SHRIMATI PUSHPA WATI LOOMBA MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

PROFILE

Founders:

The Foundation was founded by Lord Raj Loomba CBE and his

wife Veena, Lady Loomba. It was established in the UK by a

charitable Trust Deed on 26 June 1997 and has sister charities

registered in India and the USA. The inspiration came from Raj’s

late mother, Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba, who became a

widow at the early age of 37 and succeeded in educating her

seven children single-handed.

Launches:

The Foundation was officially launched in London on 25 March 1998 in the presence of

the Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP and his wife Cherie Blair. The

Foundation also received the support of the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri

Atal Behari Vajpayee, who inaugurated the Foundation in New Delhi on 31 March 1999,

by lighting a ceremonial lamp at his residence. The ceremony was attended by Sir Rob

Young GCMC, British High Commissioner.

Shri Vajpayee launching the charity in India

The Loomba Foundation was also officially launched in Scotland in 2003, in the USA in

2005, in South Africa in 2006, in Kenya and Rwanda in 2008 and Canada in 2009.

Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba . ......Inspiration

UK Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Tony Blair and Raj Loomba

Board of Trustees: Lord Raj Loomba CBE chairs:

UK Board of Trustees, which includes Lord Dholakia PC OBE

DL, Lady Pilar Brennan, Mrs. Shamin Lalji, Dr. Barry

Humphreys, Lady Veena Loomba, Mrs. Reeta Sarkar, Ms. Roma

Loomba and Mr. Rinku Loomba.

USA Board of Trustees, which includes Mr. Jack Klinck, Dr.

Peter Rajsingh, Dr. Narendra P. Loomba and Harjiv Singh.

India Board of Trustees, which includes Mr. Lalit Mansingh,

Mr. K. M. Singh, Mr. S. S. Dhindsa MP, Mrs. Aruna Oswal, Harjiv Singh and Lady

Veena Loomba.

President of the Loomba Foundation: Cherie Blair CBE QC, wife of

the former British Prime Minister, who became the first Patron of

the Foundation in 1998, agreed to become the President and

officially inaugurated Loomba House in London on 8 September

2004. Over the years, Cherie has continued to travel to various

countries to attend the Foundation’s events in order to raise

awareness of the plight of widows and their children around the

world.

Patron-in-Chief: Sir Richard Branson agreed to become Patron-in-Chief in 2004. He has

attended the Foundation’s fundraising events in

India and South Africa. He has also supported the

Foundation by making an appeal on BBC Radio 4 in

2004 and he raised over £500,000 through three

‘Change for Children’ appeals on the Virgin Atlantic

flights worldwide.

Patrons: The Loomba Foundation is honoured that it

is supported by the UK Prime Minister Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP, Deputy Prime

Minister Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg MP, Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Baroness

Betty Boothroyd OM as Patrons, amongst many other senior politicians, dignitaries,

celebrities and business leaders.

Rt Hon David Cameron MP

Prime Minister

Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP

Deputy prime Minister Rt Hon Countess

Mountbatten of Burma

Rt Hon Baroness

Boothroyd OM

Lord Raj Loomba CBE

Cherie Blair CBE QC

Sir Richard Branson at the launch of the Loomba Foundation HIV orphans project in South Africa

Honourees: The Loomba Foundation has honoured the First Lady of USA, Mrs. Laura

Bush, President of Rwanda, Mr. Paul Kagame, World renowned Beetle John Lennon’s

widow, Yoko Ono, UN Assistant General Secretary, Ms. Rachel Mayanja and Mrs. Indra

Nooyi’ husband, Mr. Raj Nooyi at the International Widows Day events in New York,

USA.

Objectives and Activities:

The Foundation is constituted by Trust Deed and its objectives and aims are to promote

the welfare and education of the children of poor widows, orphaned children, and

children who have lost their mothers as a result of natural disaster and for other

auxiliary purposes as the Trustees may determine. In accordance with its current grant-

making policy, the Foundation currently makes grants to its sister charity in India, the

Shrimati Pushpa Wati Loomba Foundation, to fulfil its aforesaid aims and the sister

charity distributes funds which support widows and their children in India.

Our Work: Education and Empowerment is at the heart of our work

Dr. N.P. Loomba. Lady Veena Loomba, Lord Loomba, First Lady Laura Bush, Cherie Blair CBE QC and Roma Loomba

Educational Programmes: The Foundation Loomba Foundation beneficiaries –

who are selected without regard to race, religion or gender – receive a

scholarship for a complete

education, with guaranteed

funds for a period of five years.

Today many Loomba

Foundation scholars have

completed their education and

have moved on to skilled

employment or further

education. To date, The

Foundation has educated over

9,000 children of poor widows

and supported over 38,000 family members in their households in India. More

than 2,000 children are currently being educated by the Foundation in 15 states

in India. All donations received for the education of these children are applied

wholly to the cost of their education.

Empowerment Projects:

In 2012, the Loomba Foundation launched a new project to empower 10,000

impoverished widows in India,

each of them will receive a

sewing machine and training to

make garments. They can earn

money, be independent, educate

their children, support their

family members and lead a life of

dignity.

The impact of this project would

be that not only 10,000 widows

will be economically empowered,

but also they will educate about

30,000 children assuming that they have three children on average and they will

also support 60,000 of their family members assuming there are around six

family members in each household. Therefore, 100,000 people stand to benefit

from this project.

As part of our global work, the Loomba Foundation has supported a

community-based project for HIV orphans in South Africa in partnership with

Virgin Unite, a charity of Sir Richard Branson. We have empowered young

widows in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Syria, Kenya and Uganda in association

with HRH Prince’s charity, Youth Business International. We have also set up an

agricultural project to empower 300 genocide widows in Rwanda in partnership

with OXFAM GB.

Our Flagship, International Widows Day: The

Loomba Foundation launched International Widows

Day, which takes place each year on 23 June to

highlight the plight of widows and their children all

over

the world and to provide a focus for effective action.

The date of 23 June was chosen because it was on

this day that Raj’s mother, Shrimati Pushpa Wati

Loomba, the inspiration for the Foundation, became

a widow.

This flagship of the Foundation was announced at

the House of Lords in the UK on 26 May 2005, which

was followed by launches in India on 7 September 2005

and the USA on 21 October 2005, respectively. The US launch was attended by Kofi

Annan.

Left, Lord Dholakia, Cherie Blair and Lord Loomba, International Widows Day Launch in London, 2005

The Loomba Foundation is proud that through its tireless campaign over the next five

years that followed, the United Nations declared 23rd June as International Widows

Day at the 65th General Assembly in

2010. The first UN recognised

International Widows day was

marked on 23rd June 2011 by

the United Nations at its Head

Quarters in New York and chaired

by Madame Ban Soon, wife of the

UN General Secretary, His Excellency Ban Ki Moon. The second UN recognised

International Widows Day was marked on 23rd June 2012 at No. 10 Downing Street in

London by the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg MP and his wife Ms. Durantez.

Accreditation by the United Nations:

The Loomba Foundation was

approved for association with the

Department of Public

Information (DPI) of the United

Nations on 30th June 2008.

Through the United Nations

accreditation, the Loomba

Foundation is committed to raising

public awareness about the

purpose, and activities of the United

Nations and issues of global concern, especially on the plight of widows and their

children who are suffering through poverty, illiteracy, diseases such as HIV/AIDS

and Malaria, conflict and violence and social injustice.

The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations recommended the

Loomba Foundation for Special Consultative Status in 2011 and granted it in

2012. “Special Consultative Status” is conferred upon those non-governmental

organizations that demonstrate a special competence in a select field of concern.

This designation will allow the Foundation to send official representatives to

participate in events and conferences at the

United Nations.

Research and Publications

Lord Loomba, Cherie Blair and Lady Veena Loomba with UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, at the launch of the UN of Loomba

Foundation and International Widows Day, 23 June 2005

Lord Loomba launching the Loomba Foundation and International Widows Day at the UN in 2005

Invisible, Forgotten Sufferers: The Plight of Widows Around the World’ – In 2010,

the Loomba Foundation published a Comprehensive Research Study Book, which was

researched by Risto Harma and written by Vijay Dutt. The research revealed that there

are 245 million widows and 500 million children around the world, who suffer injustice

in silence.

The first edition was presented to the UN Secretary General, H.E. Ban Ki Moon by the

President of the Foundation, Cherie Blair, and Founder and Chairman, Lord Loomba

CBE. The book was subsequently presented to the Honourable President of India and

the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

‘A Hidden Calamity: The Plight of Widows’ – The Loomba Foundation has also

published a book of oil and acrylic paintings highlighting the plight of widows around

the world by the Trustee and Artist Reeta Sarkar. The book includes 17 oil and acrylic

paintings, which are based on three key themes of widows in South Asia, Africa and

Conflict countries such as Afghanistan and Sudan.

The paintings were exhibited at the UN Headquarters by YOKO ONO from 23rd June to

15 July 2011 and at Downing Street in London in 2012 by the Deputy Prime Minister Rt.

Hon. Nick Clegg to observe, UN recognised International Widows Day.

Hilary Clinton receiving the book Ban Ki Moon receiving the book

Cherie Blair launching the first International Widows Day in India, 2

From left, Reeta Sarkar, Lord Loomba, First Lady of Gabon, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, Yoko Ono and Cherie Blair at the 2011 widows paintings launch at the UN in New York