An important name almost always works, particularly when it comes to calling attention to a charity. So former British first lady Cherie Blair worked beautifully for the U.K.-based Loomba Trust this past Tuesday in New Delhi. From the moment she stepped out of her car at the Sanskriti School, a flurry of press photographers kept bombarding her with flashlights. Blair, used to constant media attention, dutifully posed, at times repeating her warm smile, at others chatting with the children even as the school authorities beamed with the contentment of having a global celebrity around them.
Working lunch
The time was half past one, time for “a working lunch” for Blair and the other guests. Soon, digging into corn salad, dhokla and khandavi, Blair was spouting appropriate lines like “I like all Indian food.” Time was also for the Trust and the school authorities to introduce Mrs. Blair to “meet so-and-so”. But, well, the time promised by the Trust staff “for exclusives” to mediapersons never came.
Sensing the restlessness of the numerous reporters invited with the promise of an “interview” with the global figure, the organisers whisked Blair away to the principal’s room. “Only questions about Loomba Trust please,” blared Blair’s press secretary at once. Raj Loomba, the Trust chairman, added inexplicably, “Only our PR person will ask questions.”
Perched on a sofa, Blair, in a pretty tunic with floral embroidery bought “from an Indian designer”, was relaxed. She began, “I met Raj in 1997. He asked me to become a patron of the Trust and then I became its president. The Trust now works in 12 countries, five of which are in Africa.” In India, it is helping in the schooling of 3000 children of widows, 100 of which are from Delhi.
“We rely very much on local people to identify the widows. They are mostly young women who fit all the requirements of a poor person, we don’t look at their religion,” she stated. The Trust aims to take the number in Delhi to 1000 and is looking for willing sponsors.
“There are about 35 million estimated widows in India, many of whom suffer from dreadful discrimination,” Blair continued. “We are now trying to help them set up small businesses after training them in trades like hair dressing, sewing, etc.”
The plan is also to jointly work with her Cherie Blair Foundation for women in some countries.
Replying to a question, Blair also hinted at her humble growing up days, mentioning, “though my mother was not a widow but was always dependent on my father.” The interaction came to an abrupt end after a reporter posed a question on whether the Trust had any plan to go into Iraq. She didn’t answer it.
Blair then met six girls from Sarvodaya schools around Kalyanpuri and Trilokpuri areas. Each of them will get a sum of Rs.500 per month to buy school books, uniforms, etc. from the Trust. Said Bharti Kamla Singh, one of the students, “A person came to the school one day to enquire who doesn’t have a father. Though there are many students without a father, they perhaps chose us because our mothers don’t work.” Like her, others also live on their brothers’ income. While some are salesmen, others are embroiderers, all between the ages of 19 and 21.
Before winding up, Blair took part in a children’s function at the school auditorium and gave away awards to a stream of students. Besides songs and dances, the event featured students’ paintings on Gandhiji. School principal Abha Sahgal said, “The sketches will go to Gandhi Smriti.”
But the focus on Loomba Trust continued. Raj Loomba, taking the stage, poignantly put together the thought behind the Trust. “My mother Pushpawati Loomba became a widow at 37. Though she was financially alright, she couldn’t wear colourful clothes, no bindi. Even when I was getting married, the priest asked her to go away as a widow might bring a bad omen to my life. I can never forget it.”
Blair harped on bringing together “two Indias to take its leading role in the 21st Century.” The event was also to campaign for June 23 which the Trust celebrates as International Widows’ Day. The Trust is lobbying with different countries to get United Nations sanction for it. “The Indian Government is supporting us,” she mentioned.
The function ended with Him Jyoti Foundation’s pledge to help the Trust fund the education of 25 students in Delhi.
