‘It all boils down to this question – how do we respond to evil? Do we cocoon ourselves and do nothing? Or do we act to combat the evil and throw a lifeline to these tragic children?’ asks Lady Mohini Kent Noon
A host of international leading lights are joining the fight against human trafficking, exploitation and abuse. They’ve been out in force to support LILY Foundation, the brainchild of Lady Mohini Kent Noon. The initiative aims to organise events, raise awareness and fundraise to support the work of anti-trafficking charities.
Mohini Kent is a well-known figure on the London social scene, and within the British-Indian community. Based in London, she is married to Sir Gulam Kaderbhoy Noon, head of a multi-million food empire Noon Products, specialists in Indian cuisine. A graduate from Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi, Mohini came to Britain to study graphics, photography and film-making. As a successful writer and director, she has scripted and directed documentary stage plays and films, written a column for India Today, and has been a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5 Live.
Humanitarian issues have always been close to her heart. Mohini has been involved in charitable work for 26 years, providing children from poor families with education and medical care. Prior to founding LILY, she was already actively supporting charitable projects such as Gram Niyojan Kendra of Bharatpur, Rajasthan and Prajwala of Hyderabad.
In 2006 a Delhi friend, who was at that time a Joint Secretary in the Indian Government’s Ministry of Women and Child, asked for her help to support anti-trafficking projects.
Mohini was deeply touched by the story of Lily, a girl who at the age of 4 was sold by her prostitute mother, enslaved, repeatedly raped and forced to endure abject conditions. Lily was subsequently rehabilitated: rescued, sheltered and educated. Mohini was inspired by this message of hope for the millions of ‘Lilys’ that need help, and named her non-profit after her.
‘How could I ignore the unimaginable horror of small girls as young as four and five, prisoners being raped daily up to 30 times a day? I started supporting them personally, sending £2,000 – £3,000 at a time. Friends of mine also contributed . . . Nothing, compares with the horrors of child sex-slaves in brothels.’
Now as Founder and Chairperson of LILY she has been able to focus her efforts, intellect and resources more effectively: ‘I could have carried on contributing on a small, individual level, but the scale of the problem is so huge that I felt that if a few of us joined hands then we could make a significant difference, hence we started the LILY Foundation.’
The LILY Foundation partners with various visionary individuals and organisations that work to prevent prostitution, with special emphasis on children, as well as rescue and rehabilitate victims. The Lily Foundation’s registered charity is iPartner India. Grants for aid go towards medical attention, education, skills training and employment. In 2012, LILY raised almost £300,000. Altogether, the charity has touched the lives of about 20,000 women and children. In 2013, it is supporting projects in Delhi, Rajasthan, Mysore and Goa in India and two projects in the UK.
Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford, one of LILY’s Patrons is passionate about getting the message across: ‘Trafficking is abhorrent but there are lots of things we can do to combat it: raising awareness, providing vital services as well as hope for the victims. There also needs to be a greater number of influential people who come together and exert pressure on governments’
Consistent and determined in her message, Mohini has made numerous impassioned speeches emphasising the desperate plight of child victims. She has made considerable strides in gaining support for the much-needed work of rescuing the thousands who are trafficked each year. Utilising her influence she has dedicated herself to leveraging the authority, expertise and funds required for such a mammoth task from among the social elite in both London and India.
‘Both Lily, who was sold into a brothel at the age of four, and I are a part of the same human race. I’m more fortunate than she, because my circumstances are different; I was born to a different family. As women, we cannot idly watch other women – little women in this case – being tortured. That is why I’m doing this.’
Her calls for action have been echoed by the Indian High Commissioner’s wife in London, Ms. Rita Bhagwati, among others. Speaking at a recent fundraiser she said: ‘As fellow humans we cannot and should not shy away from doing whatever we can for dispossessed, enslaved, helpless young women and children who have nobody to save or protect them’
The event was part of a series, the next of which is due to take place on September the 6th at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The annual UKs Asian Achievers’ Awards, hosted by Asian Business Publications (ABPL), has nominated LILY as its designated Charity of the year for 2013. It follows June’s highly successful launch event for which organisers Lady Noon and Bina Rani, CEO of iPartner India, created a ‘Bollywood Nights’ themed programme. This included a fundraising dinner at the exclusive Bombay Brasserie in Kensington, a highly successful auction led by Rt. Hon. Keith Vaz MP and live music by the internationally acclaimed ‘Sufi Gospel Project’. Paresh Maity, one of India’s most promising young contemporary artists, generously donated a specially commissioned painting ‘The Light’ for auction.
Legendary Indian actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Sharmila Tagore is also a LILY Ambassador. She took to the stage on Bollywood Night and spoke candidly: “I think it’s about time that all of us who are privileged come together. If we want to create an egalitarian society we have to give of ourselves and truly believe in an equal society, with betterment and progress for all.”
Performing at the same event, singer-songwriter Sonam Kalra (‘The Sufi Gospel Project’) added: ‘I work a lot with charities that work towards protecting women and the girl child. Being a woman it’s really important for me to support events and causes like LILY.‘
Support for LILY’s mission has been drawn from many prominent international political and business leaders including top ranking ‘Rich List’ UK-based Asians Gopichand Hinduja of The Hinduja Group and Anil Agarwal, founder and executive chairman of UK based Vedanta Resources.
Visionary leader, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, Maharana of Udaipur is clear about the contribution of organisations such as LILY: ‘. . . the first critical need is to raise awareness. That’s one extremely valuable contribution of events like these.’
Human trafficking generates £20 billion annually and affects an estimated 2.5 million women and children at any given moment. India accounts for one third of these shocking figures. The proceeds from the June event were dedicated to a selected group of projects working in India and the UK, which work directly to rescue and rehabilitate victims as well as prevent trafficking.
Further endorsements and support have been given by both companies and individuals who have offered event sponsorship, including: Kerry Foods & Noon products, Lord Gulam Noon Kt, MBE, Shama and Vijay Bhardwaj, Sunita and Joginder Sangar, Asha and Naresh Sethi, Baroness Margaret McDonagh, Shakiba and Asif Rangoonwala, Attiya and Intisar Hussain, Habib Bank, AG Zurich, Air India, TRS Suterwalla & Sons, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Shailesh Pandya and Sriram Aylur of The Bombay Brasserie.
Additional information
- iPartner India is the Lily Foundation’s registered charity. This charity is at the forefront of a new kind of international philanthropy, dedicated to encouraging sustainable giving towards the most pressing development issues facing modern India. Since its inception in 2006, iPartner India has raised and advised upon philanthropic investments to the value of over £5 million. Its work to date has improved the lives of more than 100,000 women and children in some of the poorest regions of India. For more information visit www.ipartnerindia.org
· Sharmila Tagore is a legendary Bollywood film actress. She has won National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances. She led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 until March 2011. In December 2005 she was chosen as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In 2013 she was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. She was married to Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, former Captain of the Indian Cricket team. Her son Saif Ali Khan is married to Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor.
The LILY Foundation
http://lilyfoundation.org.uk/
iPartner India:
Website: www.ipartnerindia.org
The above article has been written by Yasmin Chandra-Singh, Msc. Yasmin is a freelance writer, lecturer, print and media producer she is a contributor to a variety of magazines: New Global Indian Magazine (UK & Europe), HELLO! Magazine and Co-ordinating Editor for Sutra − The Thread, the research journal of Shruti foundation, India.
Photo Credit:
Susanne Hakuba Photography
