meet the trustees

East-West Education (EWE) has no paid staff in the UK.  Dedicated volunteers manage all the work of the charity.  This enables us to keep the prices in the West reasonable and at the same time, maximises the profits made by the sale of the products to fund further training and projects in the East.

Arul and Daya Durai founded EWE as a charity in 2000.  Arul's wealth of business experience has shaped EWE so that the creativity and knowledge of Daya's ideas have been moulded into a successful business.  They split their time between Bangalore, where they oversee the workshops and sample new products and Burgess Hill where the planning and marketing is done.

 
Gill Bence has been involved with EWE from the beginning.  She finds that her years of teaching children with other languages have given her an insight into the need for useful and effective educational resources.  Her ideas and talents are an important part of EWE's success.

 
Valerie Harris is a founder member and her organisational skills gained through years of volunteering with the Scouts and the YMCA have contributed greatly to the charity’s growth.  She and her husband, Ralph, also a Trustee, have visited all the projects in Bangalore, Chennai and Dharmapuri and met the women.  Their personal interest and concern motivates their hard work in managing the EWE office all winter on their own.  EWE could not survive without them.

Jayanti Durai is the current chair of the trustees.  Her clear thinking, business acumen and years of work with NGOs help to realise the vision of EWE.

Helen Ford is a full time primary teacher in Crawley.  Her knowledge of current initiatives and the realities of teaching today help EWE to develop products which are welcomed in schools today.

 
Helen Hicks’ interest in and teaching experience with children from different minority ethnic backgrounds has been put to good use in the development of new products.