Grandparents on a mission

Janet Heap, Bill Heap.

Dovestales Christian Centre 21st Anniversary Trip to India.
GRANDPARENTS from Royton are jetting off on their 20th trip to India — to a village they have helped for 21 years.

Missionaries Bill and Janet Heap have been involved in setting up social, educational and medical facilities — with a lot of help from Oldham people — through Dovetales international Trust.

Their success has been impressive. Since 1990, the couple, who run the Dovetales Church in Maygate, have set up 25 village schools, 10 adult literacy programmes and two street children projects — as well as getting a clinic up and running in a remote village giving free medical treatment to 1,000 people a month.

They also helped to sink some 40 bore wells — providing safe drinking water to thousands — and helped a small fishing village hit by a tsunami.

Now they are going back to the remote village of Andhra Pradesh, to see how an IT business they helped a villager set up, has developed.

They have also been invited to a wedding of a man they helped as a child who was living on the streets.

Janet (61) said: “We have seen these children grow up and some have their own families now.

“Last year was our ruby wedding and we asked for cash instead of presents, which we use to loan to people in India to set up businesses.

The Heaps, who are looking forward to seeing how their fund-raised cash has been spent, say they enjoy showing their love of God in a practical way.

On their trip they will also encourage those now running an organisation set up by their late friend, Matthew Norton, which assists 28,000 children living on the streets.

The couple will also be checking on the progress of a training academy they founded enabling girls to learn tailoring and pattern making.

At the end of the course the girls are given a treddle machine (hand sewing) with a sewing kit to help them in years to come.

Before they set off next Monday, the charity — which celebrates its 21st anniversary in June this year — is looking for two working laptops of any age or brand to take to a small village school.

Anyone who can donate a computer should email the couple on dovetales7@hotmail.com