Charles & Camilla Host British Asian Trust Gala

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall hosted a reception and dinner this evening at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the British Asian Trust.

Prince Charles is the founder and President of the British Asian Trust which combats poverty and helps those in need in South Asia.

This evenings event marking the Trusts 10th anniversary saw Charles and Camilla welcome 200 of the charities supporters which included philanthropist, Ratan Tata, actor and rapper, Riz Ahmed, business leader Lakshmi Mittal and musician, Anoushka Shankar.

Prince Charles delivered a speech before Indian singer Kanika Kapoor and musician Naughty Boy took to the stage for their performances.

During this evenings event, it was announced that the Trust’s planned to ramp up its efforts, including creating social finance projects in the subcontinent. The Trust is building an impressive and innovative $10 million Development Impact Bond that will see them work alongside critical partners including UBS Optimus Foundation, the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Tata Trusts to improve the quality of learning for 200,000 children in India.

Since 2007, The British Asian Trust has organised financial supporters, mobilised resources and increased recognition, making a substantial difference to over 1.5 million people in South Asia.

The Trust has helped many programmes to encourage young, vulnerable girls, to take back their lives, including many who trafficked in the past and has raised over £3.5m for projects in South Asia tackling poverty, education and female empowerment.

Photo: Cindy Stockman