After meeting Ilango in Delhi during an internship, I was inspired by his story. I have decided to raise money for the charity that raised him. The most selfless, genuine and intelligent man I have ever been blessed to meet. Being an orphan in a rural village in South India, one would imagine he had little or no chance of escaping a life of poverty and hardship. Until the founder of Reaching the Unreached, James Kimpton, came to know about his circumstances.

This charity provides a holistic approach in nourishing and providing for the children in their care for life. Children have a fulfilling and happy childhood with plenty of love and family around them with a foster mother and brothers and sisters, despite having no biological family with them.

The founder of Reaching the Unreached is no normal human being.  Ilango told me that James Kimpton dedicated his whole life to orphaned children and impoverished families in Ilango's village in Tamil Nadu and those from miles around. James came first to Sri Lanka and then to India at the young age of 27 and rarely returned home to the UK, despite missing home very much. He lived a simple life in a very small dwelling, wearing only basic Indian dress with a basic diet. His sacrifice was indeed great but reaped great rewards. He has helped thousands of children like Ilango. When James sadly passed away last year aged 92, over 100,000 people from all over Tamil Nadu came to pay their respects to the man that has done so much for the many villages his great work reached.

A quote of his was, "Much of what we do is like planting trees, under whose shade we may never sit but plant we must". Thank you

Beth Dicken