The International Childcare Trust, also known as ICT, was an independent, non-governmental organisation; a children's charity that existed for the purpose of relieving poverty, relieving sickness and advancing the education of children and young persons anywhere in the world who are in a condition of need, hardship or distress. The organisation aims to achieve these objectives by designing, implementing and managing projects in conjunction with local people according to their needs and within the culture of the country of operation. Projects are managed and staffed by local people.
Background
For over 30 years, the International Childcare Trust provided funding and advice to children's projects in both Asia and Africa. For the first twelve years, ICT worked through branch offices. David Lamont, the founder of The International Childcare Trust, was a true egalitarian and in those early days ICT worked on a cooperative basis; everyone involved had equality of input. The organisation, based in a tiny bedroom in Dave's flat in Covent Garden raised funds to support projects in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, India, Zambia and Kenya. David believed that people who were actively involved both in fundraising and fieldwork and who had strong links with local communities would have the best insight into needs and the drive to make things work. Those early partners; Pat Patebandagai in Sri Lanka, Phillip Wedell in Zambia and N. Sethu, Steve and Christine King in Tamil Nadu, lived on local wages and David was totally unpaid, between them they made the future ICT a possibility. In 1994, ICT's Board took the decision to recruit a Chief Executive. Margaret E O'Grady was recruited and, over the next decade, 'Maggie' built a London team and took the organisation to the next level, working tirelessly with her team to empower local partners to have ownership of their own work. ICT took on new partners in Cambodia, Nepal, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. In 2013, 'Maggie' announced her intention to step down as Chief Executive. As part of succession planning, ICT began to have conversations with ChildlHope, a like-minded organisation with offices in the same building. ICT initially took on another Chief Executive, however, after a short time the Board decided that the existing work, which was identical in approach to the work of ChildHope, should be passed on to that organisation and, in 2015, ICT ceased operations. The charity supported programmes that gave some of the world's most vulnerable children the essentials they need to live their lives. It concentrates on providing the following:
ICT has identified several hundred children in need of immediate assistance in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, India and Cambodia. The charity has numerous projects in these countries, covering primary healthcare, educational and vocational programmes, rehabilitation centres for children displaced by conflict or disease such as HIV/AIDS, mobile support services for street children, income generation schemes for families and communities, and many other aspects of support.
Partner projects
M'lop Tapang
M'lop Tapang is an NGO based in Cambodia. The organisation has set up daily drop in centres, that reach out to over 600 street children in Sihanoukville.
Rural Environment and Empowerment Centre
'Reec' is based in Beni, Nepal and aims to help children who are forced into work at a young age and earn very little.
Western Education Advocacy and Empowerment Programme
WEAEP was an ICT partner since June 2006. It is an organisation run by volunteers that focuses on women and children's rights in Western Kenya. Their aim is to re-integrate women and children to society through education, training, psychosocial support and savings activities.
Funding
ICT was funded through events, cycle and trekking challenges, individual donations, child sponsoring, corporate partnerships, legacies, share gift, and regular giving opportunities.
