What began as a personal journey to reconnect with family roots in India became something far more meaningful.
While visiting Asansol to locate his grandfather’s grave, Nick Atkinson met Kevin Timms and witnessed the incredible work being done to support vulnerable communities through the Christian Community Resurrect Foundation. Inspired by this, Nick connected Kevin with Sohan Modi, Director of Stonehouse Recruitment Group, whose long-standing charitable work in London quickly extended to supporting people in need in India.
This is a story about heritage, kindness and the impact a few good people can have on hundreds of lives. Stonehouse Recruitment Group’s slogan ‘Where People Matter’ reflects not only their recruitment practices but a real drive towards creating change and promoting kindness.
The story below was written by Nick Atkinson, Development Manager at South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, who has a long-standing relationship with Sohan, and has been around since Stonehouse’s inception!
When people look at Sohan and I, there are a number of similarities that immediately jump to people’s minds… charming, boyish good looks and a vivid imagination are most often used. However, few people would probably realise that a joint Indian heritage is also on that list.
My father was born in India in the 1940’s, was educated and lived there until he was just over 8 years old, before he and the rest of the family sailed back to the UK. That is with the exception of my late grandfather who remained for work, and who some several years later was sadly killed in a car accident in 1958. He was subsequently buried and his final resting place remains under Indian soil in the little known city of Asansol (the City of Brotherhood) in West Bengal.
In 2025, I visited India for the first time. This was both as a holiday to see the sights but also as something of a personal journey to re-trace and walk in my father’s youthful footsteps, but also to locate my grandfather’s grave as the first and likely only member of the family to ever visit and see it. The phrase ‘needle in a very large haystack’ initially filled my mind, but against the odds my journey proved surprisingly successful and incredibly poignant. This was not only a mind-blowing trip and personal experience, but it also brought me into contact with an amazing man and now friend, Kevin Timms (not the most Indian sounding name I know). Kevin initially reached out to a Facebook post on an Indian site and not only helped me to locate and repair my grandfather’s grave at Asansol Christian Cemetery but also opened my eyes to the kindness and amazing work that a number of people do in India to help those who are considerably less fortunate. Kevin is Director of the Christian Community Resurrect Foundation in Asansol who provides care and education at the Fatima Free School and also prepare and distribute meals for hundreds of homeless people in the city and help with healthcare. Sadly, in Asansol, there are many in such need. Not to mention he is also on the board of the cemetery where my grandfather is buried.
At the time I first made contact with Kevin, I had been working through Stonehouse for a couple of years, although I had known Sohan since his more youthful days starting out in the recruitment industry. As such, I was already aware of the frankly amazing work he does each year around Christmas for the homeless community in London. Therefore, I took a cheeky punt that hopefully I could link Sohan’s Indian heritage, with his kindness and goodwill for those less fortunate. This was in the hope of connecting him with Kevin to see if the homeless people of Asansol could also benefit? Sohan’s immediate response, without question or any self serving opportunism was a resounding ‘yes’. This has since led to the amazing work that Sohan and Stonehouse do for the homeless, extending beyond just London but also internationally to India. The donations and contributions that Stonehouse have, and continue to make, are literally helping to change the lives of hundreds of people in Asansol. The donations made help to provide food, water, healthcare, clothing and even blankets in the winter. This is all facilitated through the Christian Community Resurrect Foundation and Kevin Timms, and the amazing work they already do in this amazing city. For those who are interested, take the time to check this at www.ccrf.org.in, and you won’t fail to be touched. The tag line they use pretty much says it all, ‘Bringing Smiles to the less fortunate.’
I am not one for LinkedIn posts, very occasional Facebook posts and I don’t even know how to use Instagram. However, I do see a lot of people using these various social media platforms purely for personal promotion or gain. Yet here is an untold story of unbelievable kindness and goodwill, that I believe to be genuinely worth telling. Furthermore, it is great to be able to promote all the amazing work that the Christian Community Resurrection Foundation do and how that is helped and supported by Sohan and Stonehouse. In my opinion, this is a story that shows us that some people in this world, despite all that is going on around us, are just generally good people. Sohan would never tell the story of what he does himself for the people of Asansol, so I thought I would just do it for him.
