The Makeni Trust Fund is a small registered charity that supports development projects in and around Makeni, a city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The charity was set up in 2009 to “provide grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities or other organisations working to prevent or relieve poverty in Sierra Leone”.
Why was it set up?
In early 2009 Delia and Jon Kay had joined the Volunteer Mission Movement and went from Sheffield UK to Makeni, Sierra Leone, West Africa, to work as volunteer development workers at a tertiary education college called The Fatima Institute (now the University of Makeni). While there, they found that they were in a good position to help people in this city in the north of Sierra Leone in many different ways, and received a lot of encouragement and support from friends and family back in the UK. The Trust was set up to formalise this supporting network so that various development activities in Makeni and the northern area of Sierra Leone could continue to be supported after Delia and Jon returned to the UK.
Who are the trustees?
The trustees are Delia and Jon Kay and their friends based in Sheffield: Tony and Ruth Mulcrone, Bob and Rosie Lyons, Pat Battams and Carolyn George. Collectively these people have many, many years experience in education, finance, and management in the public and private sectors, and also in the voluntary sector.
What’s special about what the Makeni Trust Fund does?
While they were in Makeni, Delia and Jon met many good people working hard to make things better for people in this area, and it was relatively easy for them to see ways in which this work could be supported with funds or materials or equipment from the UK, and they were in a good position to be able to facilitate this. The Makeni Trust Fund focuses on directly helping known people working directly in known project areas, especially education.
Who supports the Makeni Trust Fund?
From the time that Delia and Jon first went to Sierra Leone, they and the Makeni Trust Fund have received enormous support from their family, friends and colleagues, their parish in Sheffield, the wider community of Sheffield and South Yorkshire, and schools and colleges in the Sheffield area and beyond. The education and training organisation Alkemy Gold Ltd (www.alps-va.co.uk) contributed significant funds to our Boreholes Project. Some projects have been funded jointly with other organisations: we have been supported by the charity Water for Kids (www.waterforkids.org.uk), and we have worked jointly with Caritas Italiana (www.caritasitaliana.it).
What public information is there about the Makeni Trust Fund?
Information is available on the UK Charity Commission website, including our latest Trustees Annual Report and Accounts.