A CHARD woman has swapped housework for charity work to help disadvantaged people in India.

Janet Raddon has raised a host of cash for various projects in India through Hands of Hope.

Hands of Hope is a fundraising group, not a charity, and raises cash through car boot sales, coffee mornings, cream teas and Indian themed evenings.

Janet first travelled to India during the Tsunami in 2004 and came back pledging to raise cash to help children get a decent education.

She said: “I decided that I wanted to see more of India so decided that, with the help of a few friends, I would try to raise £500 and find a village school that was in need of books or sports equipment and buy it for them.

“We started fundraising in May 2005 and by October 2005 when I had planned to return to India, we had raised over £1,000.”

The group now sponsors 21 children – allowing them to go to school, has set up cottage industries to provide work for women in villages and distributing food packages which can feed up to 500 families a time.

Her latest project is providing villages with rickshaws to help children get to school, which otherwise would be too far for them to walk.

Money raised by Ilminster’s Lions Club bought the first vehicle with a second thanks to another Chard fundraiser. Janet added: “We then find a poor village man in need of work and give the rickshaw to him. The cycle rickshaw will hold approx 16 children. The first one was so popular that we have now bought a second one and I will be visiting next month to see if any more are needed.”

Janet carries out the work thanks to help from Shukla, her unpaid project manager who she met on her first visit.

“I feel I must mention him as without his help I couldn’t do the work that I do,” she added.

“Of course this also applies to all the friends and family that help me to raise funds in Chard.”