How it all began |
OUR APPROACH |
Baraka Community Partnerships is a charity which began in 2007 when three friends, who had travelled around the world, had witnessed so much inequality and poverty first hand, they decided to get together with a view of making a difference. Starting with one project in The Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Baraka has since evolved to encompass a multitude of projects concentrating in Zambia and Laos
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We don't give cash handouts because we want to look at long-term solutions. We want the changes in communities to come from them - their ideas, their goals and aspirations.
By developing schools, promoting healthcare and instigating water and sanitation projects, we try to galvanise communities to build their own sustainable, self-sufficient futures. Most projects (apart from our Learning Centre) are suggested or initiated by locals, so we can help them build their own vision for their community to make it a reality. Where possible we ask the community to contribute in some format such as labour, local materials or part-funding. |
Baraka Community Partnerships is run on a day-to-day basis by our Co-Founder and Director of Operations Andy Mckee (picture right, in Zambia). Andy is supported in the UK by a six member Board of Trustees who all give their time and expertise voluntarily. Andy's sister Alex Mckee works on a part time basis and oversees much of our administration and finances.
We are registered in Zambia as a Non Governmental Agency (NGO) and here we have a team of twelve, who coordinate and deliver our projects in the field. We are also registered in Canada where the six member Board of Directors are primarily concerned with our medical trips to Zambia. They also raise funds for some of our educational projects in Zambia. We have a network of wonderful volunteers who support the work we do, sometimes in person at our projects. |