In 2007 Tools for Self Reliance in the UK and Children in Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo were the successful charities chosen to receive £25,000 to support their projects – details of which are shown below.

Tools for Self Reliance aims to enable disadvantaged people living both, in and around Milton Keynes and in developing countries, to use their own efforts to improve themselves, and to play a more active part in the society in which they live. It achieves this by operating a workshop where practical work refurbishing unwanted hand tools is carried out. These are then sent to people in developing countries who use them to earn a living.

The output of refurbished hand tools has significantly increased over the years, and they now complete around one kit a week. They have now sent 523 kits comprising over 34,000 tools to recipients in fifteen different countries mainly in Africa. These have helped over 3,000 people to use their own efforts to earn a living using the tools to make products needed by their local communities. In November 2006 they completed their 500th kit which was sent to the Ilemi School in the Mbeya province of Tanzania. This contained two hundred and two wood working tools to support a class of eight students receiving training in carpentry skills. Our support enabled TSR to continue this excellent work.

Children in Crisis' vision is of a world where all children have access to education to enable them to fulfil their potential to live positive, healthy lives and contribute to the development of the societies in which they live.

Worldwide, 77 million children do not have access to education. Children in Crisis is working with local communities in 9 countries to provide educational opportunities as a route out of poverty for the world's most vulnerable children.

In countries recovering from conflict, where there is little educational infrastructure, they help to rebuild schools that have been destroyed and to train teachers. Our support enabled them to train an additional 50 teachers in the Eastern Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC).

Some of the Charities supported during 2007 from the Local Fund