Mauritania and the Karuna Trust at our June 2012 Monthly Meeting

John Reekie began the meeting with a tribute to Gillian Horne. Members were invited to give their names in support of the address John was planning give at Gillian's funeral.

Catherine Dolan then spoke in support of an urgent action in Mauritania. There was some discussion about the complex  problems which can arise when trying to challenge cultural habits in countries where there are very different structures from ours in the West.

Wendy Hatto encouraged members with internet access to use email instead of letter writing to support urgent or priority  actions. 

We then heard a very interesting presentation by Tom Pope on behalf of the Karuna Trust which works in India helping extremely poor Dalek (untouchable) communities. The Trust is active in fifteen states and supports not only 'low caste' communities, but also other marginalised groups such as refugees, tribal populations and street children. Much of their work involves helping people set up and run self-help projects, thereby challenging discrimination and breaking down caste and religious barriers.

For more information on the Karuna Trust go to: www.karuna.org