summary of 2018
Beta Charitable Trust would like to extend a huge thank you to every one of our donors who have supported and encouraged us in 2018.
Your support has made an enormous difference.
Take a look at our summary below to see what we got up to throughout 2018;
SPRING
Kolkata Housing Project – BCT are delighted with our building projects in Kolkata, India.
The Picnic Garden housing Project began in late 2017. 23 flats, 3 shops and a community area are now complete and lifts have just been installed, providing much needed accommodation for those homeless who were living rough in the surrounding area.
Pamoja Leo– Our friends in Tanga, Tanzania, run a number of BCT funded programmes including a youth club, nutrition scheme, student scheme and entrepreneur scheme.
The food nutrition programme was implemented in March providing porridge & fruit for breakfast in the mornings and a cooked Swahili lunch for the little kids; ensuring they receive two meals a day. The new girls group which runs twice a week also receive the prepared breakfast and lunch.
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/blog/together-today
Climbing Mount Everest and Running the London Marathon This April, our friends Ali Ghalib Sheikh, Ali Walji and Mohammed Sheikh embarked on the huge challenge of climbing over 5000m high to the Mount Everest first base, in order to raise funds for water wells in Africa. Ali Ghalib Sheikh also ran the London marathon shortly after.
They raised a huge £14,997; which funded 20 water wells for those in desperate need of clean water in Africa.
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/blog/from-mountains-to-marathons
Eye camps – BCT has been giving the gift of eye sight across Africa and India! A separate collation of 2018 eye camps will be posted soon; keep an eye out on our website for more details!
SUMMER
Sufra Food Bank NW London have been our very good friends since their inception and we are privileged to aid in helping the homeless and poverty stricken residents of the UK.
In May of this year the staff at Beta pulled together 16 boxes of food supplies, as well as 3 lovingly hand knitted blankets, which were donated and distributed by Sufra, in and around North West London.
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/blog/supporting-sufra-food-bank
Striving Against Starvation - Every 3.6 seconds, a child dies due to hunger and 805 million people are still living with chronic persistent hunger on a daily basis.
BCT’s annual Food Parcel Programme coincided last year with World Hunger Day on 28th May 2018 and a total of
£50,000 of food aid was distributed. The drive took place during May to July and provided aid to the poor, and particularly to widows and orphans in the most destitute and deprived areas of Pakistan, Myanmar Rohingya, Yemen, Tanzania, Kenya, Afghanistan, Syria, Niger, Somaliland, Chad, Mali, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Benin.
The average cost for a typical food parcel (oil, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, tea etc), is £25 and feeds a family of 4-5 people for a whole month.
Syrian Medical Clinic - According to recent reports, an estimated 13.1 million people in Syria require humanitarian assistance, (World Vision, 2018).
BCT were proud to have sponsored much needed medical supplies, distributed by G.P’s during various emergency clinics which were held throughout 2018.
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/blog/syrian-desert-medical-camp
Water Projects - it is estimated that 844 million people do not have clean drinking water; including 159 million people who are dependent on surface water, (WHO 2018).
BCT has been building different types of water facilities over the years; hand pumps, re-cupping wells and rota sludge wells. These are built over the poorest areas across Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan. Another 24 wells were built in 2018 and have been providing clean water to those in desperate need.
AUTUMN
Indonesian Tsunami Emergency Appeal - More than 1,347 people were confirmed dead in the double disaster that hit Sulawesi, Indonesia; a 7.5 magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that hit the island, causing terror and turmoil.
BCT ensures we respond to natural disasters, which need emergency aid and require our help. Our partners on the ground responded immediately and helped provide emergency aid including food, water, tents and medical supplies. BCT donated $10,000 towards this humanitarian crisis.
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/projects/indonesia-tsunami-emergency-appeal
Emergency Response Vehicle -BCT purchased and converted a bus into an emergency response vehicle for rural Kenya. Those living in surrounding rural areas, who are sick or in labour, can now get to hospital in an hour. A journey which previously took a whole day to complete.
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/projects/emergency-ambulance-rural-kenya
Breast Cancer Now’s #WearItPink Day is one of the biggest fundraising events in the UK. Thousands of amazing people “wear it pink” in their local communities, schools or workplaces for the UK's largest breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Now.
BCT has been supporting this great cause for 5 years now and on our fundraising day this year we raised a total of £1,147!
Orphans and Orphanages -It is estimated that 153 million children worldwide, ranging from infants to teenagers, have lost one or both parents.
Sponsoring orphans has always been at the forefront of the work that BCT carries out, providing children with the basic fundamentals that every child should have access to; food, shelter, education and healthcare.
BCT works closely with a number of orphanages and orphanage schools including Haven of Peace in Tanzania, Dar al Zahra in Najaf, Iraq and Annamil al Rahma in Diwaniya, Iraq. BCT is privilidged to fund the education and extra curricular activities of a number of students, and have renewed funding for 2019.
For as little as £20 a month you can fund the provisions for a child in Afghanistan, Africa, Haiti, India, Iraq or at home in the UK.
WINTER
Yemen Crisis - Almost 22 million people in Yemen are at high risk of starvation or are relying on humanitarian aid to survive. In addition to this misery, according to the World Health Organization the country is being plagued by the largest cholera outbreak in recorded history!
BCT is continuing to support Yemen and we contributed $10,000 per month for our Beta Baby Milk Appeal and Cholera Vaccine Appeal.
During winter, temperatures can drop from 23°C degrees to as low as 1°C and so BCT’s War on Winter Appeal supplies much needed thick life saving blankets, costing as little as $11 (£8).
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/projects/cholera-appeal
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/projects/beta-baby-milk-appeal
http://www.betacharitabletrust.org/projects/yemen-war-on-winter-appeal-2018
Schools and orphanages – Two new BCT schools have been built in Mali as well as Burkina Faso, West Africa. We have also funded the extension of a girls college in Skardu, Pakistan.
In addition to this, a block of toilets are now being completed in same village as the new BCT school in Mali; providing essential facilities where there was once none.
Jacob’s Backpack Campaign – In 2017 whilst out shopping, 8 year old Jacob had seen the amount of homeless people in Essex.
“It is very simple to be Kind”; and so began his mission to fill 1000 backpacks for the homeless by the time he is 10 years old.