2023 projects

January 2023

The trustees agreed to donate £606 to Village Water for improvements at Sanhantunzi School in Mozambique. This will pay for disability adaptations to latrines – wide doors, ramp, grab rail (for 1 girls’ block, 1 boys’ block and a teachers’ block) and for the refurbishment of 9 existing latrines. Local link through a member of staff at Village Water. https://villagewater.org/

We also donated £520 for 4 sewing machines to be given to promising students (all young mothers) graduating from the tailoring programme run by The AdAmi Project in the Bo district of Sierra Leone. Gifting the women these machines enables them to begin making and selling items to people in their community, allowing them to generate an income and take their first steps towards financial independence. Local link through a supporter in Kendal. https://www.adamiproject.org/

March 2023

COAT donated £500 to Legs4Africa to pay for the transportation of prosthetic limbs (that would otherwise be sent to landfill) to Sub-Saharan Africa. Local link through the Cumberland Infirmary. https://www.legs4africa.org/

The trustees also agreed a donation of £1000 for Five Talents to provide a motorbike for local staff working in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Local link through a Five Talents trustee from Carlisle. https://www.fivetalents.org.uk/

We also donated £500 towards disaster relief work following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. This is through Concern. https://www.concern.org.uk/

May 2023

COAT donated £150 to a sports program for disadvantaged children in Sri Lanka. Scott McGown from Keswick will be volunteering on this project through Travelteer. https://travelteer.co.uk/

The trustees also agreed to donate £500 to Groundwater Relief. This will pay for ‘pocket dippers’ for local people to monitor the groundwater in wells in Bangladesh, Yemen and Sierra Leone. Local link through a member of Groundwater Relief staff who lives near Penrith. https://groundwater-relief.org/

July 2023

At this meeting we agreed a donation of £520 to provide 6 months’ food for up to 20 homeless women and children living in the temporary shelter provided by BACM in Nairobi, Kenya. Local link through a COAT/BACM trustee. https://www.becauseallchildrenmatter.org/

Also COAT donated £150 to Katie Harries, who will be volunteering in a school in Senegal, through Project Trust. The money will go towards footballs and other equipment for running sports clubs. Local link as Katie has family connections with Cumbria. https://projecttrust.org.uk/

Another donation this month was £1000 to Village Water towards a solar-powered water point, hand-washing stations, showers and toilets at Tsuanda School in Mozambique. Local link through a member of staff at Village Water. https://villagewater.org/

COAT also donated £1000 to Concern Worldwide towards their ‘Graduation Programme’ providing sustainable livelihood opportunities in the Dhaka slums of Bangladesh. Over a period of 18 months to 3 years the individuals or families are supported to enable them to take up these opportunities and move themselves out of extreme poverty. https://www.concern.org.uk/knowledge-hub/graduation-programming

September 2023

The COAT trustees decided to donate £1000 to PHASE Worldwide to pay for one year’s medicine stocks for the Start Strong project working with vulnerable women and children in Bajura, west Nepal. Local link through a PHASE trustee in Windermere. https://phaseworldwide.org/

COAT also donated £350 to Hands Up Project, Palestine to pay for equipment for a school in Gaza so that the pupils could take part in online link up activities with other children around the world, such as drama (through Remote Theatre). Local link through a HUP volunteer in Kendal. https://www.handsupproject.org/

November 2023

This month the trustees agreed to donate to 4 projects. We donated £500 to Legs 4 Africa for the collection and despatch of surplus prosthetic limbs from the UK to be sent to Sub-Saharan Africa for re-use. Local link as the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle takes part in the scheme. https://www.legs4africa.org/

COAT also donated £350 to Saltergate Childrens’ Home in Ethiopia to pay for a cow to start off a new dairy farming enterprise following the success of the chicken project. Proceeds will go to supporting more children at the home. Local link through a COAT trustee. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1175880 and for a bit more information https://sacco.org.uk/kaleidoscope/2020-january-march/giving-hope-transforming-lives-saltergate-childrens-home-ethiopia

The third project in November was to donate £300 to Arnside Stitch in Time for them to buy the materials for making re-usable sanitary kits for the Days for Girls organisation. (www.daysforgirls.org) Local group – info on times of their sessions here: https://www.arnsidevillage.co.uk/events/arnside-stitch-in-time-days-for-girls/

Lastly, COAT donated £250 to the Kinamba Community Project in Rwanda. https://kinambaproject.org.uk/