Saakshar School Appeal is a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1136311) which supports the work of VVF's Saakshar slum school programme in Delhi. It arose out contact with Saakshar since 2003 and was registered in 2010.
The trustees of the Saakshar School Appeal are Revd Ralph Williamson, Mr John Briggs and Mr Edwin Simpson. Our Indian Associate is Mrs Asha Kumar.
Currently all our trustees work at Christ Church, Oxford, a college within the University of Oxford which admits students from all backgrounds on the basis of ability and potential. It also supports education more broadly through its Home Learning Scheme, Cathedral School and support for the Oval House Community Arts Centre in London. Ralph Williamson's visits to Saakshar have been sponsored by Christ Church, and we are grateful for all their support.
The 'Fit For a Queen' concert took place at Christ Church on April 23rd and was a great success, with approximately 200 people attending in support of Saakshar's work, to hear the Cambridge Chamber Consort sing a programme which celebrated the 60th birthday of Queen Elizabeth.
I have been visiting VVF's Saakshar schools for slum children this month, and write from Dwarka, SW Delhi. The visit, kindly supported by Christ Church, Oxford, was to see how Saakshar's work has been progressing over the last year.... (written by Ralph Williamson in Delhi)
A workshop on Personal Hygiene was held at Saakshar 1 on Saturday 17th of March 2012, and about twenty children came with their mothers to receive instruction on washing, cleaning their teeth and hair care. Each child was presented with a special personal hygiene kit, made up of a small case containing a toothbrush and paste, a facecloth and soap, and a hair brush or comb.... 
The Cambridge Chamber Consort
The Oxford Lent Concerts, which take place in the Chapel of Queen's College, Oxford, have chosen Saakshar as one of the beneficiaries of their collections this year. The concerts feature music by Bach and illumination by Modern Icons.
We are delighted to report that two Oxford schools have raised over £600 between them for Saakshar's work in the last few months. Following visits and assemblies from Ralph Williamson which presented the work of Saakshar in Delhi, and emphasised the importance of education for girls, Rys St Anthony (a Roman Catholic secondary school for Girls) raised £276 at their Charity Day, and Oxford High School Junior Department (a Prep and Pre-Prep school for girls) raised £330 through a "Home Clothes" day...
It is with great sadness that we must report that Professor S.Ramachandran passed away on Saturday 25th February 2012. Professor Ramachandran was one of the founders of VVF and Saakshar, and he was both an inspiration to me, and the person who first put me in touch with Saakshar, so without him there would be no Saakshar School Appeal.
The Star channel Television and Dainik Jagran News paper organized a special event in Great India Mall in Noida UP (on southern edge of Delhi, not too far from where Saakshar works) on 30th January 2012. 
This winter we were able to transfer to Saakshar the proceeds of the last few months of fundraising and your generous donations, and in response to this Asha Kumar and her Vigyan Vijay Foundation team in Delhi quickly moved to establish a Skills Training Programme for children who benefited from Saakshar's support in the past, and have now come to the end of their school education.
