Previously: Friends of the Poor in South India
We foster the talents and skills of women and girls in Tamil Nadu, India, so they can lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
Chris Brown, Phil Bown and Bp Laurie Green already knew India very well and wanted to do something to help the very poor families that they’d met and got to know. They then made friends with a very talented young team of Indians who were really making a difference but were very limited by lack of funds – sometimes even dipping into their own pockets to keep things running.
Chris, Phil and Laurie therefore decided to raise funds here in the UK because they were very impressed by the integrity and ability of the Indian team. After just few years they reported: “We’ve achieved more than we ever imagined possible, running many successful projects, helping during emergencies and also remaining quite different from most charities.” The charity was different because every penny raised went to the poor because they employed no one here and any personal costs were met by themselves – and so it has continued to this day.
Registering as a charity in the UK in 2008, until 2020 we were known as Friends of the Poor in South India. Our recent name change to Building Better Futures International reflects our approach as enablers of self-help, providing the missing building blocks for families and communities to build their own futures.
Our projects provide new skills, education, and the start-up tools required for women and children to create sustainable employment and learning. This creates security and relief from poverty and exploitation. With greater autonomy and independence families are able to begin investing in their own futures – choices we take for granted.
We work exclusively through trusted, long-term local partners in Tamil Nadu, visiting projects yearly to check on quality and progress and discuss emerging community needs. Every pound we raise goes directly on the Indian projects: all costs incurred the UK are met by Trustees and volunteers.
We are immensely proud and grateful for the support of our donors. We strive to be transparent about our spend, to create self-sustaining projects, and to make real reductions in the burden of poverty.