I was 19 when I began to study for my Hons degree at St. Xaviers College and found that I had a 'study mate', an external student, doing a B.Ed(Hons) degree. She was 40. As a full time kindy teacher she was unable to attend lectures. I was given the job to ‘lecturer’ her in the evenings. We spent most evenings in the front verandah going through my copious hand written notes (oh, for a laptop!). Three years later we both graduated. That lady was Phyllis Pearson…my mum.

I recently received an email from a friend back in India where he shared with me his vision for helping Anglo-Indians. Needless to say, PepperWater at it's core is all about giving back to the Anglo-Indian community and helping Anglo-Indians. This story got my attention and PepperWater had to do an interview with Calvin Dee and Steve Periera - the two guys who refuse to call themselves "the founders" because the term has no heart. They are simply to guys who saw a need in the community and decided to do something about it.

If you feel like you'd like to be a part of what they are doing and contribute either with your time, your resources/services or monetarily please see the contact info below.

Donate to Share and Care online on Pepperwater.com.

Watch an interview or you can read it below the video.

PW: Who are the founders of Share and Care?
Calvin:  I guess you could "technically" call us founders, but we would like to think of ourselves as just two guys who along with other friends have a heart to help people who need a helping hand in life. We both studied and grew up together and work on different projects "apart from our regular jobs"  one of them is the "We Share and Care" project to help people in India.

What made you start We Share and Care?
Steve:  Initially we were both helping organizations and people individually and one day during a casual conversation, we spoke about how we were helping  different groups of people individually through our financial contributions but we were not involved directly. We realized that we were not completely  satisfied just donating but wanted to get actively involved in helping people and that’s how We Share and Care got started. So, we decided to join forces and not only give financial assistance but to also be personally involved in helping people.

How long has Share and Care been in operation?
Calvin: We officially started Share and Care towards the end of 2009. We reached out to family and friends and asked them if they wanted to help. We initially planned to help around 25 to 30 people but due to the generous gifts from  family and friends we ended up helping close to a 160 people.

Tell us about some of the things you do at Share and Care? What are your plans for Share and Care?
Steve: Our primary goal is to help Anglo Indian Community who are in need. We also want to keep reaching out to orphans, disabled kids, people in old age homes and maybe later on help people who need medical assistance and care. The other thing we would like to do is get young people involved with our project, so that they can contribute and help us to reach out to a lot more people.

How can we Anglo's get involved either locally or remotely? Are you looking for volunteers locally? Support remotely?
Calvin: Let’s address the local question.
We DEFINITELY need a lot more volunteers locally to help us plan our campaigns and then actually go out and get it done. For example, as we grow it would really be helpful if someone can volunteer to take care of the accounts. We also need to plan a minimum of two months in advance before we go out and conduct these events. So generally we meet on the weekends and it also gives people a time to get together and brainstorm on who and how we can help effectively.

Now for the remote support:
Steve: We know that there have been loads of Anglo Indians who have migrated abroad but might still want to contribute and help their community/ some of the people in India.  However, they do not have a way of being sure that the funds they send will be utilized correctly. That’s where we come in…we make sure that the funds are being spent correctly and most effectively and that the truly needy people get helped. So if there’s anyone who wants to contribute on a monthly basis or send one time gifts, then they can get in touch with us.

Tell us about the last event you organized. How much you collected and what you did for who etc...
Calvin: In December 2009 we decided to help 3 different groups of people
We collected 85, 456 INR  and we had people contribute toys, clothes and transport as well.

1. We helped 6 Anglo Indian families that’s more than 24 people in all and provided them with some basic essentials such as Rice, Oil, Flour, Chicken, Cakes, Clothes and a cash gift.
2. We reached out to 68 people in an old age home in Adyar, Chennai and shared the Christmas spirit with them. Most of the people at the old age home had no family to care for them and were really happy to see a group of youngsters visit them, sing carols and spend quality time with them. We hosted a Christmas lunch (we ended up having lunch with them as well ) and then gave them a hamper that had in it toiletries, milk power, nutrition drinks, clothes,  cakes and a cash gift.
3. Steve: We reached out to a boy’s home in Otteri, Chennai where there were over 55 boys from 5 years to 15 years of age. We had an amazing time as a group of volunteers (consisting of family and friends) got together and brought them into the Christmas spirit along with Santa Claus and some great carol singing in both Tamil and English. We gave them a Christmas lunch and individual gifts which consisted of toys based on their age group, cakes and snacks. We helped the home by providing them with what they were in need of  (floor mats, bed sheets, raincoats).  We also gave shirts and sarees to the caretakers of the home.

We really want to say thanks to the EVERYONE who has contributed financially to We Share and Care. We also wanted to say a special thank you to people who volunteered their time and efforts such as
Kevin Periera & Family, Judy Popaly, Creswell Periera, Shinolin Samuel & Family, Kitty Fernandez & Family, Aunty Manju & Twila, Salome Dee & Family, Elizabeth Dee & Family, Andrew  John, Mario Rebello, Clive Lewis, Ashwini, Carolyn Dee. (If we missed out anyone’s name – apologies but we are extremely grateful for everyone’s help and support)

Tell us about the next "event" that’s happening and what are the immediate needs for that event?
Calvin: Our next project is to help a bunch of kids with their education. School will be starting in a couple of months, and we want to take care of the educational needs of children who cannot afford it. Some of the basic things which we require for these kids would be School Bags, notebooks, water bottles, pencil boxes, lunch boxes and cash gifts to help out on the tuition fees.

Contact Share and Care
Steve
Phone: +91 9980162448
e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Calvin
Phone: +91 9940137191
e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Facebook Group: We Share and Care
www.weshareandcare.com

Sent in by her daughter Jan Salmon.

My mum Daisy Margaret  Assey (nee Mason) was born in Madras/Chennai - India on the 18th of August 1921.  She was one of seven children and she was the only girl amongst 6 boys.  She was baptised at St. Matthias Church, Vepery, Madras.

After her schooling she joined the British Army where she did her Nurses Training which turned out to be one of her greatest joys and passion which she carried out diligently long after she left the profession.  It was in her blood.

My mum was a  very pretty woman and that what caught my Dad's eye.  She married my dad Allwyn Kennyon Assey on the 11th of  June 1947. Mum was a full time mum and housewife, after she left the Nursing Profession. Mum and Dad have three children  Dexter Assey  (my eldest brother who lives in Rooty Hill/Sydney, my second brother Cyrus  Assey who now lives in Schofields/Sydney and their sister Jan Salmon(nee Assey)  that lives in St. Clair/Sydney.  My Mother was a wonderful woman.  She lived her life with the courage and purpose that most people strive for.  She had an incredible spirit that persevered through anything.

My Mum came to Sydney Australia in January 1981 and lived with me till such time she moved to  the Emmaus Retirement Village at Kemps Creek/Syndey and as she got older she needed full time care so she was moved to Our Lady of Consolation Nursing Home at Rooty Hill, where she passed on, on the 1st of February 2010.  Mum has five grandchildren - Five boys and one girl.  Mum is going to be missed alot  by  her children,grandchildren and her loving friends as well.  May her soul rest in peace.

Depending on the amount of affection you show this Valentines day, and which city you live in, you could be prosecuted under India's penal code. Right wing activists are banning Valentines day in multiple cities claiming it to be obscene. Among the states that have a police ban are Maharashtra and Karanataka. Maharasthra having banned liquour and "noisy clelbrations" till the 15th of this month. The activists claim that if a couple are really in love then they (the activists or the Sene) would contact their parents and have them get married.

What are your thoughts on this. If you are from one of these affected states share with us your experiences and thoughts.

Over the years we have strived to make PepperWater.com the most professional website with quality content and an opportunity for Anglo-Indians to connect with friends and build relationships. Today you are seeing a major upgrade in the way that the content is presented. We have a cleaner look with a list of all your friends activities on the right and all the Anglo news up front. We hope you enjoy yet another release of PepperWater and suggestions and feedback is always welcome - just click the Contact us link at the top.

PepperWater is proud to announce some major upgrades in the website. The biggest upgrade is that you can now log in with your Facebook user name and password. If you use both Facebook and PepperWater you can now log in with one user name and password. Just click on the Facebook Connect button on the right.

The advantage of logging in with your Facebook ID is that you can update your status message either on PepperWater or Facebook and it will be updated in both places. You get to keep the best of both worlds - The global features of Facebook and the more focussed sense of community on PepperWater.

Many other new features have been included in this update and you will notice them as you browse along. You will also notice the Activity bar on the right that tells you immediately whats been going on on PW.

Lastly, if you are concerned about using your Facebook ID on PW, don't be. Your password will never be compromised. Facebook handles the log in - not PepperWater. So your user name and password is as safe as Facebook promises it to be.

Happy mingling!

Bridget White was recently featured in the Scottish Times about Scottish food in India. She met up with Pamela Timms and prepared a delicious Egg Kegegree and Tatties. Click here to read the article on Bridget's Authentic Anglo Indian Food page.

If you have been receiving emails or reading about this - it is untrue. There has not been any official declaration of this No news article, nothing even on the official websites. Secondly that is just plain absurd. Below is the story that is spreading.

5% Tax on Foreign Income for NRI's Starting 2009 -10
Government of India today announced imposition of a flat 5% tax on all NRIs over their world-wide income. Income that is already taxed in India has been kept out of the purview to avoid double taxation. No double taxation benefits would be available for this 5% tax, meaning even if you are paying tax on your income in a country with which India has double taxation agreement, the benefit would not be allowed against this 5% tax. All those Indians who are holding Indian Passports and have been out of the country for more than 180 days during the year are under this requirement. Income proof would have to be submitted in form of employer certificates, foreign tax filings etc. Indian government is also coordinating with Australia, Europe, America, UAE and other countries on collecting Income data for its citizens as part of data sharing initiative on terror prevention measures.

This has been hailed as bringing in compulsory participation in development of India from Non resident Indians.. This means NRIs can no more just continue to retain their Indian citizenship without paying taxes in India. Though it may not be favorable in view of the NRIs who already bring substantial forex in form of remittances and Investments. This is bound to cause a lot of heart burn for the Indian community residing outside..

This is expected to generate ~10 Billion INR tax collection for the government in the year 2009-10.. For more information on this rule, tax filings and forms visit http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/