KHRP – March 2014

Kerala House Renovation Project (KHRP) update: March 2014

 

Dear friends,

 

This will be last update before we announce the re-opening date of the refurbished Kerala House.  Personally, I am very excited and eagerly looking forward to showing the world the newly improved and aesthetically pleasing ‘home of UK Malayalees’: MAUK’s Kerala House. I believe that this prominent milestone in the history of MAUK will also be a proud moment which each and every Malayalee in UK as it epitomises the achievements gained through the hard work and struggle of the Malayalee diaspora since the mid-1960s. The MAUK director board is deeply humbled and extremely encouraged by the ongoing support that we are receiving for this and other projects. We want you feel the excitement that we are feeling and are exploring options for conducting an official re-opening ceremony in a very cost-effective way. We invite you to share your valuable ideas and suggestions.

 

We are in an advance state of completing the project and are hoping that we can start using parts of Kerala House within two weeks.  The office rooms upstairs are nearing completion. Flooring and painting are in progress.  Once the water and electricity is connected we will be able to conduct meetings as well as shift some classes back to Kerala House.

 

The main work to the ground floor hall has also been completed. Connecting electricity, gas, water, fire alarms, security systems, PA system, CCTV, levelling the floor and laying non-slip flooring, painting, replacing the front fascia are some of the final work that will be done over the next few weeks, well ahead of the revised time plan. Credit this progress goes to Sreevalsalan, who is overseeing the building work by keeping a close eye and even getting his hands dirty by doing some of the work himself to speed up completion and reduce cost.

 

In terms of budget, we are still looking at the total cost being in the region of £115K. We are still £12K short of this in our budget and we also need to replace part of the £50K borrowed from the MAUK reserved fund.    We are confident that we will achieve this as we are seeing a steady flow of donation from the community. We are grateful for this support. We apologise to the community members who have complained about not inviting their participation or visiting their house for collection. This is purely due to the time constraints. We assure you that we are actively seeking your participation but would humbly request you to, if possible, contact us with an appropriate time for us to visit you.  I would like to highlight that since the end of May 2013 there has been a team of MAUK directors and/or volunteers visiting Malayalee households almost every weekend to promote MAUK activities and gather views and suggestions.  This is unprecedented among community organisations and is testament to the commitment and dedication of most members of MAUK team.

 

With regards to Life Membership, we are pleased to inform you that nearly all of those who took up membership have fully paid the donation they promised. We request the handful of members who are yet to complete their payments to kindly assist us by forwarding your contribution as a matter of urgency.

 

On a different note, we seek your support for the Mega Magic Comedy and Dance show on Sunday, 27 April 2014 at Eastbury Comprehensive School in Barking from 2.30 pm to 5.00 pm.  It will feature 14 performers from South India including the Legends from Indian magic scenes including the world renowned Sam Raj, Yona (dubbed as Charlie Chaplin of India) and Professor Ali (winner of SAARC Magic competition).  This will be a unique opportunity for members of our community to experience a unique and refreshing family entertainment especially for those with young children.

 

You can see pictures of the transformation of Kerala House on MAUK Facebook page: fb.com/mauklondon. Please like this page for regular update of MAUK activities.

 

Finally, we thank you for your continued support and request you to take active interest in all future MAUK endeavours.

 

Sreejith Sreedharan
KHRP Team

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