Founded in 1999 we are a 100% voluntary, humanitarian aid charity whose team members raise their own funds, obtain donations of aid, transport that aid in convoys of lorries twice a year, and give it out directly into the hands of the people who need it the most. The donations are made by the public, churches, clubs, schools and companies.
The convoys often carry out humanitarian work whilst they are away. Hope and Aid Direct has been involved in projects such as rebuilding bombed schools, renovating orphanages, and delivering aid for third parties who would not be as welcome in some areas.
Volunteers come from every corner of the UK and from all walks of life. Whilst in recent years most of our work has been carried out in Kosovo, we have also distributed humanitarian aid in Romania, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. Four of our team joined workers in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters seen by any of us. We also have an ongoing project in Nigeria.
Albert Camus, the French Philosopher said that where there is no hope, we must invent it. That powerful notion - inventing hope where there is none - lies at the heart of the work done by Hope and Aid Direct. >>>READ MORE
This code was developed and agreed upon by eight of the world's largest disaster response agencies in the summer of 1994 and represents a huge leap forward in setting standards for disaster response. It is being used by the International Federation to monitor its own standards of relief delivery and to encourage other agencies to set similar standards.
Flooding in Northern Romania (August 2008) Following the news that Eastern Europe has again suffered serious flooding over vast areas, we put out a call to all volunteers to quickly put together an aid convoy to travel to Romania in around 10 days time. Within 24 hours we received information that the situation is now under control and immediate assistance is not now required.
It is a huge credit to everyone that in just 24 hours:
We had mustered 13 volunteers, including one who offered to return from Egypt to drive on of the HGV's Received pledges of 65 pallets of food and other goods (weighing 36 tons) Received commitment on a donation 5,000 tents
No one involved in Hope and Aid Direct takes a salary, or charges for their time and many of our team do not claim back any expenses that they incur.
Volunteers give up their spare time to raise the funds needed to hire, fill and then take trucks on the convoys, often using up some of their precious annual leave to travel to the Balkans and distribute the aid.
The Everyclick mouse paid a visit to Charles Storer, one of the founders of Hope and Aid Direct, to let him know how many people are earning money for the charity by using Everyclick to search the web.
This was an incredible achievement all in one day and demonstrates the commitment and generosity of everyone involved.
