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Stars help raise thousands for life-changing school in India

Saturday night (10th October) saw a ray of stars come together to support the work of Food For Life Vrindavan, and ultimately help change the lives of Vrindavan's destitute children.

The charity focuses on educational development and empowerment of women and children in areas of Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India. Their projects have expanded to building schools, food distribution, health care, building water wells in villages, and improving the environment and social welfare.

Bollywood heart-throb Vivek Oberoi flew in from India especially for the event, taking a break from filming his next movie. Due to his involvement with a specialist initiative called Project Devi (Development and Empowerment of Vrindavan girls' Initiative,) Vivek has been touched by the charitable work of Food For Life Vrindavan and is hopeful about the prospects of their new school. Alongside him was Eastenders star Nitin Ganatra, musician Nirag Chag, singer Navin Kundra and comedian Neal De'Souza.

The aim of the event was to raise much needed funds to help build the charity's largest educational complex in the area which includes a nursery, primary and secondary school and an orphanage. The event held in Kadwa Patidar Hall, Kenton, London, entailed top notch entertainment and moving speeches from Vivek as well as the founder of the charity, Rupa Raghunath, talking about the project and the people they are hoping to help.

On the night, organisers managed to raise around £200K including pledges. Well-wisher Mr Jesús Santos Hernández of the Dharma Foundation in Spain pledged the biggest donation of £50k. Mr CB Patel from The Karma Yoga Foundation and the Vrindavan Education & Relief (VER) Trust also made large donations, pledging a generous £25k each.

Talking about the success of the event, Vivek said: "This was a memorable event with some great acts. I truly believe in the work that Food For Life Vrindavan carry out and am passionate about doing as much as I can to make a difference in the lives of those children and women who need it the most."

Encompassing the spirit of the event, the founder of Food For Life Vridavan, Rupa Raghunath added: "Thank you to all those people who came to the event and donated generously. It was a fantastic and moving evening, and we were honoured to have somebody like Vivek Oberoi come and support us all the way from India. The money will make a big difference to Vrindavan's destitute children. And thank you to all those involved in making this event a success."