180 people packed Ashiana Kashmiri Restaurant in Stafford recently, and in  the process raised £1000 for anti-trafficking projects in India.

Dalit Freedom Network volunteers Alex and Linda Morgan who organised the event were both delighted with the wide range of support which included representatives from the healthcare sector, business groups and faith communities.

Diners heard firsthand accounts of work among women enslaved in ritualised prostitution in India from guest speaker Dr Beryl D’souza. Dr D’souza is the Medical Director of OMIF Clinics run by DFN UK’s partner organisation, Operation Mercy India Foundation.  She also gave an explanation of the various anti-trafficking projects run by OMIF in India. The money raised will go towards an HIV/AIDS clinic which has just been opened.

Alex says, “There was a really good feel to the evening, and people were genuinely moved and interested in the work when it was explained by someone directly involved. There was considerable interest in other ways of engaging in the work including sponsoring pupils at the Dalit Education Centres, raising money for projects in India and helping to fund our campaigns in the UK.”

The success of the evening was also noted by Ashiana’s manager, Ozi Munir, who called the evening, ‘the best charity event ever held in this restaurant’.

The evening was also a new experience for DFN UK, being the first time a community action group (CAG) has held a fundraising event. DFN UK plans to spread awareness about the problem of Dalit trafficking as well as engage people in different activities through a national network of Community Action Groups made up of individuals across all walks of life. The Stafford group is the first to be set up and the members are already keen to organise future events.

DFN UK hopes that other community action groups will use this as a pattern for fundraising events.