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In October 2011, the Joanna Brown Trust completed its biggest and most exciting project to date.  Working together with Magic Bus, an Indian charity dedicated to using sport as an aid to children’s development, the Trust donated £25,000 to fund the construction of a new dormitory at the Magic Bus Learning & Development Centre just outside Mumbai. Richard Brown, brother of Jo and founder of The Joanna Brown Trust, went to the Centre for the official opening of The Joanna Brown Dormitory.

 

 

Richard said, “Visiting The Joanna Brown Dormitory in person was very moving. Magic Bus is a fantastic charity and to know that we are making a positive impact on children’s lives in Jo’s name is incredibly special. I know Jo would be really touched to see what is being achieved in Mumbai, a city she visited and loved. This would not have been possible without all the fantastic support we’ve received and I thank everyone who has supported The Joanna Brown Trust for making this possible.”

 

The Joanna Brown Dormitory is air-conditioned and can sleep up to 30 children. In addition to the accommodation, there are shower cubicles, toilets and wash basins for the children to use.

 

Children staying at the dormitory participate in the activities and projects delivered by Magic Bus. These include various sports, team building exercises, problem solving and orienteering. Using sport as the platform to engage with the children from local communities and the slums of Mumbai, Magic Bus is able to provide disadvantaged children with an opportunity to learn and develop through sport.

 

Richard said, “Sport can be such a powerful tool in engaging with people and breaking down barriers. You can have two sets of children from completely different backgrounds, but put a football in amongst them and they will all play together. Knowing that sport has the ability to bring so many people together enables The Joanna Brown Trust to make a positive impact on all of their lives which is really very special.”  

 

Rob Thomas, head of the Centre said, “It joins our other dormitories on the campus and increases our capacity for overnight stays by 24 – 30 beds. Perhaps more importantly than the numbers, it allows us greater flexibility in the mix of genders and groups we can have at the Centre at any one time. The opening was a particularly emotional event.

 

"To have Richard and his wife, Katie, come all the way from the UK to perform the ceremony was wonderful. Even more wonderful was their reaction at seeing in reality not just the ‘bricks and mortar’ of the building itself, but witnessing the first group of children from local villages stay overnight. It is not just a ‘shell’ to accommodate – it is a home for what will be many, many children over the years for their stay at the centre. The Joanna Brown Dormitory is a fantastic addition to our site. We would like to thank, with all our hearts, everyone involved with The Joanna Brown Trust, and those that have helped fundraise for them. We are not only grateful for your contribution to the Magic Bus Centre, we are proud that you saw in Magic Bus India and the Magic Bus Centre for Learning & Development, an objective for your efforts that you believed fitted the memory of Joanna Brown and what she achieved and aspired to.”