Murray Frankland

is the founder of UK charity Salt of the Earth (charity no.  328328). He was inspired to set up Salt of the Earth after a chance meeting with Cletus Babu while touring South India in 1989.

He said: “Meeting Cletus Babu and staying at SCAD all those years ago was both a revelation and a life changing event. Cletus took me to see the plight of the Salt Pan villagers and I was very touched by the hardship and poverty that I saw. I was also excited and energized to see and learn that it would not take very much to change the lives of these people and other rural poor villagers very much for the better. I resolved there and then to help this work an d the extraordinary man who was leading it. Since then I have visited the project every year and have marveled at the progress that has always been made. I return form these trips re-invigorated and committed to continue the work of the fund raising and to spread awareness of the plight of the rural poor.”

When most people reach retirement age, it’s normally time to take it easy, but instead Murray has spent the last 23 years running the charity from his Leicester home. He and a small team, which includes his wife Janet, fund raise on a voluntary basis in order to ensure that every penny goes straight to support SCAD’s many community programmes. The charity is SCAD’s principle funder and reached the £3m milestone this year.

Murray explained: “It’s a testament to our supporters’ belief in the value of the work being done by SCAD that they have stood by us for so long. Sadly, despite India’s recent economic growth, I don’t see the vital work that we support reducing as the gap between rich and poor in India is ever widening. There will be a great need to continue to raise funds for many years to come.”

A regular donation to Salt of the Earth will provide SCAD with a sustainable income with which to carry out its valuable work. Thank you.