UK PM Sunak, Akshata Murty host Mumbai slum-kids at 10 Downing Street

The visiting children from India also met the Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward, the youngest sibling of King Charles III.

Mumbai: United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty hosted a group of 16 underprivileged children from Mumbai, Bengaluru and Rajasthan at their official residence 10 Downing Street in London, an official said here on Wednesday.

The visiting children from India also met the Duchess of Edinburgh Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Edward, the youngest sibling of King Charles III.

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The group of excited kids included ten from Mumbai slums, four from Yadgir in Karnataka and two girls from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, who were taken for the UK tour by Mumbai NGO, Oscar Foundation, a community-based Sports For Development (S4D) organisation.

In a lively interaction with the Sunak couple, the children shared their life experiences, passion for football, commitment to education, and gender equality. Meeting the visiting youngsters at a dinner hosted by Bradfield College, the Duchess of Edinburgh narrated her own experiences of visiting the Ambedkar Nagar locality in Mumbai, and expressed her support to the Oscar Foundation for its activities in the field of sports and education.

Founder of Oscar Foundation Ashok Rathod said that this was the NGO’s fourth educational and cultural exchange tour to the UK, and since inception, a total of 107 kids have travelled free to different countries like USA, Spain, Sweden and Denmark.

During the fortnight-long trip this year, the visiting Indian boys and girls played seven friendly football matches with UK and European school teams, attended workshops and went on a tour of London, besides meeting the UK PM and the Duchess of Edinburgh.