March 21 2023  |  Associations

WiTR supports Koma Karanth Foundation charity for 2023

By GTR Magazine Staff

WiTR aims to raise funds to cover the cost of building three homes for the community

Women in Travel Retail (WiTR) has announced that its charity for 2023 is the Koma Karanth Foundation, whose mission is to build a KOMA community in the impoverished municipality of Gloria, Oriental Mindoro (Philippines), providing homes, education, old age community centres, medical support and support for single women as they strive for self-sufficiency.

According to a press release, "WiTR’s project will be to raise funds of at least €15,000 (US$16,167) which will cover the cost of building three homes for the community."

The Koma Karanth Foundation was founded by actor, producer, writer, humanitarian and stand-up comedian Maitreyi Karanth. To date, the foundation has built 24 homes, an old age community center, a tutoring center for children, provided solar streetlights, drilled water wells and connected it by pipe and pump up to the mountain into water tanks for the tribal community of 26 families. They also provide transport for these tribal children to go to school and provide their lunch at school. They have also built and equipped convenience stores for single mothers to own and earn, as well as a cake shop, tea shop etc.

In 2024, the Foundation is aiming to build a self-sustained compound with 30 homes, including the three funded by WiTR, with a proposed completion date of 2026. Each house will be named WiTR 1/2/3 in recognition of the funding provided.

The charity was proposed to WiTR by Tracy Ross, Project & Design Manager and Sustainability Champion of ARIME.

“I’m delighted that WiTR has chosen to support the Koma Karanth Foundation this year," said Ross. "Maitreyi is an amazing woman who has never forgotten the support she and her family received from Philippino women and continue to do so. She is now determined to give back and help wherever she can and this project is extremely close to her heart.”

“Many thanks to Tracy Ross for proposing the Koma Karanth Foundation as the next charity for WiTR to support,” added Sarah Branquinho, WiTR Chair. “It’s an incredibly worthwhile cause which we are more than happy to support. The aim will be to raise funds to cover the building of these much-needed homes through a number of WiTR meetings throughout this year, culminating in our ‘main event’ at TFWA World Exhibition in October. We’ll also closely follow the project as it goes into action, reporting on progress at every stage.”


REGION Asia
Copyright 2024 DutyFree Magazine. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy Sitemap