This week’s speaker is Satnam Bains who runs an amazing charity in Swindon aimed at supporting young people in a very deprived part of Swindon.  He is not yet a Rotarian though he is planning to apply to RC Swindon Old Town, a breakfast club, which meets on Wednesday mornings.

John: Welcome to our Speakers slot and can I start by asking you tell us a little about yourself?

Satnam: I am married to my wife Rajwant and it’s our 30th anniversary this year, we also have our son Pav and daughter Reena. Our son is married to Sunita and is a Solicitor and Sunita is a GP and they both work in London. Our daughter also works in London as a Financial advisor. My wife has been self-employed and runs her business as an Executive Coach – Leadership and Management Development Consultant and also does most of her work in London.
I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and my parents were Indian and from the North of India (Punjab), we came to England when I was 9 years old and have been here since.

John: I understand you are involved with a project called the Clivey Trust, please tell us a little about their work.

Satnam: It is actually known as The Clivey and Twist Trust and it is a charitable organisation that was formed in the summer of 2012 following the merging of two charities. The Clivey project was formed in 2001 by local residents and church officials in the Pinehurst area of Swindon in order to tackling an increasing problem with anti-social behaviour involving local young people.

The Clivey project provides a service for young people in the age range of eleven to nineteen, whereas Twist provided a service for younger children, in the age range of six to ten years old and was based in Pinehurst. With the merge of these two charities into a single organisation, we can reduce our costs and provide a higher level of essential service to young people in the local community.

Clivey and Twist deliver a wide range of services and activities for children and young people. As we have moved to the John Moulton Hall we have excellent facilities that enable us to cater for ages from eight up to nineteen years old.

The services we offer include:
• play work activities for ages eight to twelve years old
• youth work activities for ages thirteen to nineteen years old
• advice and support on sexual health issues affecting young people
• advice and support to young people who may be affected by issues such as bullying, domestic or sexual abuse
• Internet access in a safe, controlled environment

They do have a website which I’d encourage all our members and those interested to have a look at; www.clivey.co.uk

Currently we are in the process of organising a fundraising event ‘Swindon Sporting Superstars’ late supper which will be held at the Blunsdon House Hotel on Monday 23rd March 2015. We are also in the process of doing a ‘Diamond Raffle’ and just waiting for the tickets to be printed. The funds raised will help sustain our project which is based at John Moulton Hall, Penhill.

We are also looking for people to help us and in particular right now we would like your help in selling tickets for our event at Blunsdon House Hotel as well as help in selling Raffle tickets.

John: If you had a Dinner Party and could invite one Special Celebrity Guest who would it be and why?

Satnam: It would be Leonardo da Vinci, Surely one of the most brilliant people in the history of mankind. It would be fascinating to know what he would invent with the assistance of modern science and technology. I would also like to know the answer to Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile. And also if could shed any light on the last supper as featured in the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
He could also do caricatures of the other dinner guests…

John: Many thanks for sharing this project with us and I am sure all our Members will want to help with the project.