Her visit may be overshadowed by the lavish Liz-Arun wedding celebrations, but Princess Francoise Sturdza of Switzerland isn’t here to win any popularity contests.

Swiss Princess Francoise Sturdza is currently in Mumbai to raise funds for destitute kids

Her visit here may be overshadowed by the recently concluded lavish Liz-Arun wedding celebrations, but Princess Francoise Sturdza of Switzerland isn’t here to win any popularity contests. She’s come with a grander purpose: to help children.

“I don’t want glory or recognition. What I do is purely for the children. I want to give them the best possible education and help them to become professionals,” she says. In the last one year, her brainchild — the Hope for India Foundation — has launched several education, health and nutrition programmes for the under-privileged kids in Chennai and there plans to expand to other cities.

So, why did she choose to do something in India? “I love this country and its people. I love the fact that despite their life conditions, people here always have a smile,” she says. Which is why, when her earlier Refugee Project in Romania successfully concluded, she made a decision to turn her attention to India. “I think you can do better work when you have deep feelings for a country,” she adds.

The highlight of her itinerary, of course, is the gala fundraiser being hosted by her at the Taj Mahal poolside on Saturday. The city’s swish set will be joined by Indian royals like Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar and several other foreign dignitaries, including her former husband Prince Erik Sturdza.

In addition to the fashion show by Kimaya showing the country’s top designers, is an exciting auction. An Enfield 350 bullet designed by author Gregory David Roberts for the Johnny Depp-starring film version of his book ‘Shantaram’, a personally autographed Sachin Tendulkar cricket bat and a Piaget diamond-encrusted imprint watch especially hand-crafted around the fingerprint of Elizabeth Hurley are just some of the collector’s items that will be on offer.

But it’s definitely not just the glam side of philanthropy that the Princess is involved in. “I come down at least ten times a year to work with the children under the Foundation’s wing. That’s what gives me immense satisfaction,” she reveals.

The CEO of two human resource companies in Switzerland says, “I worked hard for so many years of my life to make it in business. I thought it was time to put my energy to better use.”

g_sheree@dnaindia.net

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