About us & Cecily - Frequently asked questions
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These are the most common questions we are asked. If you have any others, please do contact us.
Q: How much of the money I donate goes directly to the children in Zambia? A: In the financial year 2009/2010 79% of our expenditure was on charitable activities. The remainder was spent on fundraising and governance. This ensures that year on year we continue to have sufficient income to keep our children in school in college and that our donors' money is spent as efficiently and effectively as possible. Our income is now rising faster than our expenditure on fundraising and governance, so the percentage spent on charitable activity is likely to increase. But this does not mean that only 79p of each pound you donate goes to Zambia. A large portion of our UK running costs are covered by grants from trusts. This means that more of our individual donors' money is spent directly on charitable activities (100% when you buy our gifts of hope). See the financial pages of our latest Annual Report for more details.
Q: Can I donate school uniforms, books, pencils etc to send out to the children you support? A: Our policy is, as far as possible, to buy what the children need locally in Zambia. This is because it is more economical, saves on shipping and adminsitration costs and - most importantly - supports the local economy. For example, our partner Bwafwano has an income generation project for vulnerable young women which makes school uniforms. The most effective way you can help Cecily's Fund to support these children is by donating money or raising funds. Perhaps you could sell the things you want to donate at a jumble sale, car boot sale or on-line (eg through e-bay for charity) and send us the money you raise. Another good way of providing children with shoes, uniforms, books, pencils etc, is by buying one of our gifts of hope.
Q: Can I go and volunteer on one of your projects in Zambia? A: As a small charity we do not have the capacity to organise volunteering or gap year projects. But we would be happy to put you in touch with one of our partners and you can liaise with them directly about making your own arrangements to volunteer with them.
Alternatively, there are many reputable organisations that specialise in facilitating volunteering overseas - for example VSO and Restless Development (formerly Student Partnership Worldwide -SPW). If you happen to go to Zambia, you would be welcome to go and visit our projects there.
Q: What happens to the children you support after they finish school? A: Our aim is that as many as possible of the children we support through school go on to employment or self-employment, some of them after completing further education. It is difficult to keep track of all the young people we have supported, especially as many of them move to other parts of Zambia for work or to live with relatives. However, we do conduct surveys which show that a large percentage of those we have spoken to are working, studying or volunteering. Sometimes we receive emails or letters out of the blue thanking us for our support, and we have managed to keep in touch with. We have met with Valentine Mukuka, a former supported pupil and peer health educator on a number of occasions since our support ended. Valentine is now a reporter, newsreader and journalist at Radio Icengelo. On our last visit, he told us; "I really appreciate Cecily's Fund. Because of your help, I am a journalist. I don’t depend on anyone to buy clothes. From my salary I pay the water bills, buy food and mealie meal and so on for my family."So we do know that many of our former pupils are doing well, although the economic situation in Zambia is very challenging for everyone, especially vulnerable young people who have lost their parents. The experience of going to school with their peers, for any length of time, provides these children with knowledge, information, emotional support and confidence. Statistically, each year of formal education reduces their chance of becoming HIV positive by 7%.
Q: Why do you only work in Zambia? A: We focus all our work on two parts of Zambia where HIV prevalence is particularly high and where we have historic connections through Cecily and her family. There are many more children needing our support in these places than we are able to provide, so we have no plans to expand to other geographical areas within Zambia or to other countries.
Q: Can you provide funding for my charity/organisation? A: All of our funds are fully committed to the programmes our partners are carrying out so, unfortunately, we are unable to provide funds to other organisations. We are, however, happy to hear from others working to meet similar challenges to share ideas and learning about the most effective ways to help orphans and vulnerable children get an education.
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