London Corner/J Fry/freedigitalphotos.net

Several members of two local Baptist Churches will be going back to the board for this sponsored event on Saturday 7 June in a bid to raise much-needed funds to support children at an orphanage in Suryapet, India.

The church-goers will get their fundraising on track by negotiating as many of the squares on the traditional Monopoly board in real life as they can in a limited amount of time on the day of the event.

The funds raised from this Monopoly Challenge will go towards the day to day needs of the children including food and education.

Steve Street, a member of Earls Hall Baptist Church who is organising it and taking part, commented, 'This will be great fun for everyone involved. We’ll spend a whole day around London, in teams, with banter and chatting to people. We'll be raising money and awareness for a great cause.

'I’m really pleased to have organised this event to further support the building and running costs of the orphanage.'

This is the latest in a number of fundraisers held by Earls Hall Baptist Church and Hadleigh Baptist Church as part of their long-standing commitment to support the orphanage of The Living God Baptist Church, Suryapet, India. The orphanage opened in 2003 with 35 children. There are now 100 children living at the orphanage, with the youngest just three years old.

The relationship between the local churches and the Indian Orphanage dates back to 2006, when a Minister from Earls Hall Baptist Church went to preach in the area and saw first hand the work of the orphanage. In 2007, the Orphanage suffered a flood and was relocated. In 2008 the Minister for Hadleigh Baptist Church visited the orphanage with a member of Earls Hall Baptist Church to see for themselves their current needs.

Everybody involved with the orphanage wanted better conditions for the children and now the dream of a safe, permanent, purpose-built orphanage has become a reality. This work was being greatly helped by the fact that the UK-based charity Mission Care partnered with the two churches to achieve a new building for the children. The building work is now completed and the local fundraising is having a major impact on the lives of the young orphans.