Christmas is coming… And we are going!

In our last news, we told you we had 17 supporters running the Royal Parks Half Marathon or the Norfolk Coastal Trail Marathon earlier this month. We'd like to say a big thank you to each person for supporting Malaika Kids in raising funds and awareness for our children. Together they have raised just over £8,000 and after race fees, this will be around £6,000. Thank you!

Christmas is Coming In exactly one month’s time our annual Christmas Appeal opens. As usual it will run from 25 November to 25 December. Donations made during this period will be doubled by pledges made by Trustees and some Members, up to a total of £60,000. This is our major fundraising appeal of the year. Malaika Kids has no government support nor indeed funding from any major corporate donor. The bulk of our money comes from trust funds and donations from our loyal supporters like you, <<First Name>>.

Last year we were able to raise an enormous £100,000 through the Christmas Appeal. We don’t expect to reach such a terrific total this year for a variety of reasons. The main one is the difficult financial situation that the UK is currently in – affecting mortgages, pensions, cost of living and real incomes – we appreciate most of us are facing raising costs, however, please consider giving whatever you can to help our children. Nevertheless, the situation in Tanzania has also worsened. The pound sterling/Tanzanian shilling exchange rate has deteriorated by nearly 20% compared to last year. This means that we need 20% more in sterling donations just to stand still, to provide the same level of care and service to our children. So please plan to help with whatever you can. There will be a JustGiving page (details to be provided shortly) designed to accept card donations from 25 November onwards. Direct and offline payments to Malaika Kids during this period will also qualify for matched funding.

As of 25 October, we support 198 children (aged 3 months to young adults at college or in higher education), roughly half in residence at the Children’s Village and Reception Home, and half cared for in the community in our Relatives Support Programme. We had budgeted for 194, and clearly will shortly move beyond 200. We have nevertheless kept our costs under tight control, and we are managing to run at 7% below budget in the local currency. In sterling terms we are spending more than budgeted and we will probably top £300,000 for this full year. At an average of only £1,500 per child this is excellent value for money, and covers food, staff costs, repairs, education expense and much more.

And we are going... Francesca and I are very excited to be visiting Tanzania (after two years of Covid restrictions) to learn how things are and find out how our children have progressed since our last visit. While there we will be reporting back to you, about once a week, during the appeal period regarding what we are finding ‘on the ground’ so that you can get an accurate understanding of the good work your donations are supporting.

With best wishes.

Christmas is coming… And we are going!

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