Our beginning
The Halcrow Foundation was established by staff at Halcrow, once one of the UK’s largest engineering consultancies. Following the Asian tsunami in 2004, Halcrow staff were so moved by the devastation and loss of life that they raised funds to help the victims. A small team of employees, with knowledge of the affected area, ensured the large sums raised went directly to the communities in Indonesia and Sri Lanka that needed it most.
The success of these early projects inspired Halcrow employees to set up the Halcrow Foundation charity in 2005. When Halcrow was sold in 2011, the foundation worked hard to redefine itself and reignite its funding programme. We have spent nearly £3 million on projects across the UK and selected regions in Africa and Asia, and have helped nearly 800,000 people live safer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.
Halcrow Foundation is a charity registered in England and Wales, number 1115729.
Our values
Care
We care about people in need who are rooted in poverty and lack opportunity to change their lives.
Empowerment
We work to enable people to help themselves, focusing on grassroots projects.
Trust
We always deliver on our commitments.
Equality
We believe in the right of all people to fair and equal treatment. We use transparent processes and only work with partners with similar values.
Sustainability
We offer more than short-term financial assistance to alleviate poverty, our projects enable beneficiaries to provide for themselves over the longer term.
What we do
Community infrastructure
We improve access to education, healthcare and safe water by developing community infrastructure.
Livelihood development
We increase household food, health and income security by supporting livelihood development.
Sustainable improvement
We focus on sustainable, transformative change rather than emergency aid.
Our focus: Community infrastructure
What is community infrastructure?
Thanks to our engineering heritage, we understand the impact good infrastructure has on the lives, health and livelihoods of local communities.
Community infrastructure includes transport, housing, telecommunications and public services, however we focus our funding on buildings for schools and health centres, and providing safe and reliable water supply and sanitation facilities.
Why is it so important?
Improving education and health at a local level is a foundation for communities to raise themselves out of the cycle of poverty.
In many cases, local governments do not have the funds to provide these facilities. By supporting our funding partners to work with local governments and other organisations on the ground, we hope to bring lasting benefits to these communities.
How do our projects help?
Our focus is providing the infrastructure components of these projects. However we recognise buildings and facilities alone do not solve the problem, so our projects may include training programmes in the use, operation, and maintenance of these facilities.
Where needed, management arrangements may be established as well.
Our latest community infrastructure projects
Inspiring a love of learning in rural Zambia
Funding the building of two new classrooms at a learning centre and school, and opening up education to more children and adults.
Karuna TrustStrengthening maternity care in remote villages in Nepal
A five-year project to improve maternity healthcare for 300 vulnerable women and 1,000 children every year in the western region.
East Africa Children’s ProjectBuilding dormitories for school children in Uganda
Around 50 girls and boys at Faith school in Bukedi, eastern Uganda, now sleep in clean, safe and secure dormitories.
Our focus: Livelihood development
What is livelihood development?
Our experience working in many countries around the world has taught us to appreciate that basic rights need to be met in order for communities to develop. Livelihood development projects focus on household food, health and income security, however legal and social equality are also vital ingredients.
Why is it so important?
While there are many components of household security, everyone needs enough food, good health and a reliable, adequate income to prosper.
How do our projects help?
Our projects improve food supplies and access to health services, as well as provide training and qualifications that enable people to find work to support themselves and their families. These include supporting farmers to grow better crops, supplying medical facilities to poor communities and mental health support to young offenders.
Our latest Livelihood development projects
Sanmarga TrustHelping marginalised communities in Sri Lanka
Supporting the economic empowerment of 300 people, mainly women, in villages in Jaffna district.
MicroLoan FoundationEnabling women to work their way out of poverty in Zambia
Supporting a project that employs local staff to deliver free training and support to women as they build up their businesses.
Equality in Tourism, Eva Reckitt TrustHelping women farmers access market opportunities in Tanzania
Empowering women farmers by connecting them to the tourism industry, including supply chains within the hospitality sector.
Our trustees
Our board of trustees is made up of former Halcrow employees with a broad mix of skills relating to development projects around the world. Most have been involved with the foundation from the start.
David Kerr | Chair of trustees
David Kerr is a chartered civil engineer specialising in transportation planning projects. For many years he has worked overseas in developing economies including, Iran, Hong Kong, Thailand and Indonesia. Previously, he was a board director at Halcrow where he covered market development in Latin America and India. This gave him an insight into the hardship and poverty many communities experience, and the challenges they face to overcome them.
James Billinghurst | Finance director & trustee
Jim is a qualified accountant who worked for the Halcrow Group for nearly 25 years. With a lifelong interest in engineering, his career has focused on computerised finance systems in the construction, aeronautical engineering and electronics industries. While working at Halcrow, Jim’s department was involved in managing funds that employees raised to support victims of the Asian tsunami in 2004, which sowed the seeds of the Halcrow Foundation.
Anna Mann | Trustee
Anna leads communications teams within the construction and engineering industry, and ran internal communications at Halcrow for nine years. She led the fundraising campaign for victims of the 2004 tsunami before managing the formation of the Halcrow Foundation. Anna has been a trustee since then and is responsible for communications. Passionately committed to helping people experiencing hardship and poverty, Anna believes everyone has the right to be treated fairly and with compassion.
Malcolm Wallace | Trustee
Malcolm is a chartered civil engineer with many years’ experience of water resources and rural development studies and projects in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He has lived and worked in many countries and cultures, leading multidisciplinary and multinational teams. After working for Halcrow for 40 years, Malcolm continues as a freelance consultant specialising in strategic planning and institutional development for river basins, notably for the Mekong and Nile rivers.
Andrew Yeoward | Trustee
Andrew is a civil engineer who worked for Halcrow for more than 40 years. During this time he specialised in major bridge crossings in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US, where he built bridges and connected communities. He has led multidisciplinary teams on projects like the Second Severn Crossing in the UK, the Oresund Link in Scandinavia and a major bridge in Bandung, Indonesia. Since retiring, Andrew works as a freelance bridge consultant on projects around the world.
Other members of our team
Lucy Mason | Communications
Lucy is a journalist who has written for charities, nonprofit organisations and news publications. She manages Halcrow Foundation communications, reporting on funding and the grassroots projects that sustainably improve life for communities in Africa, Asia and the UK.