Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Catalyst Foundation is an independent charity registered in the United Kingdom (Registered Charity Number – 1193385) that is the charitable arm to Catalyst Care Group, falling under their house of brands. Our mission is to empower vulnerable individuals to reach their full potential and become the best version of themselves.

We are governed by the Charity Commission for England and Wales (Registered Charity Number: 1193385), and are led by our Board of Trustees.

Catalyst Foundation is currently funded by the Catalyst Care Group. This funding is supplemented by income generated from grant seeking activities with International Donors, Development Partners and select Private Sector and individual donors. 100% of are funds generated from donors outside of the Catalyst Care Group go directly to supporting our beneficiaries.

Yes. Catalyst Foundation welcomes donations from well-meaning corporates and individuals who believe in the work that we do and want to support us.

We make regular calls for proposals from non-governmental organisations and civil society organisations for partnership in administering our various projects. Unsolicited proposals are also welcome. The Foundation welcomes volunteering requests from individuals with specialties in all our areas of operation. Feel free to contact us and we will love to discuss this further with you.

We currently work in Zimbabwe (Beatrice and Tsholotsho districts) and Zambia (Chibombo district), with plans to expand into other African countries in the near future, where the need for girl-child empowerment is required.

Empowering vulnerable individuals to lead brighter lives is what motivates us to do the work that we do. The S.H.E (Secure, Hope and Empowered) Programme primarily focuses on empowering girl-child education across Africa, but also provides additional support to the schools supported by the Catalyst Foundation, which includes overall development of resources and buildings at the schools, support of resilience projects run by our beneficiaries’ care givers to ensure that they are sustainable, support to projects centred around the conservation of the environment in the communities that we work in and, assisting with the running of the schools’ feeding programmes.

Our main focus is on empowering  the girl-child within rural communities across Africa, as according to the United Nations for Women, “at the current rate of change, the global gender gap will not close for another 300 years” thus, this is our way of creating change and contributing towards bridging this gap. However, our Programmes are designed to include boys to be advocates for girl-child rights.

According to UNESCO, 2021, “In sub-Saharan Africa, 32.6 million girls of primary and lower secondary school age are out of school. This number rises to 52 million when looking at girls of upper secondary school age.” As a result of not going to school, girls may become victims of: child abuse, child rape, early child marriages/pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, and the list goes on. This is where we come in and try to bridge the gap, as we believe that every girl-child has the right to an education! Girls who receive an education are less likely to marry young and more likely to lead healthy, productive lives. They earn higher incomes, participate in the decisions that most affect them, and build better futures for themselves and their families. Girls’ education strengthens economies and reduces inequality overall.

Before joining our programme, we go out into the rural communities that we work in and prospective girls are put forward by the local authorities for us to consider. Each prospective girl and her family then undergoes a thorough needs assessment by the S.H.E Team, in order for us to gauge an understanding of the family dynamics and their wider issues at hand. Based on this assessment, once successful and inducted into the programme, each beneficiary receives a uniquely formulated support plan based on her specific personal situation and needs.

We provide holistic support to the vulnerable girls that we empower. Generally, we provide each beneficiary with; processing of legal documentation, appropriate health care (health checks, blood tests and sanitary products), full payment of school fees, textbooks, uniforms, stationary as well as basic clothing, one-on-one psychological counselling and academic assessments to assist with the recovery of abuse and to detect learning difficulties, a bicycle to make it easier for travel to school every day, nutritious food hampers for the entire family, along with any other needs that will arise, put forward by our girls themselves.

No, it’s not. The girl you sponsor will have a family of their own, but your financial support and words of encouragement, through letter writing, plays an important role for her and her community, as it will help the beneficiary to learn about other cultures and improve her literacy skills overall.

The more you generously give, the more support that you will be able to give to a beneficiary of your choice. Generally, if not specified, donations go towards the direct support of our beneficiarys, which includes payment of their school fees, stationery, textbooks, uniforms, health checks, family food hampers, etc. If you would like to find out more about this, feel free to contact us.

Yes, you can. We would prefer monetary gifts as they are more convenient due to geographical location, however, sending small physical gifts that fit in an A4 package is also acceptable. These could include basic supplies that our beneficiaries desperately need, such as stationery items, reading books or anything else educational that will supplement their education.

Yes. If you are situated in a countries that we currently work in, we can support you in organising a one-day, fully-supervised visit, which will leave you with treasured memories and an insight into how your sponsorship has helped your chosen S.H.E beneficiary. If you are situated outside a country that we work in, we can discuss alternative ways of collaboration between yourself and your chosen S.H.E beneficiary. Over time, we can assist with the planning of you physically meeting your chosen S.H.E beneficiary.

We hope your relationship with us, and the S.H.E beneficiary you sponsor, will continue for a number of years. But, if your circumstances change, you can stop at any time and we will try to find another sponsor for your chosen S.H.E beneficiary. Our S.H.E beneficiaries are usually sponsored until they reach the age of 18 years old, when they complete their secondary schooling. However, we do continue to support our beneficiaries through university or other vocational courses desired, where you are more than welcome to continue supporting your chosen S.H.E beneficiary.

Your support will help end harmful practices such as early child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM), along with other forms of abuse directly affecting the girl child. Safeguarding our beneficiaries is at the heart of everything that we do, which is why we have well-established systems in place to make sure the vulnerable girls we work with are protected, guided by our Independent Safeguarding Lead.

Our Team are happy to answer any questions that you have about the work that we do. Feel free to reach us on info@catalystfdn.org