How it all began
CHILD's Trust is a Basingstoke based charity that was born out of the desire of Mark and Julie Thomas to see a change in the lives of children in India and more recently Bangladesh and Nepal. Mark initially went to India for business purposes but on one occasion, Julie, his wife accompanied him and whilst there, a very poor woman offered her baby to Julie to be taken and cared for. Heart-broken by this situation Mark and Julie returned home to the UK to investigate ways to help and support children in desperate need back in India. So, 1999 saw the birth of the charity; CHILD's Trust.
Making progress
Since the charity began, many lives have been changed by local people generously giving and supporting this amazing charity. Mark and Julie themselves travel to India, Bangladesh and Nepal several times a year to oversee the projects that they have nurtured, often taking fellow UK CHILD’s Trust supporters with them to experience the priceless work that is being carried out by the charity's Indian, Bangladeshi and Nepalese partners. In 2006 CHILD's Trust pioneered a scheme called 'House of Hope'.
Houses of hope
The scheme supports a small family to take in and adopt up to 8 orphans (who have no relatives to care for them) and raise them as their own. This fully embraces the charity’s ethos of 'Developing Children to their full potential' therefore giving them a hope and a future. There are currently Houses of Hope in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. Several schools and church-run community projects are also being supported by funds from CHILDs Trust, through their child sponsorship programme, generous supporter’s donations and fundraising events.