This project aims to change the lives of 500 carers and their family members by providing funding to help them.
Carers Worldwide was founded by married couple, Ruth and Anil Patil, in 2012 to fuel their passion to transform the lives of unpaid family carers in low and middle-income countries where there is little or no support for them, said the British High Commission in Dhaka on Wednesday.
They were inspired by their own experiences from working in the health and social care sector in India, where they came into contact with lots of carers, whom they were unable to support.
They were also motivated by their youngest daughter who has Down Syndrome. Their own experience of caring for their daughter made them consider what it must be like to care for a child with a disability without any support.
Working from their home in Welwyn Garden City, they have already helped 35,000 carers and their families deal with illness, disability and mental health challenges across India and Nepal. This grant from the Small Charities Challenge Fund is now enabling them to expand their work into Bangladesh.
Ruth Patil visited the Department for International Development to see Lord Bates, one of the department’s ministerial team, where she was able to discuss the project’s goals.
Ruth Patil, co-founder of Carers Worldwide said, “We are delighted with the funding from the Government’s Small Charities Challenge Fund which will enable us to fund our new project in Bangladesh.”
International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt said helping others in need is at the heart of their culture, and this is epitomised by the work of small charities up and down the country.
The Small Charities Challenge fund, set up in 2017, has awarded 16 British charities, including Carers Worldwide, grants totalling over £750,000 in its first round of funding. Each charity can apply for a grant of up to £50,000.
Further grants will be handed out in the coming two years, out of a total pot of £4million.
The fund was set up after a DFID Civil Society review found it was hard for small UK charities to access DFID funding because of the length and complexity of the application process.
There is only stage in the process for applying for SCCF funding: simply filling out an application form.