Bel Air Childrens home
The Bel Air Home in Calliste, Saint George’s was opened in 1999 and is a not for profit company that is incorporated in Grenada. A Board of Directors, who all serve in a voluntary capacity, run the company.
The Home was purpose built to accommodate up to 40 children, 20 babies and toddlers in the nursery and 20 adolescent girls in individual cubicles (measuring approximately 5’ x 8’) on the upper floor. The children are from backgrounds of neglect, abuse, and abandonment. There are currently twenty nine children in the home, aged between one and twenty years old. At the moment there are seventeen children under eight in the home.
These are bright happy, articulate children who attend church every Sunday.
Twenty nine children is a really manageable number to affect considerable change. All the money and donations raised all go to the Home. We do not have huge overheads. The Trustees in the UK and Grenada are all volunteers.
The situation is currently most challenging. 70% of the overheads are provided by the Government and the Grenadian University. The 30% shortfall means that the home relies heavily on ad hoc donations, and they literally survive on juggling the little that they have on the bare essentials.
Cuts have had to be made, and at some points of the day there is just one person looking after fifteen little ones.
The Friends of Bel Air (UK) is registered with the Charity Commission in the UK Registration number 1074764. I became involved with the Home last May, and what a year it has been. I was originally advised by some well meaning, but misguided people “not to get involved as it would be a bottom less pit of requiring time, effort and money.” They could not have been more wrong. It is the most rewarding thing I have been involved in. It has been, and continues to be, a real privilege to represent the children here in the UK
In under twelve months, we have been able to make significant changes to the welfare and living standards of the children, by raising international awareness, sending two shipments of goods out using the shipping line Geest and giving them a helping hand-however there is still so much to do .
Education is the way out of poverty for these children. Individual Child Sponsorship programmes have been set up, for just £15.00 per month. We have, at the time of writing, nine children sponsored. The money raised will go towards extra tuition and school supplies for the children.
This is just one of several projects we have recently initiated.
I am currently selling beautiful note cards . 100% of your donation will go towards helping the children, so please email me if you are interested in purchasing some.
We have recently set up a new website where you will be able to read more about Bel Air. The link is www.belairchildrenshome.com. There is also a Facebook page which can be found on the following link http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8059968012&ref=ts
The real reason for writing this is , is to reiterate that every single project or plan , starts with just one tiny seed of any idea. There were a million reasons not to embark on this “crusade” but twenty nine excellent reasons to try . I am so glad that I did. It has changed my life.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Together we can make a difference.
Alison Kynaston Jones
Chairperson. Friends of Bel Air UK
April 2011
