Helping over

35,000

Children per annum

Completed over

1,800

Separate projects

Supporting

51

Schools

Spent

£3.5m

in Uganda

The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund

Fighting poverty in Uganda through education.

The trustees of The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund have taken the decision to close the charity at the end of 2024.

This decision has not been taken lightly and in no way is the result of any financial difficulties. The key trustees of the charity will be over 70 years of age by the end of 2024 and feel that the time is right to close.

After 20 years of charitable activity, fundraising in the UK and project work in  impoverished rural areas of Uganda, we believe that our mission – Fighting poverty in Uganda through education – has been successful, thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support we received from our team and the many communities in Uganda. Most of all, we feel that the charity has left a long-lasting memorial to our son, Henry, and has helped our family overcome the grief of his loss.

The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund is a small non-governmental UK registered charity, which works to fight poverty in Uganda through education.

We aim to improve the quality of education in impoverished rural Ugandan schools by investing in buildings and providing hygienic and educational resources.

What started as a one-off donation of £3,000 to the Ugandan school where Henry was to have taught during his gap year, has grown into a charity which currently supports 51 nursery, primary and secondary schools, where over 1,800 separate projects have been completed.

Patrons

Since January 2009, The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex have been Patrons of The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund. Their support has been invaluable to the charity, with both Princes supporting the fundraising efforts and profile of the charity.

claire-mbe

Claire van Straubenzee awarded the MBE

We are very pleased to announce that Claire, co-founder and trustee of The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, was awarded the MBE in the 2024 New Year’s Honours list for services to children’s education in Uganda.