Our Charitable Aims

Our overall charitable aim is the prevention or relief of poverty for the public benefit. Our stated charitable purpose is to relieve poverty, in particular, but not exclusively, those who are orphans residing at Smile Children’s Charity Village in Uganda and other children and young people in the surrounding area through providing or assisting in the provision of education and training, educational facilities and such other ways as the trustees may determine.

This objective will be met in such ways as the trustees think fit, including with grants and other funding, and specifically to enable the education of orphans and young people, who are connected with Smile Children’s Charity Village in Uganda, that they could not otherwise afford. Such education includes primary and secondary school, higher education and university

There are 3 groups of people that we help:

1. orphans with no financial means to pay for their education and boarding costs

2. children who live at the school, whose parents live in poverty and are unable to pay fully for their education and boarding costs

3. children who live at home, whose parents live in poverty and are able sometimes but not all the time to pay fully for their education

The trustees give consideration to all requests for grants and funding, applying their discretion and taking into account the amounts being requested, the benefits expected and the timescale

Funding needs are expected to include the following:

1. basic needs - clothing, beds, bedding, food, clean water, sanitation

2. medical needs - access to doctors and hospitals for treatment - mosquito nets for prevention of malaria

3. education needs - school uniform, pens and paper, books, sports clothing, sports equipment

The trustees currently are aware of projects for funding of skills training (including 9 month training of hairdressers, dressmakers, driving, mechanics) and construction of new school facilities and buildings, to allow the orphanage and school to expand the number of children to whom it can offer education and relieve the impact of poverty

In addition, ad hoc needs arise for which requests for funding will be made. Currently, for example, the school is facing a food crisis caused by the rains arriving late, which means the school cannot rely on its own harvest of crops and which means food prices are rising. In this situation, a request for funding to afford basic foodstuffs would be made to the trustees

The trustees give consideration to requests, from the directors of Smile Children's Charity Village, for children to be included in the financial support of their education. The trustees apply their discretion as to whether children are included or not, whether full or partial funding is to be provided, the duration of such funding and the nature of the education or course being one that is appropriate to be funded by the charity

Once the trustees have exercised their discretion as to who will benefit and how the funds will be spent, the funds are paid to the director of Smile Children's Charity Village with specific instructions to ensure they are spent in this way and thereby furthering the charitable objectives of the prevention or relief of poverty