Four Northampton women to host second boat party fundraiser in aid of lesser-known charity

A group of four women from Northampton are hosting their second charity boat party, to raise awareness and funds for a lesser-known charity.

Manisha Morgan, Mita Unalkat and Parul and Leena Patel hosted their first event on the River Thames last year in aid of Muscular Dystrophy and raised more than £7,000.

Following the success of the event, there was the demand to do it again this year for another fantastic cause.

When asked why the four of them came together to host a charity event, Manisha said: “All of us brought something different to the team and wanted to raise money for charity, while having a good time and a fun get together.”

The group was taken aback by the “phenomenal” response to the first year and the generosity of the attendees who made it a “really big success”.

This year’s chosen charity, the Ichthyosis Support Group, holds a special place in Manisha’s heart as her daughter Ava has had the condition since birth.

It leads to dry and itchy skin that appears scaly, rough and red, and the symptoms and severity vary from person to person.

Manisha’s fifth round of IVF was successful and she fell pregnant with twins Ava and Amelie, who are now 12 years old.

During the scans, it was clear one of the twins would have complications when they were born but they did not know the extent until birth.

It took four weeks after Ava was born to be diagnosed with her first rare condition, Ichthyosis, and they had daily video calls with Great Ormond Street Hospital to monitor it.

“It’s dry and scaly, and people call it tiger skin as that’s what it looks like,” said Manisha. “Fortunately, within a couple of years, Ava was a self-healed baby and there are not many worldwide.”

Ava still deals with it each day, and has another rare condition which is not linked, but Manisha shared that there are lots of other children and adults that are not as lucky as Ava in the way she has self-healed.

Ava’s ongoing issues are not visible but Manisha shared how quickly people judge the symptoms.

She first switched her fundraising efforts from a leukaemia charity to Ichthyosis when she saw another mother with two children who had severe cases – and she realised how lucky her family is.

Ava has recently suffered comments from her peers about her scalp, as people assume the skin condition is dandruff as they do not know the extent of what she goes through.

The charity boat party fundraiser is planned for June 15 in central London on the River Thames.

There will be four hours of entertainment during the day, giving attendees plenty of time to make their way to London and enjoy time in the capital afterwards.

The tickets are expected to be on sale by Friday (February 16) and around 180 will be available.

When asked how much it would mean for people to get behind such a personal cause, Manisha said: “When it’s a charity you’re personally involved with, it really does change everything.”