HELP KIDS TO LEARN AND BREAK DOWN DISTANCE

Please would you spare a few minutes to read this message; we would appreciate you getting involved in any way

The Project

In 2013 RBS donated computer equipment to the Centre for Developing Communities, a charity set up in the wake of the Asian Tsunami in 2004. CFDC runs a pre-school for children living within one of the slums of Sri Lanka, an area of extreme poverty where children are surrounded by crime and social issues every day with very little support.

The pre-school accommodates 42 and offers these children the best start before mainstream education, teaching them basic life skills such as cleaning their faces and tying shoe laces, things which UK children learn at home. Demand for places is way in excess of the funds currently available to support it. Just the donation of computers by RBS has enabled the school to open to older age children for 2 afternoons a week, and 150 teenagers have been enrolled to start after Easter.

RBS is also coordinating an education project between schools in the UK and Sri Lanka. The project, Skype Pals, aims to have "children educated by children" with the objectives being to give disadvantaged children the tools and support to build their confidence, experience and attitude to life, so that over time their prospects for employment are improved enough to take them away from the social and economic problems of their home and local environment.

Children from two UK schools, a independent school, Hurstpierpoint in Sussex and an inner city school, Langdon Park located in Poplar, Tower Hamlets, an area in which over 50% of children live below the poverty line. 84% of Langdon Park's pupils receive free school meals - the second highest in the country will be joining forces and skyping with the children in Sri Lanka, educating them in their own way, sharing their experiences and aspirations, sharing differences and ideas for the future.

We are currently coordinating a trip to Sri Lanka in July for a week of volunteering to help improve the school facilities and for the children to meet each other. Children and teachers from both UK schools and RBS representation will be travelling. A fundraising target of £15,000 has to be achieved to cover the travel costs of the Langdon Park pupils and the costs of improving the school in Sri Lanka (all other participants will be paying for themselves).

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO RAISE A TOTAL OF £15K

The are several ways you can get involved with the project fundraising:

Thursday 27th March from 08:45 - Peter Bisset and David Brandwood will be holding a static 100K cycle in the reception of 280 Bishopsgate. Please visit them and encourage your colleagues to join you and show your support by dropping as much cash as you can in to their buckets or alternatively you can donate on our Just Giving website.

26th and 27th April A group of brave or slightly insane individuals, who laugh in the face of pain, will be participating in the world renowned obstacle course that is Tough Mudder (http://toughmudder.co.uk). Not only are we looking for people to sponsor us for this event but we are also looking for volunteers who are willing to join us and get seriously muddy as the legendary 'Team RBS'. Tough Mudder is a great way of raising funds whilst having a lot of fun and an amazing team-building opportunity. Our target is £15,000 so you would need to commit to both the Tough Mudder sign-up fee, as well as active fundraising.

Tough Mudder is taking place in Henley on Thames on both the 26th and 27th April and we would ideally like to enter a few teams on each day so please let us know asap if you are brave enough to join us on one of these dates. If not, let us hope you are brave enough to put your hands deep in your pockets and sponsor us lots of cash!

The team already comprises Francesca Hampton (IB Finance), Giles Hampton, Samantha Stark (IB Finance), Alun Oldreive (EMEA Treasury), Neel Sharma (CBD & NCD Regulatory Affairs), Helen Taylor (M&IB), Peter Bisset (RCR), Daryl Gayler (Regional Managing Director, Corporate & Institutional Coverage) and others from his area. Friends and family also welcome.