A DERBY millionaire has spoken of her eye-opening

experiences as she swapped her luxury lifestyle for 10 days in

one of the toughest areas in the country.

Kavita Oberoi, boss of Pride Park IT training firm Oberoi

Consulting, made the switch as part of the popular television

series The Secret Millionaire.

She went under cover as a volunteer in the Ladywood area of

Birmingham, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in

Britain.

During her time in the area, she worked with a number of

organisations, including Ladywood Furniture Project, which

provides second-hand furniture to people living on the fringes

of poverty.

Mrs Oberoi, who is worth £10m, said nothing could have

prepared her for the experience, during which she lived on

benefits equivalent to £8 a day.

She said: "The whole experience was incredible. It was a

real eye-opener and a good learning experience for me.

"There are people there who are really trying to make a

difference to people's lives.

"It made me think a lot about my own life and how much time

I spend working."

Mrs Oberoi – who lives in Hazelwood with husband Deven and

their two daughters, aged eight and 13 – launched Oberoi

Consultancy in 2001 after working for nine years at medical

firm Bayer.

Now, the business provides IT training to more than one in

five GP practices across the country.

The Secret Millionaire takes entrepreneurs out of their

comfortable lifestyles and into areas with high levels of

crime, teenage pregnancy and unemployment.

At the end of their stay, the millionaires reveal their

identities to deserving groups and decide whether or not to

hand over some of their cash.

Mrs Oberoi was first approached to appear in the series two

years ago but turned the offer down.

The 38-year-old said: "When the first series was being made,

they contacted me but, because I hadn't seen it before, I

wasn't sure about taking part.

"But I went to Mumbai in January and was so inspired by the

work people are doing out there that it made me wish I could do

something to change people's lives. So, when they contacted me

about taking part in the second series, I jumped at the

chance."

She said that the most memorable moment of her time in

Ladywood was when she handed over her donations.

She said: "Since I started work at 15, I have been donating

money to charity but I have never done anything of this

scale.

"I found people there that I really gelled with and being

able to help them was a great feeling. I was in tears all day

long."

The Secret Millionaire is on Channel 4 on Tuesday, August 12

at 9pm.

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