54 REASONS TO KEEP READING...

The PLUS Edition - March 2012

I’m so excited about the pace which has picked up within 40K. Thanks to your ongoing support, you’ve helped achieve:

1. 40K PLUSOur first two 40K PLUS centres opened in Bangalore and 54 kids are now enrolled. The 40K PLUS Program is a 10 hour per week after-school program that bridges the gap between what the kids are getting in government school, and what they need for their primary education to act as the foundation for a life free from extreme poverty.

2. 40K GlobeWe’ve established a new social business called 40K Globe and excitingly UTS, the University of Wollongong and TAFE NSW have signed up to fund students to participate.

3. Macquarie University sponsors PhD student to measure our impactWe have always been committed to measuring our impact, and it’s awesome that MQU has sponsored an Indian student for the next 3 years to do this. We will make this research available to you, so that you know your support is making a real difference.

PLUS is a cost-effective and highly scalable program. If we get it right, we can take it to hundreds of thousands of children. GLOBE, being a social business, will start generating income to supplement our fundraising efforts. We are working hard on these initiatives to ensure your support is having a deeper and further reach.

Last year we sacrificed short-term gain to assess how we approach our work so that the long-term impact can be bigger. As hard as it was, we’re glad we stuck to it and are now starting to see the effects of that work. Thank you for sticking by us.

Clary Castrission, CEO

40K PLUS launches with the enrolment of the

first 54 kids

Find out more about 40K

PLUS at 40k.com.au

40K PLUS launches for 54 KidsReducing extreme poverty one village at a time

Rachel Bennett started working for 40K in January 2012 as the new Country Manager for India. Here’s an update from her.

For the past two months I have been focusing on getting the new 40K PLUS Program off the ground. From hitchhiking on the back of quarry trucks, to drinking tea inside thatched huts, it has been quite an experience!

Two weeks ago we opened our first ever PLUS Centre, and yesterday the second in Marenahalli quarry. The enthusiasm from children, teachers and parents alike has been overwhelming. As one parent put it “you are giving our children education. We cannot ask for more than that. Thank you.”

Watching children literally running to come and learn at our centres, and watching their excitement over something as simple as a book, is an inspiring sight. As a government school teacher recently explained;

“The government provides the infrastructure and meets the basic needs but government schools need English speaking teachers, financial support for computers and people to teach technology. The children coming to Government Schools are poor… they come to school but some of them do not have food, shelter, pens or pencils.”

It is here that 40K PLUS can make a difference – from the bottom up. We can plug the gap in the current school system through supplementary education, while others work on top down advocacy to change the system as a whole. For me, this is the value of 40K PLUS.

Read more from Rachel and follow the progress of the project on the ground on our website: www.40k.com.au

A PROMISE FULFILLEDIn 2009, we made a promise to the quarry workers that we intended to fulfill: to provide them with a more permanent and safe light solution. Their huts were previously lit by improvised and dangerous kerosene lamps made out of emptied brandy bottles which could potentially burn down their thatched homes. We also understand the importance of energy in supporting our education efforts with the kids - without light, the kids cannot study at night. One of our volunteers, Jamie Chivers, built a team that found the right technology and developed a micro-finance model that allowed the workers to repay the light systems over a 6 month period. In February, those systems were installed. Our COO, Hamish Griffin, coordinated the installation: 

‘It is midnight in Bangalore but out in the quarries a few huts now have light. With the sun set and the lights set up we went for a bit of a wander through the village. We were dragged around by some kids who took us to every place that had light, and were invited in to admire. They were so excited! Electricity seems like such a small thing until it has been given to someone. Rachel described tonight as magical. With a few huts glowing it really was.’

40K’s new Country

Manager, Rachel Bennett

For some time now 40K has sought to achieve two seemingly unrelated objectives: using education to empower Indian children, and engaging young Aussies to do this.

We have now been sending volunteers to India for six years now. When Premier Barry O’Farrell visited our project in Bangalore last year, it provided the opportunity for us to launch our first social business: 40K Globe. This enables young Australians to travel to India and gain invaluable life experiences, whilst making a meaningful contribution to the widespread poverty situation in India. Globe is designed to be challenging, but ultimately rewarding.

40K Globe has kicked off with a student program, but we are also developing a shorter program for women in business that 40K’s patron, Julie Goodwin and a team of volunteers and women from Deloitte, Corrs and Freehills has been helping us with.

Our first student group recently returned home after completing the inaugural program. We have a group of 20 going over winter, with more to follow in the summer.

Globe is currently being developed by a former volunteer, Antony Tow, who has taken 2 month of leave from Deloitte Private. Antony has rigorously been working with UTS, UOW and TAFE to get the July trip all ready to go.

In essence, this is why we’ve launched Globe. Antony’s volunteering experience with 40K has had a massive impact on his life. We want to extend this opportunity to hundreds of more young Aussies.

AIMEE’S STORY

IMPACT. CHALLENGE. GROW

Aimee Minns was the first student to be sent on the GLOBE pilot program from UTS in January. Here is what she had to say about her trip.

The first thing you realise when you arrive in India is that one month is not nearly enough – especially after a few days when you learn that the people you will be working with are some of the most motivated, forward thinking and accepting people that you will ever meet. I was lucky enough to develop so many friendships which meant that I was able to learn a lot and get support whenever I needed it (which is invaluable in a country that is rich in cultural nuances and hidden gems!).

The PLUS program is made up of local curriculum that 40K is packaging into a 10 contact hours. I was sent to work with one of the partners who is providing the life skills curriculum. One highlight of the trip was the variety of work that I was able to get involved in – from working with the kids through life skills coaching watching them bubble with emerging confidence and inquisitiveness, to helping the life skills coordinators develop a more effective volunteer program so that more people around the world are able to get a glimpse of the incredible experience that I have had.

But I think the most rewarding project was the 40K Energy project. The project essentially involved the delivery and installation of a solar system to a number of huts surrounding a local quarry..

I knew that night was going to be out of the ordinary: watching the joy as families started listening to classic Bollywood tunes from their new solar powered radios only confirmed my suspicion. There is something heart wrenching and at the same time surreal about being offered dinner by a family that earns little more than $1 a day under the light from their new solar power system.

Gianna and the kids at a life skills coaching session.

The 2012 Big Night Out – ‘A Taste of India’ promises to immerse guests in the wonderful culture and colour that is India and an atmosphere charged with the energy 40K Foundation is famous for. Enjoy a night of entertainment, an incredible three-course meal and try your luck in our live and silent auctions!

This year we’re back at the Sydney Hilton on Friday June 15. Tickets are $165, and corporate packages are available.

Join our special guests• Master of Ceremonies Jason Hodges (Better Homes and Gardens)• Auctioneer Gus Worland (Triple M’s Grill Team)• The Hon. Jillian Skinner MP (Minister for Health), • Julie Goodwin (40K Ambassador and Masterchef winner)• Chris Taylor (The Chaser)• Dr Chris Brown (Bondi Vet)• Alex Perry (iconic Australian fashion designer)• Laura Dundovic ( Miss Australia 2008 and new Dating in the Dark host)

And many more!

This is our chance to show you the impact you are having on the lives of so many children and how, with your support, we can take 40K PLUS to the poorest rural villages across India.

Join us for a night you won’t forget! Tickets available online.Proudly supported by the University of Technology, Sydney

THE RETURN OF THE BIG NIGHT OUT!’2012 will be the biggest year yet....don’t miss out!

CONTACT USIf you would like more information about anything in the newsletter, or have comments or feedback, please contact us, we’d love to hear from you.

And don’t forget to: like the 40K fanpage on Facebook

THE 40K FOUNDATION AUSTRALIASuite 202, 90 Pitt Street

Sydney NSW 2000PHONE: (02) 9221 4030

EMAIL: info@40k.com.au