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Thetrust

Helping young people help others across the Commonwealth

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust celebrates The Queen’s belief in young people as a force for good. Focusing on sport, education, health and environment, The Trust's ambition is to enable young people to build a better future for all.

Thetrust

Helping young people help others across the Commonwealth

On her 21st birthday in April 1947, Princess Elizabeth dedicated her life to the service of others and asked young people to join her in order that they might work together to build a brighter future for all, particularly after the dark days of the Second World War.

Since then, Her Majesty's Jubilee Trusts have recognised, supported and celebrated the endeavours of hundreds of thousands of young people who together have helped others and in doing so have touched and changed the communities in which they live.

These young people are Commonwealth citizens characterised by the desire to make the world around them a better place through direct involvement in the causes and issues they care about.

They are exemplars of Commonwealth values, believing passionately in fairness, equality of opportunity for all and concern for the natural world. In small ways, their thoughtful actions are helping to boost the health, wellbeing and prosperity of many.

With help from its first donors, The Queen's Trust, The Royal Windsor Horse Show and The Patron's Fund, The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust will begin its work by funding and facilitating the expansion of many more acts of goodness led by young people, as social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, innovators, educators and volunteers.

The Trust will draw together and build on existing initiatives developed in The Queen’s name, including The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. It will assemble a network of experts and supporters across the Commonwealth, who share the optimism and drive that is at the heart of this work and can help identify where The Trust might have the most beneficial impact.

The Trust will share the expertise and best practice it encounters within and between those it supports and the networks within which it participates. It will be a platform to connect like-minded individuals and organisations, sharing news of the projects and people it funds, as well as ideas and resources to provide practical advice from young people to their peers and from the Trust's wider network of supporters.

How we work

Grant-Making

The Queen's Commonwealth Trust does not normally accept unsolicited applications. We are building a small network of partner organisations to work with us in order to identify and fund young people with bright ideas to local problems. As our work progresses, we will publish news of our partners and those we fund on this website.

Fundraising

If you are keen to explore with us how you might support the work of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, please contact the Chief Executive on info@queenscommonwealthtrust.com.

Sport

Changing lives through action

Sport is a universal language in the Commonwealth. It encourages people to transform their lives, with medal winners often describing how they were inspired by athletes of previous generations.

Sport

Changing lives through action

There is a tradition of sporting excellence across the Commonwealth. At the Rio Olympics, athletes from Grenada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand won more medals per head of population than any other countries. This excellence and ambition comes together every four years at The Commonwealth Games.

Known as the Friendly Games, the Commonwealth Games celebrate sporting excellence and give expression to the shared Commonwealth values of fairness, aspiration, inclusion; respect for history and tradition, respect for everyone regardless of gender, age, ability, faith, sexuality or colour.

These values really matter to today's young Commonwealth citizens and this is why it matters to The Trust. Young people believe and live these values, wanting to live in a world where this is commonplace. They are making a positive difference; not relying on others or big institutions to drive social change but rather through their own direct action.

Prince Harry in particular, through initiatives such as the Invictus Games, knows the incredible power of sport in bringing people and communities together in pursuit of excellence, self-belief, health and well-being. In partnership with The Commonwealth Games Federation, The Queen's Commonwealth Trust will explore how young athletes might use their experience and sporting discipline to help others and build stronger communities.

Education

Learning to inspire generations

Some of the most respected education systems in the world are in the Commonwealth. But that’s not the case for all. The Trust aims to provide a route to social mobility and prosperity through education.

Education

Learning to inspire generations

Poverty and the lack of free education mean too many families struggle to send their children to attend school. This is a particular problem for girls, the first to lose out if a family has to choose which of their children goes to school. Outside education, girls face the missed opportunity and very real perils of early marriage, early parenthood and the risks of exposure to HIV/Aids.

The Trust aims to connect directly with young leaders who know local environments well and the best ways to change the world around them. It will begin its work in education with a partnership with CAMA, a unique network of professional women, philanthropists, entrepreneurs and community leaders who have been supported by Camfed.

These young women leaders have benefited from bursaries to help them complete their education and are inspired and empowered to help other girls achieve the same.

Members provide support in terms of giving education bursaries, teaching life skills in schools to encourage at-risk children to stay in school. For the wider community, they run small businesses and provide guidance on financial literacy, leadership and women's rights. Their voices are being heard by community leaders in a way never before seen. CAMA is 80,000 members strong and growing all the time.

Led by young women, this network is leading change on an unprecedented scale across Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. It’s organised in a robust network of branches and regions, with excellent oversight through a sophisticated, tried and tested democratic system of governance.

On a local level, members know the families in their villages that are struggling and know how to mobilise support to help keep children in school. Together, CAMA and The Queen's Commonwealth Trust will develop and distribute a bursary scheme to be known as The Queen's CAMA Commonwealth Fund, to reach even more children. The Trust will start in selected districts in Ghana and Tanzania with a target to help approximately 900 children go to school by March 2018.

Health

Caring for the good of everyone

Good health is the bedrock of sustainable development. The Trust funds projects that enable young people to provide others with the tools, facilities and knowledge to live healthier, more prosperous lives.

Health

Caring for the good of everyone

Clean drinking water, proper sanitation facilities and good hygiene practices are vital foundations, but these still remain out of reach for millions of people. Simple solutions, such as vaccinations or treatments and information to avoid worm infestation or diarrhoea can save thousands of lives otherwise lost to malnutrition, infection and disease.

The Trust hopes that its projects will include the provision of clean water and sanitation facilities where these are scarce, promotion of good hygiene practice, information to promote safe sexual health, as well as reproductive and mental health, regular exercise and nutrition. Together these resources will make a positive, practical difference every day.

In time, The Trust hopes to expand its reach through the use of technology that will, for example, help local medical practitioners across the Commonwealth use evidence-based methods of prevention and treatment far more rapidly.

Hope for Children Cameroon

The Queen's Commonwealth Trust has given a grant of £10,000 to Hope For Children Cameroon. Co-founded by Joannes Paulus Yimbesalu, one of the first Queen's Young Leaders, Hope For Children Cameroon provides vital support for schools in the country, including building classrooms, providing books and materials, and providing water and sanitation facilities, all of which are in short supply.

Without adequate sanitation facilities, absenteeism from school is very high. Children frequently fall ill with diarrhoea and learning time is lost as children search for places to find privacy when open defecation is the only alternative. This is a particular problem for girls, who are at risk of sexual harassment and even rape when at school.

Incidence of soil-related worm infestation is also high – leading to malnourishment and further absence from school. To date, the charity has built five toilet blocks and one classroom in five schools. It has also provided supplies of books, paper, pens and other essentials. Over 1,000 children are directly benefiting as result of HCC’s support. It has plans to construct 20 toilet blocks by the end of 2020.

In terms of impact, a study carried out by the charity showed that 72% of absent school days in 2013 were due to diarrhoea-related illnesses. After the toilets were built, this reduced to 45%. Teachers have reported that school retention rates have increased and teachers are also spending more time at the school. The presence of the facilities is aiding recruitment. Interestingly, the charity has seen that more and more parents are digging pit toilets for use at home as a result of pressure from their children.

Finally, HCC is also providing training for children on the importance of clean water, good hygiene and improved sanitation through drama, songs and games. Children will be able to pass these messages more easily to their parents. The grant will enable Hope For Children Cameroon to construct a toilet block and water facility in the Cameroon Baptist Convention Nursery and Primary School in Tinifoinbi, a village in the Njinikom Sub-Division of North-West Cameroon. This school has 180 children enrolled at the current time and has no other toilet facilities.

Environment

Protecting the world around us

Commonwealth nations are home to a fifth of the world’s forests. But with 46-58 million square miles of forest lost each year, The Trust wants to safeguard the earth’s natural resources for future generations.

Environment

Protecting the world around us

“Preserving the world’s green corridors, forests, jungles and botanic gardens is the simplest and most effective way to keep breathing life into planet earth. I do believe that we have an obligation to nurture and replenish our natural environment for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.”
Sir David Attenborough.

Forests contain 80% of the world’s terrestrial bio-diversity, plants, animals, funghi and bacteria – many of which are as yet undiscovered. They play a vital role in mitigating climate change as they soak up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that together drive global warming.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy is a network of forest conservation initiatives with the ambition to involve all Commonwealth countries by 2018. The Queen's Commonwealth Trust is funding The Royal Commonwealth Society to support the delivery of this objective during 2017.

By planting native trees and conserving other indigenous vegetation – again dedicating this new growth to the network and expanding it ever further – The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy will use the Commonwealth network to facilitate knowledge exchange, share best practice and create new, collaborative initiatives for forest conservation.

In 2017 this work will continue alongside the development of a training and development programme for young foresters from around the Commonwealth. This new programme will aim to help these young people learn and share new techniques and deploy practical solutions to safeguard even more land in their home nations. Prince Harry, who has a keen interest in nature and wildlife conservation, has been a huge support in the expansion of The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy.

Contact

Address:

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust

Buckingham Palace

London

SW1A 1AA

Telephone:

+44 207 024 4165

Email:

info@queenscommonwealthtrust.com

Related websites

www.queenscommonwealthcanopy.org www.queenstrust.org.uk

©2017. The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is a charity in England & Wales (1172107). A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (10482169) Registered office: Hanover House, 14 Hanover Square, London W1S 1HP.