International exposure
- Snehalaya
- 20 hours ago
- 7 min read
Snehalaya UK was honoured to host our Founder, Dr Girish Kulkarni, Secretary, Dr Priti Bhombe, and Executive President, Anil Gawade for two weeks at the start of July. Hosted by our UK CEO, Joyce Connolly, she was supported by a range of UK trustees and UK and Indian supporters resident in the UK.
Visiting UK has been about expanding the visibility of Snehalaya amongst Indian diaspora abroad and also about deep learnings of ways to create safe, secure and happy spaces for women facing challenging circumstances as well as for senior citizens. Also passing through the scenic British countryside was an immersive experience in itself!
Dr Priti Bhombe
The team hit the ground running and covered over 900 miles visiting Hereford, Leicester, Kent and London. The primary purpose of the visit was to attend the European Marathi Sammelan 2025 (EMS 2025) held 4-6 July in Leicester but the team also took the opportunity to reconnect with our existing networks, meet with new contacts and learn from UK best practice.
Ahead of the EMS event, we met with John Coster, journalist, educator and documentarian of the Documentary Media Centre based in Leicester. Our UK team has been working with John over the past year or so to help promote our work, particularly within the South Asian communities in Leicester. As well as discussing a potential visit to India, John also interviewed the Indian team for his channels which can be viewed and listened to below.
Joining us was Snehalaya UK Chair, David Braham, who travelled from Leeds to meet with the team, getting straight down to the business of the India Test cricket match taking place in UK at the time, as well as, of course, pertinent Snehalaya UK business.
With a quick change and freshen up, the Indian team then joined a host of celebrities performing at EMS 2025 along with the organising committee at Feast India, Leicester. They enjoyed some delicious food and were able to mingle with the assembled starts to discuss our work, the upcoming event and potential support back in India. It was also a good opportunity for some of the Sammelan organizing committee to meet the team in person which laid strong foundations for the following days and future opportunities.
Over the next three days, as well as enjoying the incredible performances, the team met hundreds of Marathis, including old friends and supporters as well a completely new audiences, forging fantastic links. We also gathered details of those interested in supporting our UK team, signed people up to our newsletter, handed our literature, including copies of Medha Bhaskaram’s biography of Girish and Prajakta Kulkarni, Up against Darkness, and secured many donations. We were also able to take to the stage in a dedicated spot to explain more about our work. We are so thankful to the whole EMS 2025 team for sharing the unique opportunity to connect with our ‘home’ audience in an international event and for also choosing us as one of their three official charity partners.
As the curtain fell on EMS 2025, our next stop was the Garden of England, Kent. Hosted by volunteer, Caroline an expert in stalking and domestic abuse, we were privileged to visit two refuges for women escaping domestic abuse; the first shared accommodation and the second independent living accommodation. The team learned more about how the UK supports survivors meeting with the manager of the refuges and his team of social workers who explained the government, psychological and facilities support they offer women and their children.
This was followed by a visit to Protection against Stalking, a charity established by a mother whose daughter was murdered by her stalker. The stalking experts gave great insights into what stalking is, the laws to protect against it and the support they offer to victims and survivors.
All three visits gave the Indian team lots to reflect on, particularly when it comes to our Snehadhar project and women and children leaving our care. We were also able to spend time discussing what we had seen with Caroline to better prepare to maximize her expertise when she returns to India next February.
Our next destination was Harrow in London where we met with film maker, Sanjeev Ramesh, who visited Snehalaya last year to make a documentary featuring our President, Jaya Jogdand. A screening of the first draft of the resulting film was followed by a meal at Zing Mumbai in Harrow. Here we were able to invite some of our UK supporters, including adoptive parents, friends of friends and former volunteers. We had a fantastic night updating existing supporters, meeting new friends and enjoying wonderful hospitality from the Zing team.
We returned to Harrow the next day, with the introduction by Siddharth Mukne, to meet with Community Connex, who work with people with learning disabilities, autistic people, those experiencing disadvantages and their families to help them live healthier, happier and inclusive lives. Again their initiatives sparked new ideas for Snehalaya and our sister organisation, Anamprem.
Our final ‘official’ visit, again facilitated by Siddharth and a flying visit before boarding the plane back to India, was to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in Whitehall, London. We were given a full tour of the grand rooms used for diplomatic talks and even got a sneak peek at the door to 10 Downing Street. The next step is to connect us with the Indian desk of the office to explore how we can work together to promote Snehalaya.
While not everything the Indian team experienced and saw can translate into the Indian context, the principles of empowering women and children are shared and the team is now busy reflecting and discussing their observations with colleagues in India to enhance the provisions we offer.
All work and no play…
For our UK team, another objective of hosting the visit was a cross-cultural experience. Many from the UK visiting India experience a culture shock and have to adapt to new foods and customs. We wanted our Indian team to have a similar experience, learning more about traditional UK culture and customs. Therefore the UK visit was specifically planned with cultural experiences and accommodation in our UK supporters’ homes and families to better understand the UK lifestyle.
After collecting the team from Heathrow, our UK CEO Joyce welcomed the Indian team to her UK base at Monnington-on-Wye near Hereford. After a good night’s sleep and some unpacking it was back in the car to travel to Leicester with a short stop at the home of Shakespeare, Stratford upon Avon. There they enjoyed a boat trip on the Avon and a visit to the Bard’s house, soaking up some quintessentially English culture.
Arriving in Leicester it was time for a traditional pub meal. The next day there was a chance to visit a few charity shops, both seeking inspiration for our own goodwill shop and also picking up a few bargains. Venues for catch ups in Leicester included our UK trustee, Sarah’s house, theatres and restaurants. Post the EMS event, and despite her family being struck with a terrible sickness bug, Sarah struggled from her sick bed to give her renowned Leicester tour and joined us, UK treasurer, Chris, volunteer, Rhys, and EMS organizer and Nagari, Kaustubh for a relaxed Indian dinner in our rented accommodation.
En route to Kent we crossed the Thames at Dartford with sweeping views to London and the Thames Estuary from the very high Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. Soon we were in the Garden of England with tree-lined lanes and unfortunately the planned visit to the British seaside was derailed by the famous British traffic. The disappointment was soon forgotten as we reached the beautiful country home of Caroline, nestled deep within the East Sussex countryside, surrounded by an organic farm with a soundtrack of birdsong and bleating sheep.
In between exposure visits, Caroline arranged a visit to the National Trust’s Sissinghurst Castle with its historic and exquisite gardens and lunches at a renovated fire station and a beautiful country pub where we enjoyed a game of boules. Evenings were spent relaxing in Caroline’s peaceful garden discussing all things Snehalaya.
Leaving Kent we drove to Brixton to the home of our Snehalaya UK Founder’s mother, Francien. She had reserved her B&B accommodation for us and provided great hospitality and belt-busting breakfasts. The team enjoyed a walk to Brixton market for some South American food and an insight into the melting pot of the inner suburb of London.
The next day started with a bus journey to Parliament Square where many selfies were taken of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. It was then time to board a boat to the maritime centre of Greenwich, via London Eye, Sta Paul’s Cathedral, The Shard, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Tower of London, London Bridge, The Docklands and many more famous London sights. There was a very quick visit to the home of GMT before boarding the trains and underground trains to take the team to our Harrow meeting.
Leaving London to head back to Hereford we took the scenic route via The Cotswolds, an area of outstanding natural beauty with rolling hills and fields dotted with sand coloured villages and towns. The team stopped in Burford for a late lunch before continuing west towards Joyce’s home in Hereford.
The team stayed at Joyce’s home where she lives alongside her sister and nephew as well as owners, John and Angela Bulmer, renowned photographer and documentary film-maker and sculptress. The team enjoyed time with both who had opened their house up to accommodate them and enjoyed the surrounding nature including drives in carriages drawn by the Morgan horses the couple introduced to the UK. A visit to Hereford included many more charity and other shops searching for gifts to take back to India. Another to visit Joyce’s mum in Leominster gave the team the chance to look around the assisted living facility where Joyce’s mum lives, again sparking new ideas for our own old age homes.
Thank you
We are incredibly grateful to all who gave their time, hosted and travelled to meet the team and everyone who supported us in managing this incredible exposure visit. The UK and Indian teams have been inspired in so many ways and will be reviewing many areas to incorporate their new learnings. They were also genuinely thrilled to meet with so many passionate and incredible supporters and enjoy a totally British/UK Indian experience. Everyone learnt a lot that should make a positive impact going forwards.
Apologies to those the team were not able to meet, the visit was confirmed a little late and involved a lot of travel under a strict schedule, next time…
If you would like to support Snehalaya in the UK please contact our CEO, joyce@snehalaya.org.
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