Trevor's story
Trevor Dickey used his charitable giving to break the cycle of female poverty for beekeepers in Burkina Faso.
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Every CAF story starts somewhere.
For Trevor Dickety, it was discovering how he could break the cycle of female poverty for beekeepers in Burkina Faso. Our Private Client team verified the long-term impact of his support and helped him deliver it all through his Charitable Trust.
Trevor originally opened his Charitable Trust as an efficient and convenient way to give. Starting with lower value grants to varied organisations to demonstrate his support of the work they do.
He became interested in how bees could encourage people to empower themselves financially through the insects' desire to make honey, when he heard a weekly BBC Radio 4 Charity Appeal for a development bee charity in Wales in December 2016. He had had a Shared Interest Society investment account since 1992 and on his retirement went to the Fairtrade Foundation, Traidcraft Exchange and Shared Interest Foundation with the offer of a significant donation.
After speaking with the Shared Interest Foundation and reviewing their proposal for the project, Trevor approached our Private Client team to use our verification and due diligence services to review the proposal. He decided to commit a grant of £30,000 using his Charitable Trust, and an additional £20,000 from other sources (including £4,000 in gift aid).
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Get in touchThe funding has helped to transform traditional beekeeping methods by equipping each of the women with five modern beehives, as well as training on how to sustain their bee population to sell honey to the local market or to larger buyers.
The donation has also been used to plant 1,000 Moringa trees, which are helping to increase local biodiversity, attract bees, and provide shade so that crops can be grown underneath them.
The trees, which are drought-resistant, are also providing the women with an additional income source as their nutritionally rich leaves can be dried and sold on the local market.
Fatoumata Ouattara, 34, one of the beekeepers, said: “Before this project I was not positive about the future and the biggest challenge I faced was securing a future for my children. Now I have this opportunity to earn an income I will be able to pay for the health and schooling expenses for my children and provide them with three meals per day so they can concentrate better in their class.”
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Trevor Dickey used his charitable giving to break the cycle of female poverty for beekeepers in Burkina Faso.
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