HOW IT ALL STARTED

The Airbridge Charitable Foundation was established by Officers from Her Majesty’s Customs & Excise and the Metropolitan Police, following their work in Jamaica.

They were all affected by the poverty they saw, particularly where it affected the children in the inner city areas.

The charity was established during the summer of 2003 with a view to raising funds in the UK to help disadvantaged children in Jamaica with their education, by paying school fees and helping with books and uniforms.

Schooling in Jamaica is funded by the Government until the age of 11, after which you have to pay fees to attend school, equivalent to £35 a year. On top of that there are maintenance fees for uniforms, books and often transport costs to and from school.

All of the children we are currently helping live in the poorest and often violent inner city area of Olympic Gardens. Many have lost parents through aids, drugs, violence and prison and consequently all have little if any chance of finding the fees required for schooling. This effectively ends their education at the age of 11 with no hope of escaping the frustration and dangers of inner city life.

Through their trips to Jamaica the Officers from Airbridge have linked in with an existing charity called United Communities Support (The Griffin Trust), one of the founders of which spends half her life living and helping the children and elderly in Olympic Gardens. It’s a harrowing existence keeping children in school and off the streets, where they would be very real prey for the drug dealers and gunmen.

Through this charity and the ongoing work we are doing in Jamaica, we know that any monies raised in the UK go straight to the heart of the area where it is most needed, and is used exclusively for the children.

The charity has been adopted by the British High Commission in Jamaica who, through our interest, have offered financial assistance with other linked projects being run by UCS.