Basingstoke ObserverA Basingstoke charity is planning a series of clinics to connect the town’s multicultural community with specialist support agencies.
The Basingstoke Multicultural Forum (BMF) hosted special guests from the Indian High Commission at its first clinic on May 13 at Chute House near Festival Place.
Advisers from the Indian High Commission provided professional advice on passports, visas and other documentation.
Arun Mummalaneni, the chairperson of the BMF, said: “The response was overwhelming and we see the benefit it brings. We intend to conduct similar such clinics in the future regularly.”
While primarily meant for residents of Basingstoke, people from as far away as Portsmouth and Southampton travelled to the event with their families to take advantage of the clinic.
The Indian High Commission was well represented through four of their consular officers, Mr D. D. Nayak, Mr C. M. Singh, Mr Pradeep Kumar, and Mr Prem Masih.
With a growing membership which includes 27 black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, BMF functions as an ‘umbrella organisation’, developing partnerships towards an inclusive multi-cultural society.
BMF plans to host further clinics to connect other communities in Basingstoke with their respective High Commissions preventing the need for families to travel to London.
Basingstoke Observer
