Autumn 2023

We are up and running

It is 15 months since we had the request to help raise finances for the support of the daily operations of the four Christian Endeavour Hostels in the state of Odisha, India. After extensive enquiries and fact finding, including a trip to India in January 2023, we finally established Abound!

Thank YOU for your interest in this transforming project and for your generous donation – whether large or small. Every donation truly enables each child to experience the love of God in their lives through the care of the wardens and staff of each hostel during term time, allowing them to participate in an education which would otherwise be beyond their reach.

In this inaugural update we want to share some of the journey we have been on to get this far, the relationships we have built with all those at CEH and some of what we have achieved up to this point. This includes:

Establishing Abound with a logo and a website
Creating a small (but beautifully formed!) team
Supporting the rebuild of the boys’ dormitory roof in Balangir
Establishing a growing donor community

We hope that you enjoy this news, including the stories of alumni and staff of CEH. In addition, we would encourage you to visit our newly created website: abound.org.uk where you can receive even more information and stay connected with the project.

Peter Whitfield (Abound Leader)

The Abound Journey So Far

Abound officially began in May 2023. Our team leaders in the UK are Pete Whitfield and Amy Whitfield-Seed who work with the CEH team in India, building our relationship and encouraging the staff (Mahendra Bag and the wardens) and the children. In addition we are working together to talk through the big projects and understanding the day to day needs of the hostels, as well as managing all the organisational admin for Abound.

The website abound.org.uk is now up and running, with all the information on Abound and CEH to read through, as well as some stories from CEH alumni, history of the Whitfield family connection to India, and how you can support the children’s education through monthly or one off donations.

Pete and Amy are joined by Iain Whitfield, Joy Cooke and Ben Whitfield who have been integral in supporting and setting up Abound as the way forward in helping to continue the work of CEH. Ben visited India in January 2023 with Pete and used his skills as a structural engineer to assess the buildings on site, and then planning the new roof for the boy’s dormitory. Iain and Joy have joined in meetings using their experience in safeguarding, education, and third sector organisations to guide the setting up of Abound and defining our relationship with CEH and Stewardship. All the team have been instrumental in finding generous donors like you!

Find out more about the team in the UK and India on our Meet the Team page on the website, and if you would like to get in touch, please email us at admin@abound.org.uk, or sign up via the website to be added to our mailing list.

History of Abound

The creation of Abound has a story. In June 2022 the Whitfield siblings (Joy, Iain and Peter) received a request for support from Mahendra Bag. This request came because of a connection made in 2020, but borne out of the Whitfield family connection that dates back to 1953. However, the connection with hostels for supporting poor children with their education actually dates back within the family to 1923!

To trace the full history of connection with India visit our History page on the website: click here.

Kate Breeze with her students in the 1920s

A new roof for the boys’ dormitory

Operating a hostel not only requires an annual operating budget, but ongoing maintenance of building and equipment, even replacement where necessary. In May 2023 funds became available to replace the roof on the boy’s dormitory which had become uneconomic to repair.

Read about the project and see the amazing transformation of the building: click here.

Transferring donations to India

It sounds easy. Just set up a standing order for regular donations to be sent monthly to India – not so!

If you would like to understand the journey Abound has made from a request for money to the creation of a sustainable process to manage collection and distribution of donations then click here.

Partners

In setting up Abound, we have been so grateful for the friendship and input of the Friends of Diptipur Boys Hostel. They are a small organisation that supports a boys hostel on the Diptipur site, and Pete and Ben joined Colin and Glennis on their January visit to India this year. They have been generous in their time helping us to understand the needs of the hostels and the complicated logistics of getting financial support to India. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them and the boys hostel in Diptipur.

Abound are now mission partners with St Paul’s Church Cheltenham in the UK. We are excited to begin this relationship with the St Paul’s church family and are so grateful for the yearly financial support, as well as their prayers and encouragement to us and the children in India. We look forward to seeing what God has planned for this partnership.

Share Our Story

We are so grateful to all of you who have donated to Abound so far. We are a new and small organisation and are in great need of regular individual monthly donors to support the ongoing work of the hostels. Bringing an education to children is truly life changing, and we can see its incredible long term effects through the stories of the alumni. We encourage you to share the work of CEH with your friends, family and colleagues through the Abound website and to join with us in helping to continue transforming the lives of children and young people in Odisha.

Thank you!