Mahilas My appreciation to Birmingham branch who hosted last year ’ s Mahila Samelan and did an excellent job on the topic of “ Evolving Culture ”. Pushpaben , Dakshaben , Shardaben and Praveenaben from Tameside who were elected at the last Mahila Samelan set about their role in earnest with their first event ; the family fun day at Draycote Water , followed by yet another excellent Mahila Samelan in Oldham , hosted by Tameside branch on the sensitive subject of “ Grooming ” and “ Care in the Community ”. In addition , they provided support to the Seniors and youth sub groups . Thanks to Tameside branch committee and all the volunteers .
Youths Sports Day : My thanks to Rugby branch for hosting last year ’ s Sports Day . I am pleased to welcome Hiren from Wellingborough who joined the youth team and along with Nikhilbhai , Mahendrabhai and Divyenbhai , they worked extremely hard to ensure this years ’ Sports Day went ahead even though no branch came forward to host it . You will all agree they did an excellent job . Thanks to those branches that helped out on the day .
Golf Tournament : For the year 2015 and 2016 we saw new co-ordinators – Gulabbhai and Gitaben from Coventry who came forward to organise the tournament in Coventry . It is absolutely amazing the new ideas new people can bring to the Samaj . Not only have they co-ordinated an extremely successful tournament for both years , they have also managed to raise funds of over £ 700 each year for the SPA ( UK ) education fund . Thank you both and we look forward to your continued support .
Cricket Tournament : Our thanks again to Leicester branch for assisting the youth team in co-ordinating this popular event .
Well done Nikhilbhai , Divyenbhai , Hirenbhai and Mahendrabhai for all your hard work .
Single ? Let ’ s Mingle ! Anilbhai decided to take a break for a year , therefore no events were organised . However , I am extremely pleased to announce that Anilbhai has returned and will be organising another event soon , so watch this space .
Sandesh Dineshbhai and his team have done another excellent job and have produced a brilliant 40th Anniversary publication of the Sandesh . This year to ease the burden for Dineshbhai we have split the responsibilities of the roles , into two ; editor and designer , with Jasuben our former secretary taking on the editor ’ s role and Dineshbhai working on the design side . I am sure we will see Sandesh publication grow each year . Thank you Dineshbhai and the team and welcome Jasuben .
Webmaster Arunbhai has been working on improving the SPA ( UK ) website in addition to being part of the Sandesh team . The 40th anniversary Sandesh is now available to view on the SPA ( UK ) website . We hope this is a user friendly e-version that can be viewed on different types of devices . It is hoped that this version and future versions of the Sandesh will be made available electronically . Thank you Arunbhai .
SPA ( UK ) ITF The SPA ( UK ) International Trust Fund sub-committee have implemented online applications , which has made the ITF secretary ’ s workload much easier . The sub-committee has continued to meet and vet the applications and approving those that meet the criteria . Anyone who would like to sponsor a student in India is requested to contact either the SPA ( UK ) ITF chair Hansaben K Mistry , the ITF Secretary , Hemantbhai or their branch secretary . Thanks to everyone .
PRO Kiranbhai has continued assisting us by providing his invaluable photographic expertise for the various events this year . I take this opportunity to thank him for this support .
Charity Co-ordinator I am pleased to welcome Vipulbhai from Birmingham as the new charity co-ordinator . He has years of experience and is extremely knowledgeable regarding charity governance and I am confident he is going to be a great asset to the Association .
Seniors Sub-Committee A big thanks to Vasantbhai , Balubhai , Taraben and Natubhai for organising the 4th Seniors Sneh Milan with the help and support from Ranjanaben , who has been their HQ secretarial support , and Coventry branch who hosted the event . Thank you Coventry branch volunteers for another unforgettable event where our Vadilos had the opportunity to meet and greet friends and family members .
This sub-group also held their first election where Dahyabhai L Mistry from Leicester was elected as the Chair and Ambalalbhai B Mistry from Birmingham was elected as the Secretary . In addition Balvantrai M Mistry and Ramanbhai V Mistry from East London were elected as their assistants . Additionally , Revaben Mistry from Rugby and Taramati Sharma from Tameside will provide Mahila support to the team . So a huge thank you to the outgoing committee who have been pioneers for starting this extremely popular event and hope they will continue to assist and provide the guidance to the new committee .
Other organisations We have continued our dialogue with other Hindu organisations and Prajapati organisations abroad , e . g . Navsari , Billimora , Canada , PASC and the new Daxin Gujarat Prajapati Health Trust .
Charity Fund Raising The generosity of the members has been commendable as always . Our chosen charity for 2014-15 was Wateraid where we donated £ 18,996.51 for the Amhara region of Ethiopia . For the year 2015-16 the SPA ( UK ) decided to
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