When Nitin Palan arrived in England at age 16, his pockets were empty. Today he is the Founder and Director of Golden Tours, the UK’s leading sightseeing company and part of the Gray Line Worldwide Association.
A celebrated entrepreneur, he wants to help young people in South Asia get out of the poverty trap and into employment. That is one of the many reasons Nitin chose to support The British Asian Trust. The Trust’s ‘high quality audit’ is another reason.
“It’s easy to verify that the funds are being spent correctly and making a difference to peoples’ lives,” he says. The Trust looks after your donations for you. You can be hands-off because the reporting structure is so efficient – you get reports and can pick up the phone and talk to people here about the Trust’s work overseas.”
The Trust ticks all the boxes, says Nitin. “It’s a win-win situation.”
The Golden Tours Director saw the work of The British Asian Trust first-hand during a recent visit to India where he spent half a day with charity partner Saath at its Umeed Centres in Ahmedabad. Saath creates links between the employment market and young slum residents by providing training in life skills, technical subjects and basic English.
“It was quite moving,” said Nitin after visiting two centres and speaking with young people enrolled in the training programmes. “In their poverty, they were all smiling, and they are still full of hope and no anger or jealousy,” Nitin said. “It was very moving to experience their bravery and courage.”
When he asked the trainees what encouraged them to succeed, their answers were all the same. They wanted to please their parents and bring food into the home - they wanted to contribute not simply take,” Nitin said.
“Youngsters today are the citizens of tomorrow. They are the ones that hold our the future. I want to play my role in leaving a legacy of citizens able to contribute to society.”
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