Events
Kalam Festival
2023
In October 2023, MMF’s Managing Trustee, Ritu Chhabria, was amongst esteemed writers, scholars, and artists from India and the UK at the Kalam Festival in London. Organised by the prominent Prabha Khaitan Foundation from Rajasthan, the Festival’s theme focused on India’s civilisation, culture, art, literature, and language.
Room to Read
2023
Our initiative, Room to Read's Literacy Programme, addresses early education challenges through teacher training, quality reading materials, and library spaces. Collaborating with local authorities, the programme implements a 3 to 4-year initiative in each school, targeting immediate improvements and systemic changes.
Path to Success
2023
In 2022 and 2023, MMF UK has supported Path to Success. Established in 2005, Path to Success is the UK’s leading disability charity supporting British female Paralympians to compete in the Paralympic Games and other competitions, providing funding, support for their training and other competition costs. The funding supports Babington player Rachel Choong, wheelchair tennis player Lucy Shuker and wheelchair basketball player Lucy Robinson, among others.
Brazil Football Foundation
2023
A UK-registered charity, the Brazil Football Foundation supports initiatives and programmes committed to the effective transformation of the quality of life of the people and communities in the country.
In 2023, funding from MMF UK went to the Protea Institute, which provides quality breast cancer treatment for low-income women.
Better Lives Foundation
2023
The Better Lives Foundation works to improve the lives of people in Sierra Leone, supporting projects in health, education and social care, helping to alleviate poverty, improve education, and provide healthcare.
MMF UK’s donation went to continue the good work of the Better Lives Foundation’s Yonibana Sai Hospital, which has treated over 90,000 patients free of charge. It has treated 46,184 chronic/acute ailments, carried out 12,618 gynaecology and paediatric consultations, 12,560 tests for malaria, 394 hernia procedures, and 285 cataract operations.
British-Indian Orthopaedic Society
2023
In 2023, our Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, was invited to speak at the British-Indian Orthopaedic Society’s annual conference.
Comprising approximately 550 orthopaedic surgeons of Indian descent, the Society conducts vibrant annual conferences targeting trainees and practising orthopaedic surgeons to aid in revalidation. The Society was founded over 20 years ago to provide educational and research support to orthopaedic surgeons of Indian origin (UK or India-born) currently in training or practising in the UK as well as those who have trained in the UK but are now settled in India or other countries.
MMF also supports the exchange of consultants between India and the UK, with short fellowships for orthopaedic consultants from both countries visiting India and the UK.
Hemraj Goyal Foundation
2023
In 2023, MMF UK supported the Hemraj Goyal Foundation’s Inner Spark programme, providing free personal development workshops for schools serving disadvantaged communities across the UK. In one day, the programme runs a one-hour workshop for each year group in a secondary school, reaching between 800-1200 students in total, depending on the size of the school. This initiative equips them with skills and strategies to cope with mental health issues. By March 2023, an additional £10k donation will enable Inner Spark to deliver ten performances of UpFront Theatre’s interactive mental health production, reaching over 2,500 students. Additionally, whole-school workshops run by Mind of the Student in four secondary schools will reach nearly 4,000 students. With a target of reaching one million students by 2028, Inner Spark has already impacted over 70,000 students as of December 2023.
Royal commonwealth day service of celebration
A Fundraiser for St James’s Church, Piccadilly
2023
Our Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, was invited to the fundraising dinner for St James’s Church, Piccadilly, on April 18th, 2023 at Spencer House, hosted by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. It was organised by Brian Willetts, Director of Development for the £20 million restoration of the church, designed by the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren. The event was a fundraiser for The Wren Project, a charity that undertakes restoration and brings transformation to the St James’s community.
The Wren Project also offers hospitality and accompaniment to people experiencing homelessness, living on low incomes, going through the gruelling asylum system or suffering from fragile mental health. Every year, St James’s Church, Piccadilly serves over 6,500 hot meals to those experiencing homelessness, provides 7,000 hours of free counselling from the Caravan in their courtyard and supports asylum seekers and refugees through their International Group.
The trustees of MMF UK pledged a donation to support the initiative at the dinner.
The King’s Coronation Reception, London
2023
RBC invited our Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, to a Prince’s Trust reception hosted by Nicholas James Alexander, the 7th Earl of Caledon, at Christie’s, London, to celebrate the King’s Coronation on May 4th, 2023.
With its numerous programmes, the Prince’s Trust helps 16 to 30 years from poorer communities gain training and employment also support business start-ups. It helps individuals from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity by supporting them to build the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn. To date the Trust has helped over a million young people.
MMF UK has worked with the Prince’s Trust International for a three-month consultancy on our vocational skills and opportunities programmes in Gujarat in December 2021.
Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award 2023
2023
The Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award honours and celebrates the dedication of the nursing community. The award considers applications from nurses around the world, of whom ten finalists contend for the grand prize of $250,000.
This year the event was held on International Nurses Day at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster, London. Our Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, was invited for the award ceremony, where she presented a few awards.
The British Asian Trust’s Social Impact Roundtable, London
2023
The India Global Forum is a forum for international business and global leaders with an interest in the Indian market. As the India Global Forum’s social impact partner, the British Asian Trust (BAT) and BT Group held a Social Impact Roundtable on June 28th, 2023, at Taj The Chambers, London, during the 5th annual ‘UK-India Week’.
The BAT hosts the IGF’s roundtable initiatives: a series of exclusive, invitation-only, closed-door discussions, which convene senior leadership from various sectors around the world. The event aimed to find solutions to enable girls in India complete secondary education and harness potential for sustainable skill-building, thereby improving lives.
This India Global Forum event provided a platform for Indian companies to share the incredible work across their organisations to address the challenges around the school to work transition and get more young people, particularly young women, into the workforce.
An Awards Gala at the Houses of Parliament, London
2023
The Royal College Of Gynaecologists And Obstetricians and the Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India, invited our Co-Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, as Guest of Honour to a dinner hosted by Dr Anu Chawla, Specialist in Reproductive Medicine, at the Houses of Parliament on June 29th, 2023.
The event brought together gynaecologists from India and the United Kingdom. The chief guests for the evening were Baroness Tessa Blackstone, Politician and university leader, Lord David Evans, Chairman, Senate Publishing, and Barrister Jo Sidhu KC, who presented the awards.
A Reception by the British Heart Foundation, London
2023
The British Heart Foundation hosted a reception in the garden of medicinal plants at the Royal College of Physicians, London, on June 14th, 2023.
The evening was a celebration of the pioneering cardiovascular research enabled by friends and donors. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with research leaders who are paving the way for future discoveries.
Support to Caudwell Children at the Butterfly Ball London 2023
2023
This year’s Butterfly Ball, London, a fundraising event for differently-abled children by Caudwell Children, was held at The O2 Arena in London, on May 23rd, 2023. It celebrated diversity of all forms and successfully painted a picture of the world the charity is shaping, in which everyone’s differences are seen as their strengths, instead of their weaknesses.
A deeply personal and impassioned speech from CEO, Trudi Beswick, opened the event and explained the importance of this year’s events theme of ‘We Are All Different, Be You’, setting the tone for an evening of incredible togetherness and philanthropy.
Every penny raised at the ball goes directly towards changing the lives of children and young people, giving them the opportunity for a better and brighter future, enabling them to be who they want to be.
With fine art, jewellery and luxury holidays on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island and the super-yacht Titania up for grabs in the auction, it was the pledge lots that really stole the show during the fundraising with £750,000 being donated to directly fund the charity’s autism and wheelchair services, thanks to the passionate pleas of Jo-Ann D’Costa Emmanuel and the charity’s founder and biggest supporter, Mr John Caudwell.
The soulful Heather Small, multi award-winning Ricky Wilson and music icon Anne-Marie entertained guests at the breath-taking indigo at The O2. DJ legend Pete Tong also made an appearance, bringing Ibiza vibes to London with his incredible set. Charity beneficiaries, Maxwell and Chara shared their own stories of feeling different but being accepted, understood and supported by Caudwell Children.
We pledged our donation at the Ball in continuation of our support to Caudwell Children.
Support to a Fundraiser for Differently-abled Athletes
2022
We purchased a table at ‘Path to Success,’ a fundraiser in support of differently-abled athletes attending the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham, England, from July 28th to August 8th, 2022.
A Concert with a Difference
2022
We funded the production of Harmony of the Worlds, a creative concert that explored soundscapes across the globe, held at St Mary’s Church in Luton, Bedfordshire. It was initiated by music composer-producer Satya Hinduja and conductor-composer David Murphy, and a collaborative effort with the RPO, Synergy Vocals, d&b Audio, Subpac, Southby Productions, Luton Council, Luton Music Service, Total Wellbeing Luton, the NHS, the Hinduja Foundation and the University of Bedfordshire.
October 5th, 2021 – A dinner with Your Royal Highness, Princess Anne hosted by Lord & Lady Levy in London
2021
It was a real honour for Ritu Prakash Chhabria, Founder & Managing Trustee of Mukul Madhav Foundation, to meet Your Royal Highness, Princess Anne at the recent dinner hosted in London by Lord and Lady Levy on October 5th, 2021.
It was a most enjoyable evening, in particular to hear about the excellent work of Sense and its international work towards social causes with Sense International. After several interactions, we have collaborated for a three-month pilot project in Assam, which began this January.
Backed by Finolex Industries Ltd, we are supporting Sense International for Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Educational Services for Children and Young Adults with Deaf blindness and Multiple Disabilities in Shishu Sarothi, Guwahati, Assam.
On January 25th, 2023, we signed an agreement for this pilot project in the presence of the Executive Director, Akhil Paul; Deputy Director, Uttam Kumar and Deputy Director – Development, Biju Mathew along with Team MMF.
The objective of this initiative is support 66 beneficiaries for 3 months with
- Provision of need-based early intervention services for deaf blindness and Multiple Disabilities (MD).
- Educational/ pre-vocational training through centre-based, home-based or community rehabilitation based services along with medical, nutrition, therapy and rehabilitation support services.
- Provision of pre-vocational, vocational training and counselling services.
- Building skills of the Dalit Bahujan Resource Centre (DBRC) professionals to work with children who suffer from deaf blindness and MD to ensure the sustainability of this project.
- Developing their network with deaf blind adults, parents of other deaf blind children and special educators.
Sense International has established a significant and ongoing relationship with HRH The Princess Royal, who has visited their projects overseas and attended numerous events with their Country Directors and supporters.
In response to an invite from HRH The Princess Royal, Shalom Paul, a member of Team MMF, attended a webinar on March 28th, 2022, to celebrate Sense International’s global impact.
HRH The Princess Royal spoke with their Country Directors about the impact of the pandemic on their work during the pandemic. Sense International had adapted their work to provide vital supplies, information and mental health support to children and young people with deaf blindness and their families.
Deaf blindness is a condition where a person has both, visual and hearing difficulties to varying degrees, making simple daily activities a challenge. It was extremely difficult for them to communicate during the pandemic due to the no-touch requirement to stop from spreading disease.
The conversation between Her Royal Highness and the Country Directors about Sense International’s challenges and successes during the global pandemic was so inspirational and eye-opening even for us who are in constant communication with our teams in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nepal, Tanzania, Peru, Romania and Uganda. The Country Directors have done such extraordinary work for children and young people with deaf blindness during those two years that we were all moved by their dedication and boldness.
May 31st, 2022 – Ritu Prakash Chhabria invited by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to a reception at Sotheby’s, London
2022
Our Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, is an ardent art lover. So it was her pleasure to attend an art event at Sotheby’s London in response to an invite from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. The reception was hosted by the magazine, Tatler, to celebrate the launch of their July issue, which extensively features the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen, the patron of QCT.
The evening took place at the Sotheby’s British Platinum Jubilee exhibition with artworks loaned from private collections specially for the Platinum Jubilee. This included a selection of fifty tiaras worn by Her Majesty The Queen.
Tatler is closely associated with the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT), a charity that supports young social entrepreneurs, across the Commonwealth, who have founded organisations to address their community issues. QCT invited these young leaders as part of the event, offering us an opportunity to interact with them and hear more about the world of young changemakers, transforming communities across the Commonwealth.
June 23rd, 2022 – Ritu Prakash Chhabria speaks at the House of Lords during the JMS gala fundraising dinner
2022
Our Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, was invited to speak at the House of Lords, during the JMS gala fundraising dinner. She received the Shiromani Award on this global platform and spoke about our work towards social causes at Mukul Madhav Foundation. It was a wonderful occasion to showcase our work to the Members of the British Parliament and other distinguished members of Indian Diaspora and British society.
Mrs Chhabria also received the opportunity to deliver the keynote address at the NRI World Summit on June 24th, 2022, where she shared her thoughts on the confluence of Indian and British culture, values and people along with other distinguished achievers.
Video link
https://youtu.be/4qSTVd7nEoo
October 6th, 2022 – Ritu Prakash Chhabria shares her journey as a social changemaker in an interview with Mayfair Times
2022
Our Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, was interviewed by writer Selma Day for the Mayfair Times, UK. While she also shared her personal journey and influences, she primarily spoke about her journey with Mukul Madhav Foundation, her passion project.
“When I moved to Pune, I saw a lot of poverty,” said Mrs Chhabria. “We know poverty is around us, but it’s in your face. You see people out on the road begging and there’s a lot that makes you realise that you are different, because you have it all. So I thought, why not start sharing?”
Mrs Chhabria’s altruistic attitude inspired her to begin the charity in Pune 25 years ago, and there has been no looking back since. At MMF, we work towards an entire spectrum of social causes, focussing primarily on education, healthcare, rural development, promoting gender equality and empowering women.
We have initiated several milestone projects, from establishing Pune’s first ever Paediatric Intensive Care Unit to inaugurating the Mukul Madhav Vidyalaya, a rural school for quality education in Ratnagiri, impacting tens of thousands of lives.
Of her amazing journey with MMF, Mrs Chhabria says, “There’s a lot of satisfaction at the end of the day and I’ve learnt so much through individuals and communities, both in India and over here – and I think I have been instrumental in connecting the UK and India.”
Her most moving quote in the article, however, is: “I am involved in my work because I care, I can and I want to.” That’s Ritu Prakash Chhabria for you, our passionate founder who wants to better the quality of people’s lives.
You can read the entire article here:
https://mayfairtimes.co.uk/2022/10/empowering-others-2/
October 21st, 2022 – A dinner at Windsor Castle hosted by the Prince’s Trust International, London
2022
Our Founder & Managing Trustee, Ritu Prakash Chhabria, was invited to a dinner at Windsor Castle hosted by Vikram Anand and Mark Fell from the Royal Bank of Canada. Mark Fell is also the Chairman of the Prince’s Trust International in Canada, one of the Prince of Wales charities. Prince Charles, the patron of the Prince’s Trust International, was also present at the dinner and he interacted with Mrs Chhabria on several topics of interest to each other.
