By Tim Saunders on
The makers of Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire have announced they will donate US$750,000 to a charity that will help children living in the slums of Mumbai.
The money will go to Plan to start a program aimed at providing healthcare and education to children in India. The organization, an international children’s aid charity, wishes to create a five-year program which will change the lives of children living in poverty.
“Having benefited so much from the hospitality of the people of Mumbai it is only right that some of the success of the movie be ploughed back into the city in areas where it is needed most and where it can make a real difference to some lives,” said director Danny Boyle, who has contributed to the well-being of the young actors in the film before. “Despite intimidating odds, extraordinary work is going on to help people break the cycle of poverty through education. We’re delighted that this initiative will add to that ongoing work.”
Plan works at a grassroots level to give children the means and the knowledge to grow up healthy, the basic learning and life skills so as to contribute to the development of their communities, safe and healthy homes and neighborhoods and improved financial position of families, while promoting the rights and interests of the world’s children.
“Around one billion of the world’s population live in slums and there are 100,000 new slum dwellers every day,” said Plan’s Marie Staunton. “Slumdog Millionaire has shown audiences around the world a snapshot of what life is like for one in six people on the planet. Education really is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so we will focus the funds on getting children into school, keeping them there and ensuring they are healthy.”
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