Build Africa

Updated on Nov 10, 2023

Edit

Comment

Founded 1978 Area served Kenya and Uganda		Type Charity, Non-Profit

Focus International development, Poverty, Education, Gender equality Location Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK Website http://www.build-africa.org/

Build Africa (formerly International Care & Relief (ICR), formerly International Christian Relief) is a British registered International development charity, based in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The charity works to improve access to quality education in rural Kenya and Uganda, East Africa. It focuses on giving vulnerable children the right infrastructure, resources, quality teaching and parental support to help them get the most from their time at school, and go on to lead lives free from poverty.

History

Founded as a branch of International Christian Relief, the charity broke off from the American parent body and became independent under the name International Care & Relief, which enabled it to continue to use its recognized acronym, ICR. At the same time as becoming an independent organisation, ICR moved away from aid relief, choosing instead to focus on long-term development operating specifically in Kenya and Uganda.

2004 - ICR launched its first sustainable education program, called Build a School, aiming to promote access to education in rural areas of Kenya and Uganda. Build a School worked with 11 schools in its first year. 2007 - ICR re-branded to become Build Africa to reflect the organization's interest in sustainable development. 2009 - Build Africa was awarded 'Best International Charity' by the Charity Times, and continued to expand its programs. 2013 - Build Africa supported 65,962 children in 148 school communities, trained 3,063 people in hygiene and sanitation, and worked with 5,378 farmers towards better agricultural practices. 2015 - Build Africa appoints Linda Edwards, a former Marie Stopes International country and regional director, as its new CEO.

Scope of work

Build Africa states that having a good quality of life relies on the fulfilment of certain requirements: having enough nutritious food ensuring a healthy diet; being in good health; having a secure, reliable and sufficient income to cover existing and potential financial needs; having a safe and secure home to live in; to be educated to a level that provides long lasting benefits; and to have easy access to clean water.

The charity works with rural communities in Kenya and Uganda to escape poverty through education and income generation programmes.

Build Africa’s work covers two main areas: Building Education (incorporating all the organisation’s work with schools, teaching and learning) and Building Livelihoods (covering the work based around income generation).

Building Education

This works in four ways:

Early years learning – working with communities to make sure children are prepared for starting school

Maximising education – improving learning and teaching conditions in rural schools

Promoting the education of girls

Aiding transition out of primary education to secondary school or vocational training

Building Livelihoods

This focuses on sustainable income generation and community enterprise, working in three key areas:

Credit access, connecting rural savings and loans groups with the formal financial system

Examining farm productivity, storage for produce, access to markets

Income diversification to aid resilience against unforeseen and unavoidable setbacks

Trustees and patrons

Build Africa has a number of patrons who support the charity's work, including: Penelope Wilton, Clive Myrie, Danny Wallace, Tamzin Merchant, James Wilby, Henry Olonga, Shiulie Ghosh, Richard Dowden, Richard Hoskins, Mark Florman and MP Greg Clark.

Its UK trustees are Andrew White (Chair of the Board), Tom Lindsay, Rupal Mistry, Susanne Niedrum, Simon Wong, Mike Noyes, Richard Germond, Katie Spencer-Smith Siobhan Sheridan, Dominic Tutt and Andrew White.

References

Build Africa Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA