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The Akabusi Charitable Trust

Chalmor is proud to support The Akabusi Charitable Trust (TACT) which is a charitable organisation that strives to make a difference to the poorer communities in Africa, and particularly in Nigeria, the country of origin of TACT’s founder and Chairman Kriss Akabusi MBE MA, who many will recognise for his achievements in athletics.

TACT works with local partners in Nigeria to help support local communities in overcoming poverty. TACT funds projects in the areas of health and education, water and sanitation, and social enterprise, promoting sustainability which can make a real difference. Its’ overall mission is to promote the social and economic development of communities in poverty in order to alleviate the suffering of people in those communities, especially women and children, through the provision of grants to locally based organisations.

For further information, please visit http://www.akabusitrust.org

TACT is currently funding a fashion design training programme for young girls of 16-18 years of age, who might otherwise be drawn into prostitution. On completion of their training course, the girls will be provided with a sewing machine and accessories to enable them to work for themselves. After their first year in business they will be expected to repay the cost of the sewing machine so that the money can be re-invested to provide training for further groups of young women.

TACT has recently funded the expansion of micro finance services in the Owerri West LGA in Imo State, Nigeria. The Imo Self Help Organisation (ISHO) has established a fast growing credit programme in Owerri Municipal and has a branch situated in Obinze, where there is potential for credit operations because of a large daily market. The micro credit facilities provide capital to people living in rural and semi-urban areas, in order to boost their productive capacities and expand their businesses. Such development enables them to support their families, train their children, reduces rural-urban drift and enriches the local community. Another recent beneficiary was a cassava processing cottage industry that engages young females in operating garri producing machines. Obinze is one of the chief producers of cassava, the raw material for garri, which is a staple food throughout Nigeria. The project was borne out of the high level of poverty in the community, which has soldiers from a nearby army barracks living amongst it. The presence of these soldiers has had a negative influence on the female youth of this area.

Garri production is usually done manually, which is very slow, labour intensive and inefficient. The young women in Obinze expressed a desire to install processing machinery to facilitate a commercial quantity of production that is commensurate with the labour input. It is expected that this will improve food security and income which in turn will improve their quality of life. TACT’s funding will provide these young women with a more stable and positive lifestyle, encouraging them to reject sexual activity as a source of income and thereby reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and the pain and suffering of family members that results from sickness and death.