ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2026
Photo taken at our AGM, 5 September 2026
Left to right: Sanjiv Shah (UK Chair and Trustee), Matthew Kurian (Co-Founder), Lynne Flaxman (UK Office Co-ordinator),
Nitin Changela (UK Trustee), John Turton (UK Trustee), Douglas Smith (UK Trustee)
We were delighted to welcome supporters, friends and family to our Annual General Meeting and fundraising evening held on 5 September 2026 at The Blue Room in Harrow.
The afternoon began with our AGM, which provided an opportunity to reflect on the work of El Shaddai over the past year, to hear from Matthew about some of the challenges that have been faced and to look ahead to projects and opportunities that are planned over the coming months and years ahead.
In the evening, we were joined by our guests for a wonderful evening of food, music, fundraising and friendship. Everyone enjoyed a delicious Indian buffet dinner before hearing from three speakers and enjoying the music and entertainment from KayKay & Co.
Mina Changela Douglas Smith Stephen Geary
We were privileged to hear from Mina Changela, who shared her incredible experience of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Her husband Nitin, one our UK Trustees, also embarked on this adventure with Mina. Stephen Geary spoke about his volunteering experiences and the difference that volunteering can make and Dougie Smith gave us an update on the progress of the football and sports pitch renovations, which is an exciting project that will provide the children with improved facilities to enjoy football and sports activities. Dougie has been fundraising by holding quiz nights to help reach this goal (pardon the pun!)
We also heard from Matthew, our Co-Founder, who shared an update on the work of El Shaddai in Goa. He showed a short video following the stories of some of the children we support, giving everyone an opportunity to see how the work of El Shaddai changes lives. Matthew also brought us up to date with some of the latest developments within the charity as well as some of the challenges that have been faced over the past year.
Our evening was hosted by Sanjiv Shah, who kept everything running smoothly and helped create an enjoyable atmosphere throughout the evening.
We were also treated to fantastic live music from KayKay & Co, who entertained us with a wonderful mixture of songs ranging from Bollywood favourites to ABBA classics. There was plenty of dancing and laughter, making it a truly memorable evening.
Left photo: John Turton (UK Trustee), Anthea Jones (Volunteer), Dougie Smith (UK Trustee)
Middle photo: Matthew Kurian, Kamini Shah (Volunteer), Sanjiv Shah, Stephen Geary (Volunteer), Lynne Flaxman, Nitin Changela, Mina Changela (Fundraiser), John Turton, Cheryl Smith, Dougie Smith
Right photo: Lucy Weir, Mike Buckley (Volunteer)
Fundraising was at the heart of the evening, with special raffle and auction prizes including a Declan Rice England football shirt and a pair of Liverpool FC tickets helping to put some great donations in the pot.
Mike Buckley (pictured above) has put an incredible amount of time into designing and developing a game “Diversion” which he is starting to market, with all proceeds going to El Shaddai. More on this will follow in due course.
We are incredibly grateful to all our friends and family who generously donated raffle prizes and other items to help make the evening such a success. Every donation, no matter how large or small, helps us to continue supporting the children and families that El Shaddai cares for and reaches out to in Goa.
Most importantly, the evening gave us the opportunity to come together to celebrate the work that has been achieved and look forward to what lies ahead.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who attended the AGM and evening and to all those who donated, performed, spoke and helped behind the scenes. Your generosity and continued support mean so much to everyone involved with El Shaddai.
Together, we can continue to make a real difference to the lives of children in Goa.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2025
Photo taken at our AGM, 4 October 2025
Left to right: John Turton (UK Trustee), Douglas Smith (UK Trustee), Lynne Flaxman (UK Office Co-ordinator), Matthew Kurian (Co-Founder),
Anita Edgar-Cole (Co-Founder), Sanjiv Shah (UK Chair and Trustee), Nitin Changela (UK Trustee)
This year, we held our AGM on Saturday 4 October 2025 and it was hosted at the Harrow District Masonic Centre, which is a lovely venue.
It was a privilege to welcome both of our co-founders, Matthew Kurian and Anita Edgar-Cole, and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to them share their experiences.
Matthew reflected on the journey of El Shaddai, recounting the early days when he and Anita first met and spoke about how the initial ideas and inspiration for El Shaddai took place. He outlined the various difficulties and challenges they faced along the way but through prayer, perseverance and commitment, they were able to overcome these obstacles which has led to El Shaddai becoming the success it is today.
Anita felt that all the positive and inspirational work being undertaken by El Shaddai is going from strength to strength and is progressing in the right direction. Anita emphasised that as long as everyone continues to work together, the charity’s mission will continue to grow and succeed. She acknowledged the hard work that is put in by all involved and is very proud of everyone.
In addition to the regular AGM proceedings, we were delighted to hear from Rucha Mistry. Rucha came as a child to El Shaddai when she was orphaned and grew up in one of the homes. After finishing her education, she met her husband, got married and moved to London, where they’ve since had a family and have built a life here. Rucha shared her inspiring journey from her childhood with El Shaddai to her current role, recently qualifying as a London bus driver, driving a red double-decker bus in busy North London.
Following the main meeting, we organised a more intimate, smaller event this year, which provided a great opportunity to welcome some of our longstanding supporters, child sponsors and donors. We enjoyed a relaxed, buffet-style dinner which gave everyone present a chance to mingle and engage in conversation and to share their experiences.
Anita had just celebrated her 80th birthday the week before the AGM and we took the opportunity to continue the celebrations during the evening. Anita was presented with thoughtful gifts and a delicious cake which, after singing Happy Birthday to Anita, was enjoyed by all those who attended, making the celebration a memorable one for everyone.
Neil Patel, a dedicated child sponsor, took the opportunity to share his heartfelt experiences with everyone. He spoke passionately about his involvement in the sponsorship programme and encouraged others to consider becoming sponsors themselves.
Neil reflected on the relationship he had built over the years with Suhani, whom he began sponsoring when she was a young girl. He described witnessing her development, celebrating her achievements and accomplishments, and expressed the deep sense of love and pride he felt as she grew up. Neil’s story offered a personal insight into the positive impact that sponsorship can have, not only on the lives of the children, but also on the sponsors themselves.
We also heard from Douglas Smith and Nitin Changela, two of our UK Trustees. Douglas and Nitin both spoke about how they had become involved with El Shaddai and how they have helped raise awareness and funds for the children. Nitin, along with his wife Mina, regularly organise treks, walking miles to raise money and this year completed treks in Northumberland and the Lake District. Douglas has held various fundraising quiz nights, which are always good fun, and this year money raised has been given to help fund the refurbishment of the homes.
From Left to Right:
Sanjiv Shah, John Cole, Kamini Shah, Anthea Jones, Mike Buckley, Dave Thornton, Lynne Flaxman, Mina Changela, Anita Edgar-Cole,
Tahan Kurian, Matthew Kurian, John Turton, Douglas Smith, Nitin Changela
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2024
Photo taken at our AGM, 21 September 2024
Left to right: Dougie Smith (UK Trustee), Ravi Naik (Indian Trustee), Sobha Viswanathan (Indian Trustee), Matthew Kurian (Co-Founder), Julia Kurian (Managing Director), Anita Edgar-Cole (Co-Founder), Sanjiv Shah (Chair and Trustee), John Turton (UK Trustee), Lynne Flaxman (UK Office Co-ordinator and Secretary), Thomas Jacob (Indian Trustee) and Nitin Changela (UK Trustee)
Our AGM was held on Saturday 21 September 2024 at the Blue Room in Harrow and was very well attended so we’d like to say a BIG thank you to all those that came along.
At our meeting, led by our Chair, Sanjiv Shah, we had the privilege of hearing from our inspirational co-founders, Anita and Matthew. Rena, from Germany, who was instrumental in the setting up of Project Rena, shared her story, and we also heard from Mia, Patrick, and Innocence from Sweden. We were honoured to hear from Ravi Naik, known as Ravi number 1, as he shared his truly life changing story from being on the streets in Adrahalli, to being rescued and growing up in the care of El Shaddai, going on to become a successful business man and now Trustee of El Shaddai India. His story left a lasting impact on us all. Sobha, one of our dedicated Trustees from India, spoke of her personal journey, and John Turton, affectionately known as Cricket John, added a memorable touch to the session.
Matthew shared the following video with us, highlighting the latest stories, news and updates from India.
El Shaddai Charitable Trust Ltd
1st Floor, The Pavilion
56 Rosslyn Crescent
Harrow Middlesex HA1 2SZ
Email: ukoffice@childrescue.net
Phone: +44 7538 897011
El Shaddai Charitable Trust is a not-for-profit charity registered on July 28, 1999 in England with the charity number 1076768.
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