Why is Rejoice different?
Charities often come in for criticism for the excessive proportion of donated funds that go to admin or to senior executives’ salaries or to further fund raising – some of which is conducted with a ruthlessness that has also attracted much adverse comment.
Rejoice is very different and donors can be totally confident that funds which they donate are all used to further the work done on the ground amongst impoverished HIV infected and affected people in northern Thailand.
Furthermore Rejoice uses no special marketing or hard-sell fund-raising techniques, relying instead on the regular newsletter and occasional email to encourage supporters to continue to donate to our work.
In Thailand, Rejoice Charity:
• Employs no staff to do administrative or back-office work.
• Spends 93% of its budget on the front-line staff and their activities with only 7% spent on office costs (electricity, internet, cleaning and office supplies).
• Relies entirely on volunteer support to manage all the financials, produce monthly accounts along with a regular newsletter and other publicity
• Employs only young local staff (just three of them) who undertake all the field work and out reach clinics.
In London, Rejoice Foundation UK
• Has no premises, staff or other overheads
• Relies entirely on volunteer support to conduct all its business
• Remits all donated funds in their entirety (apart from small unavoidable bank charges) to Rejoice Charity Thailand
The above photo shows Rejoice Foundation UK Trustees, Dr. Martin Hudart, Nigel Haunch and Alan Wheeler after the Rejoice 2015 AGM at Indian Ocean Restaurant, Theydon Bois in London.
Testimonials
Coming in for just a week, or two or three won't make it far even if you knew the language. Even if you would possess skills and education that are directly linked to the charity's field of work. You need months to get to know the culture, the system and most important of all the people and gain their trust. Money is easy to give. PayPal, credit cards, money transfer, you name it. Problem is finding a charity that puts the money to good use. For the benefit of the people. A good indicator for a charity like this can be found from what Rejoice does. A real grass-roots charity run by locals, that employs locals, empowerment is done by locals and thus they gain the trust of the people they work so hard (and with so little!) for....Viljami Hätönen (research student, and paramedic, Finland)
I was stunned by the remarkable progress the Charity had made over that period. By linking in with volunteer HIV health workers from Chiang Dao Hospital, Mae Ai and San Kamphaeng clinics, Rejoice has effectively increased their outreach workforce from one to seven health care workers, with minimal staff costs. This has expanded the catchment area significantly and Rejoice is now visiting villages as close to the Burmese border as it is possible to travel by road and reaching communities, whom have no access to health care locally....Dr. Martin Huddart (Trustee Rejoice Foundation)
However, the most impactful part was being able to use my time to give back in a meaningful way to those in need. It’s clear the patients require the check in, medical support, and supplies the outreach team provides, but I think just as crucial is the emotional support – knowing they can count on an experienced team who cares being there for them on a consistent basis. At every clinic and home we visited, the patients faces lit up when they saw the truck and the guys coming to spend time with them. Knowing the Rejoice team does this week on week, year on year, my efforts were really just a small drop in the bucket compared to the work they do. I have so much respect and admiration for Alan, Gee, Wi, and Arm, and I'm so grateful to them for facilitating this experience for me....Russ Taufa (SDL Vietnam)
