of these, almost half, that is, 14 million are from India.
With her recent release, Mardaani, actress Rani Mukherji has become very passionate for this subject and works to spread awareness for the same. She is thus chosen as the brand ambassador for the trust. She informed that, "Every eight minutes a girl goes missing in India.” She said, although eliminating trafficking is difficult, we will strive to overcome it.