Brighton based charity Kaloko Trust UK (KTUK), which supports communities in Zambia, is closing after 27 years due to financial difficulties following the Covid pandemic.

Its work in Zambia is being taken over by Oxfordshire based Cecily’s Fund, which works in the country supporting young people and tackling gender violence and the impact of poverty.

Cecily’s Fund says that KTUK’s closure is “because of the global health pandemic”.

According to Cecily Fund it will integrate KTUK’s Zambian rural community project work into its own portfolio.

“This expansion will also ensure more vulnerable children are supported as Cecily’s Fund helps them and their communities, which face high rates of poverty, prejudice and inequality in towns and the countryside,” said the charity.

Cecily’s Fund director Cheryl Hooper, Director at Cecily’s Fund added: “Cecily’s Fund has worked in Zambia for 25 years. Taking on Kaloko Trust’s work enables us to expand our urban based focus into rural areas, increasing the level of support we can offer communities where poverty is endemic.

“This is a chance for us to deliver more impact through our experience and know-how and not lose sight of the work of Kaloko Trust over the years.”

The charity said that Zambia has been devasted by HIV/AIDS leaving many children without parents and heading their households “meaning earning an income rather than going to school is the priority”.

Cecily’s Fund has been supporting communities in Zambia in 1998 and is named after Cecily Eastwood who died while on a gap year supporting children in the region.

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