B R ANCH REPORT
Leicester
“Many other
communities
watched us
with envy.”
This year it gives me a great pleasure, as President of
Shree Prajapati Association Leicester (SPAL), and on
behalf of the trustees and members, to reflect on 40
years of SPAL establishment.
The Last 40 Years Many of our members arrived in Leicester from East
Africa and India in the 50s, 60s and 70s. During those early years many of our
members took the lead in creating Hindu societies, Gujarati School and eventually
the establishment of Shree Sanatan Mandir in Leicester. As the Prajapati community
increased, once again, our members took an active role in establishing Shree Prajapati
Association in Leicester in 1975. With acquaintances in Prajapati communities around
the country, the word spread and similar efforts were taking place around the country
to create a national SPA organisation in the UK. The idea was well supported by all
and SPA (UK) was formed.
So here we are after 40 years, what have we achieved?
Leicester has the largest local membership of SPA. During the 70s, it took a lot of
effort to organise events. Many events were held throughout the year, but the main
problem was the size of the venue. No matter which venue we hired, it was too small
which resulted in disappointment for many members who were not allowed in. The
understanding of members during this period was great, and the support received from
the very young to the very old was overwhelming. Members were proud to be part of
the SPA organisation. Many other
communities watched us with envy.
It was a dream for many of the past
trustees and members to have our
own building. Things changed in
1992, with tremendous effort from
SPAL Building Committee members,
volunteers and members at large we
managed to secure the purchase of
the building that we now call SPA
Leicester Community Centre.
The photographs show how we started from a warehouse, and how its been transformed with investment
in time, money and effort to make it into a modern building today.
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The purchase of the building was
not easy. We had to raise a large
sum of capital in a very short
time and it was a tremendous
effort on the part of our trustees
and members at the time that
we managed to raise the funds
and purchase the building at the
eleventh hour without obtaining any
loan from a financial institution.