SHOTS of Stroud are making a world of difference to children in an Indian slum.

Mum Julia Foster was so moved by conditions at a charity-run school near Dehli that she started producing her own greetings cards to raise funds for it.

She has toured Stroud with her camera in search of interesting views, such as Randwick Woods and Lodgemoor Mill, along with quirky scenes like the row of telephone boxes opposite the Subscription Rooms and the graffiti on the roundabout near the railway station.

The 40-year-old from Bath Road has also reproduced shots that she took in India during a visit by Archway School last year for her cards, sales of which generate 75p a time to help children living in the Jaindera slum.

Julia is one of a number of Archway parents involved in raising money for the school which is run by the charity ISCA (Initiation for Social Change and Action).

"I went to India last Easter with 19 students from Archway School as one of five parent helpers," she said.

"The school at the Jaindera slum was set up by two university doctors who had been studying the effects of a change in legislation which banned bonded labour.

"They found that the people living in the slum had been working in a stone quarry as slaves and were basically put out of their homes when the law was brought in.

"They had to build new homes out of whatever they could find.

"When they visited the area the doctors found that the parents and older children were going out to work, leaving children as young as five to look after the babies.

"They took it on themselves to set up this little school in the middle of the slum with a couple of volunteer teachers - a bit like a crèche."

Visiting the school was a moving experience for adults and Archway students alike.

"The children were so welcoming - they treated us like kings," said Julia.

"These people had so little but were just so happy that we had come to see them.

"It was a very humbling experience.

"We really saw a change in our children after our visit.

"It made them realise how lucky they were to have an education.

"Quite a few of us took it on ourselves to do some fundraising after visiting the school. After seeing that we really had to do something about it."

So far a variety of fundraising events held by the Archway parents have netted more than £3,000 for the Jaindera School.

The money has helped ISCA to bore new water holes for the slum, saving the children a two-mile round trip to fetch fresh water.

It has paid for educational equipment and helped some of the older children from the slum to attend a nearby school.

Julia's cards are on sale at the Made in Stroud shop in Kendrick Street.