Overview

Since Christian Medical College Ludhiana was established in 1894, there have been people in UK who have supported the work of CMC. Initially, this was a small group who knew of Dame (Dr.) Edith Brown’s vision - the story is that she started CMC with the promise of £50 from a friend. Today the group has grown to include Alumni of the Colleges, former staff of the hospital, and others interested in the growth of Christian medical work in India. Friends of Ludhiana is a Registered Charity in UK (no. 314148) whose purpose is primarily to support the work of CMC Ludhiana. The charity’s Trustees, most of whom have first hand experience of CMC’s ministry, meet four times a year to consider requests from CMC’s Director to support projects according to his priorities. In practice, this involves -

• contributing to the development of the colleges’ and hospital’s infrastructure and equipment, including those of CMC’s newest units/departments;
• supporting and encouraging the work of the Betty Cowan Research Centre (BCRIC)
• raising funds for projects including those to provide rural health outreach and concessionary treatment for poor patients;
• assisting in staff development through seeking and/or financing training opportunities for CMC staff both in India and overseas;
• recruiting suitably qualified and experienced health and other professionals for short consultancy visits or voluntary service to share their knowledge, skills and expertise with CMC staff
• assisting students in UK to undertake their elective placements at CMC
• channelling grants from other bodies in UK;
• encouraging the training of future generations of India’s health professionals through a student sponsorship scheme.

Friends of Ludhiana operates out of a small office in London. In addition to direct support given to CMC Ludhiana, it promotes the work by publishing a quarterly news bulletin, providing articles for inclusion in online and offline media and arranging meetings/seminars for those wanting to know more.
The Friends of Ludhiana has been part of the CMC ‘family’ since its inception and has been pleased, in recent years, to have been able to contribute to the work in a variety of ways.