Donations

Marivic is a mother of three who runs a small street food stall/ cafe in Cebu, the Philippines - a place that we know and visit. She's been running her restaurant business for 18 years, opening 7 days a week, with around 30 items on the menu. Her monthly rent is 15,000 pesos (around £213) and she uses profits to pay school fees for her children as well as meeting household expenses. We've given her £50 to buy stocks of cooking ingredients to support the business, via Care International. We wish her well.

April 17, 2024

We've given Marife in Cebu, the Philippines £50 to help improve her small family farm. She's a 47 year old with seven daughters, five of whom remain at home and in education. She is a farmer, growing Chayote, Onions, Squash, Cabbage, and Pepper, as well as banana and coconut trees. Currently their household weekly income ranges from about 4000 to 6000 (£56 to £84) according to the crops harvested, and the funds that we've provided will enable her to cultivate empty land into vegetable production and increase the family income. If she has a good harvest and returns the no-obligation loan we'll pass at least 100% on to other entrepreneurs via Care International.

February 28, 2024

We've made a donation to the Seven Sisters co-operative that employs around 40 women in the central Ourika valley near Marrakech in Morocco. The co-operative produces a range of argan oil products, and cleverly brings the argan nuts down from the coastal belt where they grow, to the Berber communities of the Ourika valley. The valley is a popular daytrip for tourists from Marrakech as only an hour from the city. The Berber communities there have been hit by earthquakes and floods recently (we met many families still living in UN-provided emergency tents a year after the last quake and saw houses that had been washed away by floods in recent weeks) and saw extreme poverty in some of the outlying villages. Tourism is everything to the economy of the Ourika valley, and traditionally the breadwinners have been the men of the household who work as hiking guides (it's famous for waterfalls) and in the many riverside restaurants and shops, though often they only find enough work for one or two days in a week. What we liked about this co-operative was that it brings money directly to the women of the community who work from home shelling the nuts to produce the oil and sell it direct, often to tourists paying what would be considered good prices, thus cutting out any 'middle men' in the process. Here's one of the women in the co-operative showing our son the process of de-shelling the argan nuts.

February 20, 2024

Carmela, a widow residing in Cebu province of the Philippines, is 55 years old and lives alone. She has two sons and one daughter, all of whom are married and live independently. She is a resilient entrepreneur and runs a small roadside stall/ cafe on her own, as she has for over 35 years. Carmela's stall is strategically located in front of a school, drawing a majority of her customers from college and high school students. She cooks a diverse menu of 11 items daily, including snack items like sweetcorn and pancakes, along with a selection of cold drinks. She sources her ingredients daily from local markets, and opens the cafe seven days a week from 4 a.m. to 8pm as the sole employee of the business. We've given her the equivalent of a day's income (£50) to help her renew some essential kitchenware, such as kettles, plates, spoons etc. We visit Cebu, and know this type of small street stall and how hard their owners work, seven days a week. We wish her well.

February 07, 2024

It's the small things we do on a regular basis that can make the most significant difference. At the moment we're looking out for Palestinian sourced goods to try to get help to those who need it most - a surprising amount of Olive Oil sold in UK/ Ireland and the rest of Europe is grown in Palestine, as are things like delicious Medjool dates. We particularly liked the design on this tin, in solidarity with the farmers of the region, who, despite the humanitarian crisis, continue to provide for their families. 100% of profits from this particular brand go to provide food and water for those forced from their homes, to aid orphans created by the invasion and to provide medical care.

February 05, 2024

We're a company founded by, and run by archaeologists, so happy to make a donation of £150 this month (via the Hurtigruten Foundation) to the The Kon Tiki Museum/Thor Heyerdahl’s Research Foundation for their project to return archeological material from the Kon-Tiki Museum to Rapa Nui. You may be familiar with the famous Kon Tiki expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl from 1947 onwards. Between the 1950s and the 1980s Thor was probably the guy that did more than anyone to popularise understanding about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and the famous moai (monolithic statues that we have come to associate with the place. He was the first non-native to 'discover' hundreds of smaller artefacts and sculptures stored in caves on the island. With the best intentions, he purchased over 900 items for his famous museum in Oslo. Things have changed since the 1980s, and we now understand that it's not culturally appropriate to buy or take archaeological items that are fundamental to living indigenous cultures. We support the project since 2019 to return the items to Rapa Nui where they can be housed in a local museum. If only the British museum (and others) would follow such good restitution of important cultural items. The photo shows some of the items.

February 03, 2024

We've donated £100 to support the 'Guardians of the Kelp' project via the Hurtigruten foundation. We're huge fans of kelp (anyone that loves it as we do can come diving off our Donegal shoreline into the kelp beds that the local grey seals love so much). This project is helping to maintain and restore Atlantic kelp beds and their important ecosystems, and we wish them well in their good work.

February 02, 2024

We continue to be shocked and alarmed by the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the failure of many countries (including the UK) to call for an immediate ceasefire. We're appalled that thousands of children are being killed, and that there is catastrophic food insecurity and risk of death from disease in the camps created by Israeli attacks. We've donated again to the Red Cross Disasters and Emergencies appeal in the hope that there can be some relief to this terrible situation.

January 31, 2024

Happy to say that we've been able to donate £100 to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (via the Hurtigruten Foundation). RSPB do great work connecting the general public with our native birds, helping identify them, educate and conserve them. We're particularly glad of the work they do in Wales with puffins and island sea birds, and we wish them well.

January 20, 2024

Happy to support the Happywhale project with a donation of £100 for help them develop an Artificial Intelligence application to assist with their project to identify, track, and protect various species of whales around the planet. Happywhale is a website where members of the public can submit images of whales that they've seen (anywhere) and the system helps see if that particular whale is identifiable, and the information used helps develop whale science overall. Our donation was made in conjunction with the Hurtigruten Foundation, who we've travelled with to follow our interest whales in Northern Europe. We're also active members of our local marine life rescue, available to assist should any marine mammals be stranded in difficulty on the local coast.

January 14, 2024

Happy to help Article 25 this Christmas with a £100 donation. This charity does great work as the UK's leading Architectural NGO working in the Global South - connecting UK architects with aid projects in impoverished communities. They train and use local builders, and provide funds to construct schools, hospitals and housing. We were particularly impressed by their work constructing a child counselling unit in Lesotho using local materials and thatch. Often when external architects 'parachute' into a project they bring with them external designs and materials - but not here. Great to see the vernacular traditions of Lesotho reflected in this project - often the simplest and most affordable materials are those that are readily to hand (clay, thatch etc). We've visited Lesotho and been amazed by how the thatch tradition conditions there in an unsentimental and practical way - thatch is affordable, sustainable and often the right choice.

December 16, 2023

Today we've given £100 to the Samroang education centre in Cambodia, managed by charity Children of the Mekong. It's an area that we know and have visited, and that we're keen to support. Physical access to school is difficult in some rural communities in Cambodia, with the cost of transport or the number of walking hours proving dissuasive. The Samroang project provides boarding and day schooling facilities for children from some of the poorest communities in Asia. The Centre provides full boarding which includes accommodation, tuition, extracurricular activities and various types of material support, to enable disadvantaged students to pursue secondary education. They have 68 boarders, and around 160 pupils in total. We wish them well!

December 06, 2023

Been happy to be able to support the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust again this year, with a £100 donation towards the rescue of Port Lockroy - one of the most remote heritage buildings in the world. Heavy snowfall has caused partial collapse of the roof, and urgent repairs are required. It's expensive even getting to a location like that, and not easy to do the work given the weather conditions. We wish them well, and support their aim to conserve the early heritage buildings of Antarctica.

December 05, 2023

We've today donated £100 to the UK charity Pipal Tree that helps keep girls in education in the poorest parts of Nepal. The charity does great work, providing tutors, backpacks and sanitary products to girls in the Dalit (so-called 'untouchable') community. Something as simple as lack of access to sanitary pads is often a reason that girls drop out from education at puberty there. They also run a small social enterprise and support deaf women who'd otherwise find it difficult to access training and education. We wish them well in their good work.

December 01, 2023

We've donated £1125 to the Medical Aid for the Children Gaza Appeal organised by Medical Aid for Palestinians. With your donation, you have helped provide life-saving medical care to young children experiencing extreme trauma. On behalf of the children of Gaza, thank you for investing in their future and giving them a chance of a childhood. We've been heavily criticised (via abusive emails, people cancelling holidays and asking for refunds) because of our support for humanitarian charities supporting the civilians of Gaza - there's likely a whole lobby out there attacking companies who donate to any charities that assist Palestinian people. We remain uncowed, and increased our donation for every vile email received. Hate will not win.

November 29, 2023

You may be aware that we regularly give support via Care International to working families in some of the poorest regions of the world. Sometimes that support takes the form of 'no obligation' interest-free loans that enable the recipients to expand their small businesses to grow and provide essential funds for families that work hard to help better their situation. As you'll see from this page, we support families all around the globe, including in the West Bank and Gaza where there have been horrific scenes following the recent attacks from Israel. We've no way to contact those that we support in Palestine (communication has been cut, and aid agencies have more important work to be undertaking there right now), or even any way to tell if those that we support have survived the recent attacks. We sincerely hope that they're OK. It's difficult to know how best to donate to help the people of Gaza right now, given that aid is being blockaded and controlled,  but one small thing we can do is to write off 100% of outstanding loans from everyone we support in the Palestinian Territories. The loans were always without obligation in any event, and we're happy to give any support that we can. We add our voice to the millions of calls for a ceasefire, hope for an end to the attacks, and for peace in the region.

November 02, 2023

Mrs. Luong is 41 years old, married and has three children living in Quang Xuong District of Hanoi, Vietnam. Her eldest daughter is currently studying in college. Her second son is in 8th grade at a local secondary school. The youngest daughter is just a few months old. Her husband works as a construction worker and Mrs. Luong works as a factory worker in a shoe company; their combined income is only $394 (£324.39) a month. Mrs. Luong understands the importance of education and wants to ensure that her children have every opportunity to succeed, so we've given her £50 via Care International to help her purchase study materials and equipment for her children. Like Mrs Luong we understand the value in investing in education, and we admire her for providing her children with the necessary tools to excel in their studies, despite living on very low income. We wish them well.

October 26, 2023

Today we've given £100 to Pipal Tree - a charity that educates the poorest girls in Nepal, keeping them in school, and preventing drop-out and child marriage. Pipal Tree is a UK based charity that is employing five local tutors in Nepal over the next five to ten years. Their aim is to provide extra tuition and learning support to girls who may be at risk of early school drop-out due to poverty. These girls are often from the lowest castes of Nepalese society (the so-called 'untouchables', though we're not sure we're keen to repeat that difficult term). Pipal are funding Community Learning Centres whereby children from the lowest castes and ethnic minorities receive extra tuition and help with homework, and that reduces drop out from mainstream schools. The tutors are college students from the same caste groups whose modest remuneration allows them to complete their own education. So, this is win-win for children and tutors alike, the tutors themselves becoming role models for the girls that they support. We wish them well.

October 11, 2023

Ahtsham Sahib is a 27-year-old resident of Lahore. He resides with his elderly parents, and he is their sole financial support. Ahtsham is unmarried and is responsible for their well-being. Ahtsham earns a living by operating a shop where he sells hardware and sanitary items. Additionally, for the past two years, Ahtsham has worked as a plumber, specialising in bathroom and kitchen fixture installations. He generates an approximate monthly income of just £73, all of which is dedicated to sustaining his family and business. To help him out we've given him the equivalent of a month's income and covered costs (via Care International), to enable him to purchase stock items for things like flush systems, tanks and pipes and to help him improve his small business and better support his family. We wish him well. We spend £hundreds a day on building contractors in Europe, so it's a nice change to be able to make a big difference to one individual's income in a place like Pakistan.

September 29, 2023

Mildred is a 45 year old widow with three children living in Cebu province of the Philippines that we know and visit. Her eldest child is now in employment, the middle child is in the third year of college and the youngest is in 10th grade at school. Mildred has her own school supplies stall/ store which is close to the local school. We've given her a no-obligation 'loan' via charity Care International to help pay her son's 3rd year college fees to reduce the risk of disqualification due to late fee payment, and also some funds to purchase reams of paper for her small photocopy business. If she's able, in time, to repay then that's fine (and we'll forward 100%+ to others), or if she has financial difficult there's no obligation to repay. Mildred is highly committed to supporting her family, and we wish her well.

September 27, 2023

Today we've donated £50 to Blood Bikes Wales. Blood Bikes Wales is a volunteer-run charity that delivers blood (and other medical essentials) between blood banks, patients and NHS locations in Wales - it's an essential support charity for the NHS and invaluable for say patients living with cancer in rural Wales, particularly over weekends and holiday periods. Blood Bikes are the unseen angels of cancer care in rural Wales, working hand in hand with the Chemo Dept. of Ysbyty Bronglais Hospital, and other health trusts in Wales. Without their interventions and timely deliveries of complex temperature controlled blood products, drugs etc. patients could be left in medical need at a weekend or say a winter's night. If it wasn't for hearing how they'd helped a good friend we'd have had no idea they even existed - but we're delighted to now know that they do, and we wish them well.

September 03, 2023

Jean is 45 years old potato farmer. He lives with his wife and their three children in Nyabihu , Rwanda. All three children are going to a local school. Jean and his wife support up to 10 seasonal workers on their potato farm - they've decades of experience and grow Irish potatoes (!). We've given him £50 via Care International to try and increase his yield by expanding the area of cultivation - he hopes to produce 15 tonnes of potato rather than the typical 10 tonnes. Everything is done manually on the farm, without motorisation. The increased yield will help Jean improve sales and profits and a portion of the money will go towards caring for his family. We wish them well. If he's able to return any funds we'll give at least 100% to other entrepreneurs in developing countries, and record it on our page. If he's unable to make a profit then he has no obligation.

July 30, 2023

Ali Raza is 22 years old young greengrocer. He is unmarried and lives in Kasur in Pakistan with his parents and three siblings. His sister is in education and both his brothers are looking for jobs. His mother takes care of household chores. His father works and makes around £66 monthly. Ali is a greengrocer and has been selling vegetables for two years. He has a small stall at the market, and his customers are people who come to the market for their shopping. He makes around £63 a month. Along with Care International and local partner the Akhuwat Foundation we're helping him increase stock to hopefully increase profitability and income. We wish the family well.

July 21, 2023

Pleased to have been able to support UK charity Say it Loud with a donation this week . Say it Loud support LGBTQ asylum seekers Pictured is Daphine, has recently been granted asylum in the UK! For some time, Daphine was afraid to speak about her fear of returning to her home country where she could have been targeted due to her sexuality. Say It Loud Club have supported her through counselling, social engagement, and educational projects until she had the courage and confidence to seek help from the Home Office. It’s been a long arduous journey for Daphine, who has waited more than 4 years for her case to granted in court! Happy to support such a good cause. Huge congratulations, Ambassador Daphine! Freedom at last.

July 15, 2023

Happy to support Breast Cancer Now today, with a sponsorship of our friend Zoe Taylor-Beech who is undertaking a 10 mile charity swim. This UK charity supports around 300 researchers in the field of breast cancer, and also those living with it. We've seen massive improvements in the outcomes and care for those living with breast cancer in our own lifetime, and we're happy to support any project that can improve things further. Well done Zoe on your huge swim!

July 07, 2023

Through Care International we've given £50 to help Vilma in Cebu province of the Philippines, that we know and visit. Vilma is 60 years old and happily married to Maximo Loguiber. The couple has five children, three sons and one daughter. Four of her children are married and living separately. Their youngest is now attending college and her eldest brothers pays all his younger sisters education fees. They are all living in a remote village in the town of San Fernando on Cebu island. Vilma and her husband have had a small street stall for the past eight years, selling affordable household items like buckets, baskets, plastic tableware. Three years ago Maximo had a heart attack caused by high blood pressure and is unfortunately now paralyzed. Vilma manages their business selling kitchen wares like plates, spoons, forks, kettles, cooking pots, hangers, buckets, basins etc to cover her husband’s medicine costs and their daily food expenses. Her business is open from 7 o'clock in the morning until 5 o'clock in the afternoon daily. She takes a bus once a week to Cebu city to buy stock from a wholesaler. We wish them well.

July 04, 2023

Mrs. Thanh is a 47-year-old Vietnamese woman who resides in a small village located in the rural Quang Xuong district. She lives with her husband, two children, and grandchild. Despite the daily challenges of living in a remote area, Mrs. Thanh and her husband have been able to support their family by engaging in the rice trade. They purchase rice from local farmers, process it into grains, and sell it to traders. For generations, Mrs. Thanh's family has been involved in buying rice directly from local farmers. They have established a strong rapport with the local farming community and are well-known for their fair trade practices. The couple acquires paddy from farmers, cleans and dries it, and then mills it into rice grains. They subsequently sell the grain to traders who export it to other countries or distribute it to various regions within Vietnam. We've given her £50 to help her purchase rice for processing to aid her community.

June 29, 2023

Jean Pierre is 34 years old and lives with his wife and their three children in a rural part of Rwanda. He is proud that two of his children are going to school, and both he and his wife work hard to provide for them. Jean Pierre runs a grocery shop, and his wife works as a farmer growing traditional potatoes but she sometimes also helps him in the shop. They sell basic food items such as biscuits, pasta and cooking oil, pans, maize flour, sugar, rice, beans, and other household items. Through Care International we've helped the family invest in new stock in the hope that the increase to their income will help him to provide a better life for their family, and create a job for one person to assist in the shop.

June 27, 2023

Three years ago, during Covid (can it really be that long ago?) we helped Weneber keep her small shop in Cebu province afloat with a small financial donation. You can find information by scrolling down this page. Although she was under no obligation, since then, and now that times have improved, she's paid back what we gave her. We were moved by this as it really was a 'Covid donation' to help one family get through hard times and we didn't expect it. We've since passed that money on to others. As we've a relationship with her and her family, and know the town that she trades in, we've decided to support them once again by assisting with her son's school fees. The family work 7 days a week, with their small store open from 5am to 7pm and in the Philippines you have to pay for regular school costs. We're particularly impressed that right through the tough Covid period Weneber provided goods on credit to those who weren't able to pay at the time - it's these small acts of kindness that keep our world moving.

May 20, 2023

It's Mental Health Week, and we're very pleased to be in a position to donate £100 to Kangaroos who support people with learning disabilities and their families, through clubs, activities and days out. Funding cuts of around 70% have threatened the activities of UK charities like Kangaroos, and we're happy to support them. They offer a wide range of clubs, activities and residential trips, including after-school clubs for ages 6 through to 12, weekly social clubs for teenagers and adults, Saturday and holiday trips to local attractions. They also offer residential stays throughout the year for ages 6 up. These are fantastic breaks provide members with independence, confidence and above all, a fun trip away!

May 19, 2023

Just Like Us is the LGBT+ young people's charity. As it's Mental Health Awareness week we've donated, with your support, £100 to this UK charity that we believe in. They provide training, resources, and ongoing support to educators and their students. The money will be used to help them establish supportive places for LGBT+ pupils - we we know really matters. Thank you.

May 16, 2023

Mr Borey is a 29 year old cassava and rice farmer in Phnom Srok province of NW Cambodia. He's married and the couple have a 6 year old son. The family grow rice or cassava depending on season, and sell via the local middle-man - it's their only income. We've given him £50 to help him towards the costs of purchasing some extra land to better support his family and keep his child in school. We've lived in Cambodia and know it well, and we wish this family every success with their project.

May 03, 2023

We're really impressed by the work of the Welsh Dee Trust, who are an environmental charity that campaigns to keep the river Dee catchment area of North Wales free from pollution. We've donated £100 to hel with their staff time in organising events and education including river cleanups with local volunteers. It's hoped that their current campaign will achieve: • More individuals working towards identifying and fixing sources of pollution in their local waterbodies • Increased knowledge of sources of domestic pollution (and actions to take at home) • Improved coverage of water quality data across the catchment • Increased knowledge of local surface water drain networks • Less single-use plastic pollution in the environment We love the beautiful Afon Dyfrdwy / Dee and look forwards to seeing it protected using local volunteers.

April 26, 2023

North Wales Wildlife Trust have been lucky to be able to buy a large tract of land at Bryn Ifan, Clynnog Fawr on the Llyn Peninsula. Bryn Ifan is south of Caernarfon, where the Llyn Peninsula starts to take shape. It lies on the north-eastern flanks of the mountains which include Yr Eifl, running down to the lowlands which head south to Porthmadog. Being close to the coast, it is highly affected by rain-laden south-westerly winds. We've donated £100 to their project to replant native trees there and to improve biodiversity on this landscape that is now public access as a nature reserve for all.

April 21, 2023

Adam is a 22-year-old living with his family in Nablus City, located in the north of the West Bank of Palestine. He owns a tire shop which he established three years ago, where he sells a variety of tires and rims for different cars. With the strategic location of his store, Adam has gained a reasonable customer base. Currently, he earns approximately $700 per month and has two employees to assist him with the store. Along with Care International we're assisting him to purchase tires and rims in bulk from a wholesaler. By buying in large quantities, he hopes to receive a discount which will increase his profit margins. Adam is driven to provide for his wife and children financially, and plans to continue doing so long into the future. We wish him well, and for an improved economy in the West Bank. The money we've provided is an interest-free 'loan' without obligation (and we've covered administration costs) - if he is able in the future to pay it back we'll pass on at least 100% of what he repays to others. If he is unable to repay some or all of the loan, we'll write if off without question.

April 11, 2023

We're happy to be able to assist Darwin Vladimir in Peribuela, Cotacahi, Northern Ecuador, via Care International. Darwin is 26, married and has a child and has been arable farming for the past eight years, growing beans and corn on four hectares of land. He harvests twice a year and sells his produce on Thursdays at the local wholesale market. Along with others we're helping him buy agricultural supplies (sticks and wires for bean growing) and contract labour for harvesting. We wish him and his young family well.

March 31, 2023

Steven lives in Cebu province of the Philippines with his wife Florame and three children, who are aged between 6 and 10 years old. Together Florame and Steven make around 8000 candles per week, and they're typically sold directly from their stall to villagers celebrating the many local siestas. Florame has also started a small street-front stall selling general goods, and brings in around £15 to £37 in gross sales. We've helped them buy a sack of candle wax to melt and use to form candles to help aid their sales and support their family. The profit made will help them with daily household expenses. We know Cebu well and wish the family success with their enterprise.

March 28, 2023

Nathali lives in the La Esperanza district of Peru, is married with two children (8 and 10). We heard about her through Care International and admired her entrepreneurial nature. Not only is she a qualified beautician, providing home hair and beauty services, but she also has a sideline business making and selling Tamales in the local market (Mexican type food parcels baked in Banana leaf), and a second sideline business selling jewellery items like ear-rings etc that she sends to the city to be sold. She's generally out from 6am to 10pm running these three trades, and we've helped her out with some funds to help set up her own beauty salon in a room at home, and wish her and the family well.

March 18, 2023

We helped Jhonny Jheison, a photographer with a young family in Tumbes, Peru set up his photography studio over a year ago. We're pleased to report with our help, and that of aid organisation Care International, his business is thriving and in the interim he has paid us back for the entire sum that we gave him (it was given without obligation). We've passed that money forwards to other entrepreneurs in developing countries (several shown here on this page). We're now supporting Jhonny and his family again as they expand their enterprise - to buy a new film camera and also baby/toddler clothes than can be used on the shoots (he sells packages of make-up/clothing/studio shots). We're confident that with our £100 and other funds via Care International he'll continue to make a success of his small studio, and support his two children (age 4 and 6). We wish them well.

March 09, 2023

It's International Women's Day, and although most of the entrepreneurs we support in developing countries are women, it's a good excuse to support another woman who is working hard to support her family. Nudeuen is a 54-year-old single mother who lives in a remote area of Surin province of Thailand with her parents, an older sibling, and 20 years old child. Her family generally farms jasmine rice for sale and offers labourer services to make a living. Furthermore, she runs a street stall selling food as a side occupation. Nudeuen sells noodle soups, and is well known locally for her fried dumplings stuffed with quail eggs served with homemade sweet chilli sauce. She has been running this business for about ten years now after having learning her culinary skills in a traditional restaurant. She works hard and hopes to provide enough income to support her family and improve their living. At the moment it's a simple charcoal stove street stall, and via Care International we've given her £100 to help buy some tables and chairs to provide eat-in services (it's common to have semi open-air restaurants in Thailand). We wish her well.

March 08, 2023

Latdawan ia 25 years old and lives with her younger sister in a rural part of Sisaket province in Thailand that we know and have visited. It's a rural area on the Cambodian border away from the main tourist centres. To earn a living and support themselves, both Latdawan and her sister work as rubber tappers (you see miles of rubber tree plantations there) and have recently opened a second-hand clothing stall to offer another income stream. Like many low-income families, Latdawan and her sister experienced financial difficulty during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were both unable to work on the rubber tapping farm during this time, and they are thankful that their parents supported them during this time to help them start a small clothing shop in front of their home. We've given the sisters £100 and paid costs (via Care International) to buy new clothing stands and shelves to help promote the business. Under the local scheme if the sisters are able to pay any funds back then we'll make sure that 110% is reinvested again (again without obligation) to support other small entrepreneurs in developing countries. We wish them well and admire their business idea - as well as the fact that we admire the sustainability of the secondhand clothing market.

March 05, 2023

Ceferena's mini grocery shop business in Cebu province of the Philippines that we know and visit, helps her support her family and keep her kids in school. Her husband drives a public utility vehicle. Her grocery shop is open from 5 in the morning and closes at 7 in the evening. Along with Care International we're helping her re-stock fast-selling items like biscuits, candies, rice, corn, sodas, and other grocery items to increase her daily sales. If she pays Care back we'll gift 110% of the money to another small entrepreneur, or if she has any difficulty we'll write off the 'loan' as a gift.

February 27, 2023

We've donated £225 to the Disasters and Emergencies Committee to assist with the relief effort after the Turkey/ Syria earthquake this week. The DEC distribute their funds between 14 major charities to provide immediate assistance on the ground. It's impossible not to be moved by the harrowing scenes coming from the disaster zone, and we sincerely hope that as many as possible can be saved and protected.

February 08, 2023

Mrs. Mesa is a 30 year old married woman with a six year old daughter living in the Phnom Srok District of Banteaymeanchey Province of Cambodia that we have visited and know. The family farm both rice and cassava. Along with Care International we're helping the family buy an extra field for 'wet season' rice production to make their farm more viable, and to help support their income. The new field will help, they hope, bring in around a tonne of rice per annum, which they can sell to support their family. We wish them well.

February 05, 2023

28-year-old Ayesha Akhtar is a resident of Lahore in Pakistan where she lives with her parents and four siblings. Her father works and earns £73 per month. Ayesha has been working as a professional seamstress for five years. She earns £59 per month. Her customers bring their fabrics to her and she makes their outfits according to the designs they provide her. We've given her £50 to buy sewing materials to enhance her work and attract more customers. She will use the money to buy threads, beads, laces, fabric etc. We wish her well.

December 24, 2022

We're happy to help Jean Claude and his family in Rwanda this Christmas. Jean Claude is 29 years old and lives in the Ngororero District with his wife and their two children who both attend school. While he runs a small wholesale stall/ shop, his wife grows seasonal crops to feed the family and sells the surplus locally. Jean Claude has been running his wholesale shop for around three years. Like many shop owners, he started out small selling to individual customers and over time he has increased the volumes he sells and now operates as a small wholesaler. He offers a range of products that are likely to be stocked by other small-scale shop keepers, including staple products like rice, maize, beans and cleaning supplies. We're helping him (via Care International, a donation of £50) with stock such as beans, maize flour and soap to help his business grow, and to enable him to employ part-time assistance. We wish them well.

December 11, 2022

We've donated £350 to City Hospice, Cardiff to help with their winter fuel bill. This year we've experienced the loss of a family member who, after several 'grim' experiences of palliative care in the hospital system and private care homes was finally granted a space in a hospice. We witnessed first hand the amazing work that these places undertake, and the gulf between the often undignified environment of a hospital ward, and the peace and caring space to be found in a hospice. The hospice movement is one that needs the support of us all, and we're grateful to have these caring, peaceful places available.

December 08, 2022

We've donated £100+ to Designability for their 'Wizzybug' scheme which loans innovative electric wheelchairs to young children with disabilities. Remarkably, in the UK the NHS has no facility at all for electric wheelchair systems at all for the under 5s - this charity steps in to loan amazing 'Wizzybugs' to give young disabled children the freedom of movement. If a family can't afford their own specialist electric wheelchair then the state has none available. A fantastic scheme that we're delighted to support.

December 05, 2022

We've donated £100+ to Swansea Community Farm to help t hem buy fodder to get them through winter 2022. Swansea Community Farm solves social isolation and poor mental health by bringing people together to form a purposeful community that runs, develops and manages a city Farm. They keep rare-breed farm animals and we've helped them out with some funds for feed, bedding and health costs. Costs increase further in winter with no grass growing at charity projects like this, as their animals need to spend more time indoors sheltering from the colder weather. The farm is run by volunteers and we wish them well. As lifelong vegetarians ourselves we're strong supporters of city farm projects like this that engage people with animals that they might otherwise only encounter on a supermarket shelf.

December 04, 2022

We've donated £100+ to Article 25, a charity who design and deliver schools, hospitals, orphanages and homes in the poorest countries in the world - so adults and children have access to education, healthcare and dignified housing. Their current project is to provide accommodation for orphaned and disabled children in Tanzania. Disabled and orphaned children in Tanzania are some of the most vulnerable in the world. 98% of disabled children do not go to school and a recent BBC documentary, 'Forced to Beg - Tanzania's trafficked kids', showed disabled children, as young as three, trafficked alone to Kenya, and forced to beg. 8% of children in Tanzania are orphans and face life on the streets. Without adequate housing, schools and the love and care every child deserves, they face exploitation, violence, hunger and abuse. Article 25 are designing and delivering a beautiful, purpose built, children's village in Boma, Tanzania, for seventy orphaned children. Each of the 'cottages' has a 'mama', and is where the children can enjoy education, play, healthcare and love. Article 25 are also building a pre-school, the only one of its kind within a 1,000 mile radius, purpose built with disabled children in mind. It includes classrooms for 160 children, rooms for music, play, and physiotherapy and a sensory garden. We wish them well.

December 03, 2022