What emotions does the colour orange evoke?
To me, orange signifies energy, enthusiasm, warmth and optimism – and these characteristics were confirmed by PAWA walkers and runners on Sunday the 22nd June at our PAWA@15 walk.
We created a striking image of 82 bright orange hats weaving through Battersea Park for PAWA. Thank you to everyone on the day and behind the scenes that helped us raise £15,422 plus £2940 Gift Aid. Fantastic effort.
We now pause our fundraising activities until the autumn, when we will celebrate the International Day of the Girl on the 11th of October. Look out for more details on our Match Funding campaign focused on raising funds for our project partner in Nepal.
The summer doesn’t mean a total break for the team: our PAWA projects volunteers will be reviewing applications from our Partners for 2026 funding.
For everyone else, enjoy the long summer evenings and we look forward to reconnecting in September with more PAWA news.
Thank you for your continued support of PAWA.
Clare Muhiudeen, Chair of PAWA Trustees
Runners supporting fellow runners after finishing the race
Our last fundraising event for our PAWA@15 celebrations was our annual PAWA WALK.
A huge thanks to everyone who took part and supported through donations to make the day an amazing success. It was a wonderful sight to see the wave of orange hats take on the 5k and 10k walk/run on a bright Sunday morning.
PAWA walkers cross the finish line
The hats were so popular that we were able to raise some additional funds and get new supporters from those who wanted an orange PAWA hat.
Personal goals were met, including those of a family who completed the 5k route with 5-year-old twin boys. They were our youngest participants and youngest fundraisers, raising £285.69 and £58.92 Gift Aid. Congratulations and thank you Leo and Arthur!
Leo and Arthur
Congratulations to the Duggan family who won the fastest prize. All four members of the family – including Ava who won the honour of the fastest single female runner on the day – ran in record time. Thanks to generous donor Brent Osbourne, the Duggans will celebrate their achievements with a family meal at one of the D&D restaurants in London.
The Duggan Family
Through fantastic support, the walk raised £15,422 plus £2940 Gift Aid. The top fundraiser was Marquis Wong who raised a whopping £2,595.00 plus £60.00 Gift Aid, which will help PAWA support 53 girls for a year. Thank you Marquis!
Marquis Wong, this year’s top fundraiser, crossing the finish line
Events like these take a huge amount of work, so a big shout out to the PAWA@15 team led by Trustee Zehan Albakri. Some of the organisers were seen on the day in their white PAWA shirts with the PAWA@15 walk logo designed by volunteer Effie Nakajima. The shirts were generously donated by Sanjay Mulchand. Thank you Sanjay and the team at FastFitPromo.
PAWA volunteers at the marquee
A sample of the day is shown in these photos. Please send in your favourite pictures of the day to pawawalk@pawa-london.org and we will share them on our website – a great way to encourage others to participate in future events or get running for PAWA as a PAWA CHAMPION.
To everyone who contributed to making the day a great success, thank you.
Clare Muhiudeen, Chair
The SJMF Mt. Annapurna Region Trek
Save the Date – 11th September 2025
A sketch of Serena by Anna Paik, PAWA Past Trustee and Honorary Council
The 9th October this year will mark the fifth anniversary of Serena’s passing. On this milestone date, a group of her friends, family and close friends will be trekking the Annapurna region to remember her: Nepal meant a lot to Serena.
In advance of the trek, Serena’s family will host a fundraising dinner on the 11th September in London. All proceeds from this dinner will go toward the Serena Janssens Memorial Fund, managed by PAWA.
PAWA has been administering the Serena Janssens Memorial Fund (SJMF) for the Janssen family since 2022. The fund was set up in memory of Serena, who sadly passed away at the age of 19 just before she was due to start university.
To reflect this crucial stage in a young girl’s life, the SJMF awards scholarships to PAWA girls that we have supported through school, who have the opportunity to continue into further education. Serena’s legacy has already changed the lives of four SJMF scholars – three in Nepal and one in Malaysia.
The family have a group of six of Serena’s school friends trekking from 5th to 15th October to raise funds for more SJMF scholars. They will be joined by a group of nine PAWA supporters who will be trekking to raise funds for PAWA’s two Projects in Nepal. The trip will include a visit to the PAWA Aruna Bhawan project in Kathmandu and an opportunity to meet some of the SJMF scholars.
Please “Save the Date” in your diary, and more details will follow. It will be an evening to celebrate the happy memories of Serena with her friends and family. The food will be cooked by their dear friend Tom Norrington-Davies, a chef whose food Serena adored. The cost of the evening is being fully covered by the Janssens family, so each ticket sold is a direct donation to PAWA.
Ponheary Ly Foundation
The Ponheary Ly Foundation (PLF) promotes access to education for disadvantaged children and youth in Northern Cambodia, reaching nearly 3,000 children and young people across the Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces.
PAWA, which has been supporting the PLF for years, currently funds its sponsorship scheme, established to support girls living at home after the closure of the PLF’s dormitory in 2024. This support includes help with extra English classes, textbooks, and tutoring in Mathematics and Advanced Science.
Below, we hear from Kouen, a PAWA-funded girl on the school sponsorship scheme, who has just started university.
Kouen
“My parents are farmers and labourers in the village. My family has a total of five members, and my three younger siblings are still in school. My family suffered from violence almost every day because my father was a heavy drinker. Some days he beat my mother and us, on the grounds that he never wanted any of his children to go to school – he wanted them to drop out and make money for the family instead. When my father saw his children dressed for school, he would say that it was useless to waste money like this.
After my father died, I could return to school, but it was a stressful time and my grade averages were declining. When my mother saw this, she was willing to work hard to earn money. She acted as both a mother and a father (as a hero or superstar). No matter the circumstances, she is always there to give strength and a smile to her children.
Then luck found us: while my brother was in Siem Reap, he got to know PLF and participated in various PLF programs through his friends. Later, he also became a student of PLF. He told me to study hard to finish Grade 11 – not to think too much about what happens next. For Grade 12, I also transferred to Siem Reap, and there was more opportunity to participate with PLF.
I received support from PLF to study in Siem Reap because my mother does not earn enough money for my education and living. I now live in a rented room away from home through the support of PLF, I have funds for study materials, food and budget for extra lessons including computer classes.
I never wanted to drop out of school, and I am so happy I can now get new experiences and achieve my goals through the support of PLF and PAWA. In the future I want to become a social worker. I chose this career because I want to help other people in my community, and I want to help people be happy and live in prosperity. I want to help change society to make it more secure for vulnerable people in Cambodia.
Finally, I would like to thank PLF and PAWA for supporting my studies as well as my brother in the past, and wish all the PLF team good health.”
Kouen
Bangladesh Hope for Girls
Mike and Rosey with PAWA students
Since 2015, PAWA has been involved with Hope 4 Girls (ASHA). Mike and Rosey Whittles run the project from Guernsey and are tireless in their commitment to ASHA and the girls. They visit them every year, regularly sending us a visual record of their progress.
It has been a privilege to watch the girls grow and learn and see how much they value the help they receive. The girls will reach adulthood before the end of their courses and some of them will go on to college or university. PAWA continues with practical support during this transition – encouraging the girls to pursue Further Education makes them less vulnerable to early marriage.
This year we were so happy to hear about Salma and Rehenna. Salma found Rehenna, a young Hindu girl living in poverty, whose father had died and whose mother was now struggling to keep her in school. Thanks to Salma’s persistence ASHA enrolled Rehenna in the PAWA sponsorship scheme.
Salma and Rehenna
ASHA saw that Rehenna was falling behind at school and needed extra coaching help. Salma herself needs extra money for university, which is approaching later this year. Mike and Rosey suggested Salma go one-step further and give Rehenna regular weekly coaching help, for which ASHA would pay her. As a result, both of the girls are managing their education better, and are now progressing well.
Kuala Lumpur Speakers Club (KLSC)
Waris Albakri
To register, just click on the following link:
https://www.easyfundraising.
