On Saturday November 22nd Louise Harper, with help from friends and supporters, took a large array of baskets to the Downland Parish Christmas Fayre. Each basket contained a different selection of goodies and all of them were generously donated. Louise invited people to make a voluntary contribution for any basket that they wished to take home. Over £250 was raised which is a brilliant result - well done Louise. Many thanks to everyone who helped to make this event such a success. The Friends of Malagiri have a number of future events planned – please keep an eye on this website for details.

Since we invited friends and supporters to make donations via the Open Collective site, £852.85 has been donated. Many supporters have pledged regular payments, and the estimated annual total is currently £3,698. Huge thanks to everyone who has donated. We would like to reach an annual target of £10,000 and although we’ve made a very promising start, there is more work to do!

At the end of October, our Swedish friends visited the Malagiri School and were delighted to report that everything was running smoothly. The school continues to thrive and has become the beating heart of the local community.

Carin, (pictured below with the headteacher’s wife Saraswati) visits the school every year and has a particular interest in art and design. They are planning a project that combines watercolour painting and animation.

The image below shows the pupils engaging with this project. It is wonderful that they have this unique opportunity to learn and apply new skills. Their paintings are very impressive indeed, and are the result of much concentration and enthusiasm.