TrunkAid

TrunkAid aims to help people around the world by finding sponsors to support projects run by people who live in and understand the communities.

You may not have cash to donate but you may have skills to offer. Maybe you are an electrician, plumber, builder, physiotherapist, doctor, nurse, teacher, etc. and can spare a few weeks for a 'holiday'. You could make a huge difference to people's lives.

When you give money to charity do you know what happens to it, what it is used for or who actually benefits from it? At TrunkAid we try to make charitable organisations more accountable for how they spend your money. People running the projects we promote will send reports and photographs to show how your money is being spent. You can contact the organisers directly and you can even visit the projects. This way we believe that more of your money will be spent on what you want it to be spent on rather than disappearing on administrative costs.

Kenya - Clean water

An interesting project to provide clean water for the people of Eburru in the Rift Valley. This also provides opportunities for tourism (http://www.ecotourism.co.ke/eburru.htm) which will help generate revenue in the area. There are also oppotunities for voluntary work.

Uganda

Two new projects in Uganda to look at, both supporting underprivileged children in the Jinja area. SOET wish to build an orphanage and GIDCCO who want to build a nursery and primary school.

Kenya - self sufficiency

Our friends at Christian Hope in Eldoret were badly affected by the troubles at the start of the year. Their premises were destroyed and they are now looking to set up a small scale poultry enterprise to provide them with their own, regular income. This is definitely the sort of programme that we want to encourage. The total cost of the project is less than US$2000. Can you help?

Burma - Thanks

Many thanks to those who contributed to our Burma appeal. The money raised went to a group called IDE (http://www.ideorg.org/). Here's a brief report they sent:

Oh I wish I had the time to write about all that is happening these days in Yangon and the Ayeyarwaddy Delta. We have lots of staff coming back and forth and the stories they tell are just heartbreaking. The conditions are unspeakable… three weeks after the cyclone swept across the delta. We are reaching villages, mostly by small boat, down swollen rivers or across flooded fields. So many people are just hovering in makeshift shelters. We are providing plastic tarps, over 14,000 families at last count (that was last week) and over 1,000 clean water systems. These are two items that everyone is really appreciative of. So many people who get a tarp say they will now be able to get a good nights sleep – protected from the rain.

We are now mobilizing for the immediate need to get rice farming going again. Many (over 150,000 ) farm families not in the absolute direct path of the cyclone, lost their rice seed for the monsoon season that begins 1 June. Without seed, they won’t be able to grow rice… which will mean they won’t have food or income starting in October. So it’s a race against time to help these farmers out. We’ll provide rice seed and some food to over 20,000 families (over 100,000 people).

Selling crafts for charity

We are looking for people who would be prepared to import and sell arts and crafts to help provide a means of fund raising. Here are some examples of African artefacts from Kenya that could be sold.

There are a number of ways in which you could help, e.g.:

• If you travel to Kenya you could bring back items to your home country for yourself or others to sell
• Provide a sales outlet in your own country.
• Import and sell the items yourself.

If you have any suggestions or think you can help please let us know.

Nigeria

Latest request for assistance has come from the Christian Fellowship and Care Foundation in Nigeria. They provide food for orphanages, sponsor children's education and health care and provide clean water bore holes in rural areas.

Women's projects

We have sponsors looking to support women's projects in Asia, e.g. women's refuges and education. If you know of any such projects please let us know.

Project roundup

See below for brief summaries of some of the projects we support, or go to the projects page for more details.