Creating Better Futures which helps vulnerable children in Africa get an education has been nominated in the Charity of the Year category
A Whitley-based charity which helps vulnerable children in Zimbabwe go to school, eat properly and receive basic medical care has been nominated for a Pride of Reading Award.
Creating Better Futures (CBF) in Gillette Way also supports community development projects, and the charity’s dedication to these impoverished youngsters could see CBF scoop the coveted Charity of the Year Award.
Run by volunteers here in Reading and in Africa, CBF believes education is the key to overcoming poverty and transforming lives. And their chief executive is living proof of the effectiveness of child sponsorship.
At the age of 16, Dorothy Dix, who was born and raised in Zimbabwe, received the life-changing opportunity to attend high school in Norway and later to study psychology and physiology at the University of Reading.
Since graduating, Dorothy, now 36, has made Reading her home, involving herself in the community by serving as a governor at a nursery school in Whitley and setting up a mother and baby group.
The mother-of-two also became a member of the Rotary Club of Reading Matins after benefiting from projects run in Africa by Rotary International.
Education completely changed Dorothy’s life, and in 2011 she – along with her husband Michael and mother Beverley Matondo – set up Creating Better Futures to give children living in poverty the opportunity to build better futures too.
Education
CBF also offers internships to Reading students as well as volunteer placements in Zimbabwe.
“We have enabled young people to achieve the Duke of Edinburgh award through volunteering with us, and this summer we will be advising and judging young people involved in the National Citizen Service,” said Mrs Dix.
“We also have a lot of links with local schools – running an assembly about CBF at The Ridgeway School and providing pen-pals in Zimbabwe to local schoolchildren, through an Interact Club set up by The Rotary Matins.
The charity is also planning a trip to Zimbabwe this summer to give Reading volunteers the opportunity to get involved in CBF’s work there.
Education is not free in Zimbabwe, and an estimated one million children have been orphaned by AIDS/HIV.
At CBF, 93p of every £1 donated goes towards their charitable activities, working directly with local communities and schools in Zimbabwe through a network of dedicated volunteers.
They currently have sponsorship in place for 94 children, enabling them to go to school when they otherwise would not be able to afford it.
Poverty
And they run a feeding programme for 2,000 youngsters every day during term time, helping them to concentrate on their lessons.
“We are proud of this achievement because we believe education is the key out of poverty. The children we sponsor each have a dream, like every child, of what they want to be when they grow up– it is great to be investing in the next generation’s doctors, nurses and teachers,” said Mrs Dix.
Through links with Rotary and other donations, CBF has built a toilet block at one school and dug a borehole at another to provide water for a whole community.
“These projects are so exciting because they have a huge impact on the health and school attendance of the children we are trying to help.”
Speaking on CBF’s Pride of Reading nomination, Mrs Dix said: “We are absolutely delighted that Creating Better Futures has been nominated for this amazing award. It’s so encouraging to know that people in Reading value our contribution.”
To find out more about CBF and how you can sponsor a child, fundraise or volunteer, visit www.creatingbetterfutures.org.uk.
The Charity of the Year Award is sponsored by Roc Search.
