The first of these was on Monday morning with Lesley Hynes, partner at Midas Charity Appeals (http://www.midasappeals.org.uk/). An external strategic review of The Esther Benjamins Trust that we commissioned last year flagged up a need to develop our grant-making Trust fundraising capacity. Unfortunately we can't afford to appoint a fully trained fundraiser so instead recruited Chris Kendrick with his excellent written and interpersonal skills with a view to training him to meet our needs. Part of that will involve support and mentoring through Lesley over the course of the next four months. We have been running up a deficit of income over expenditure for the last two years and I am confident that Chris and Lesley will take us back into the black.
Monday afternoon I met with consultant child psychiatrist David Jones, friend of a friend, whom I was meeting for the first time. David had visited the project work in October and, hearing of our need for specialist support for maltreated children, offered to help out. As a consequence I am now having a very fruitful exchange with David and with another new interested party, child pscyhologist Steve Shears. Ultimately I hope we can set up an excellent referral service in Kathmandu to complement the existing art therapy that we have been conducting indirectly through our art workshops. No such facility currently exists and the need is huge with all the abuse that trafficked kids suffer together with the trauma that children have experienced through the recently-ended conflict.
On Tuesday I linked up with Ian Kerr, Founder of ActionAid and of Midas, who came to see us in Kathmandu in December. Struck by the calibre of the project work - "it is as per what it says on the tin" - he offered to help us with fundraising and making contacts. That process began on Tuesday with an introduction to former gymnast Jane Walker who is a major gifts fundraiser by day and a circus performer by evening and weekend. She has been trained at the very impressive Circus Space in Hoxton (http://www.thecircusspace.co.uk/) which even trains its students towards obtaining degrees in circus skills. Jane was naturally very interested in our work. I am hoping that she may be able to come and spend some time with our Kathmandu girls later on this year during the course of a sabbatical. If nothing else it would be great for the our girls - for whom having been a performer in a circus represents a stigma - to meet one of their own sex who is such an enthusiast for the art form. 
I digress to write that the venue for this meeting was St Barnabas House, just off Soho Square. It is a little known gem of a building dating from around 1750. Up until quite recently it was a hostel for battered women and was not open to the general public. It still isn't but Ian, who is a Trustee of its associated charity, took me to see the rooms that have well preserved features including original gold silk wall 
hangings 
and ornate plaster ceilings. But best of all were the fabulous nineteenth century mosaics behind the altar in the chapel. On the way home I passed through the nearby Tottenham Court Road underground station which is famous for its own collection of mosaics. Modern in style, but as impressive in their own way.
hangings 
and ornate plaster ceilings. But best of all were the fabulous nineteenth century mosaics behind the altar in the chapel. On the way home I passed through the nearby Tottenham Court Road underground station which is famous for its own collection of mosaics. Modern in style, but as impressive in their own way. The final meeting came yesterday when I met Ian again, this time to
have lunch with Kate Baldwin, Director of regular funder The Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust (http://www.sylvia-adams.org.uk/) to see if she might be willing for Adams to consider seed funding to the tune of £50k for the purchase and conversion of our arts rehabilitation centre in Kathmandu. The overall working budget is £250k and we would hope to cover this through five blocks of £50k. Our request was as politely received as ever, but Kate will of course need to consult with Trustees and hear more of our plans in due course.Today I advertised in two British art magazines for replacement volunteer art teachers for our Kathmandu workshops. I hope some suitable candidates step forward otherwise we'll have to scrape the barrel and I may have to revert to the role of teacher....
