Khushi Feet

About

Khushi Feet is a charity (Registered Charity Number: 1150339) based in Faversham, Kent which raises money and awareness for schools for street children in Kolkata. It was established by Emily Cook (in March 2012), in response to visiting the street schools in Kolkata with a team from Faversham Baptist Church (summer 2011).

What does ‘Khushi Feet’ mean?
The children at the street school have very few clothes and run around barefoot. At the same time they are some of the happiest children you could ever meet! ‘Khushi’ is the Bengali word for ‘happy’.

Beginnings

"When I was 18 I visited Kolkata, India with a team from Faversham Baptist Church and had the opportunity to work in schools for street children. I was fascinated by how the teachers ran these schools with such limited resources. I was so happy to see excited the street children were to be at school, and could see how much of a difference an education was making in their lives. After returning to the UK, I wanted to do something to raise awareness and funding for these street children and their schools - so I set up the charity Khushi Feet. My vision is to get as many people as possible involved in Khushi Feet's fundraising activities and to help change young lives in Kolkata." Emily Cook

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Khushi Feet is very fortunate to have a fantastic team of people who work hard to ensure things run smoothly. All our trustees are volunteers. Meet the Khushi Team:

Emily Cook (Chair)

Emily founded Khushi Feet after visiting the street schools in Kolkata with Faversham Baptist Church in 2011. She is a freelance journalist, writer and producer currently working for Doctor Who Magazine and BBC Radio Kent. Interesting Fact: Emily has a Masters degree in Linguistics from the University of Kent.

Dr. Hugh Matthews (Secretary)

As well as being a Doctor, Hugh is our very efficient secretary. He does all the paperwork so Emily doesn’t have to! Interesting Fact: Hugh used to be a steam train fireman.

Rev. Geoff Cook (Trustee)

Geoff is the minister at Faversham Baptist Church. He has been to Kolkata three times (in 2009 as well as leading the team from Faversham Baptist Church in 2011 and Khushi Feet in 2016) and has been involved with the work of GNCEM each time. Interesting Fact: Geoff is a life-long supporter of Chelsea FC.

Lesley Jackson (Treasurer)

Lesley is a Legal Cashier who works in London after making the change from teaching Primary school children – useful experience for dealing with Solicitors sometimes! Interesting fact: Lesley is a science-fiction fan and enjoys attending conventions.

Stefano Gould (Trustee)

Stefano is a youth worker for Faversham Baptist Church and Barton Church. He is currently studying Applied Theology at Regents Theological College. Interesting Fact: In August 2014, Stefano went on an expedition to Borneo.

Daryl Haines (Trustee)

Daryl is a student with a creative flair, currently studying at university in Brighton. He is the Sales Director of our sister organisation Khushi Hands. Interesting fact: Daryl has a collection of over 50 animal skulls, as well as many animal bones.

Kevin Martin (Trustee)

Kevin once spent 3 weeks travelling around Rajasthan and thoroughly enjoyed himself (apart from the bit with the camel) and is looking forward to being able to give something back as a thank you for the warmth and kindness he experienced in India. Interesting fact: Kev can juggle, both physically and metaphorically.

Stephen Palmer (Trustee)

In 2011, Steve visited Kolkata as part of the Faversham Baptist Church Team. He hopes to visit India again to follow up on the work going on there. Interesting Fact: Steve has also had contact with educational charities in Tanzania & Uganda and has visited both countries.

Khushi the Cow (Mascot)

Khushi the Cow is the final member of our team. She helps us raise money and awareness for schools for children who live on the streets of Kolkata. She visits children at schools and clubs (and even birthday parties) in Kent and can often be seen around at local events.